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X# | day, date, 2004 The Bristol Press TTHHEE TTAATTTTOOOO [email protected] MAKING A PERMANENT IMPRESSION SINCE 1994 VOLUME 11 No. 6 On the first baseline at the World Series By SEAN SOLTYS “Hey, Donna!” my dad exclaimed. She smiled The Tattoo at him, but the fellow behind my dad said, “Donna who?” Following the Boston Red Sox closely is Steven Tyler of Aerosmith sang the national always a rollercoaster ride, but this year was the anthem at the first game and American Idol win- wildest one I’ve ever had. ner Kelly Clarkson sang “God Bless America.” Where I live, I can’t see most of the games on James Taylor, a star in attendance at Game 2, television, so I listen to every game I can on the performed the best of any of the singers in the radio and surf all the sports Internet sites every first two games, delivering a great rendition of day for news and Sox chat. “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Frankly, I’m consumed with the Red Sox all Among other luminaries at Game 2, Tom year long. Hanks and Jimmy Fallon were both lucky Trips to Fenway Park are the greatest and the enough to be sitting in the Green Monster seats. day after the Red Sox defeated the New York Two beloved, but lesser-known bands out of Yankees in Game 7 of the American League Red Sox Nation that performed at the Series playoffs, I found out something that made all the were the Dropkick Murphys and The Standells. memorable games I’d ever been to seem like The Dropkick Murphys sang their remake of nothing: the Red Sox were playing the St. Louis “Tessie,” an old Red Sox song from 1903. This Cardinals in the 2004 World Series, and I was song has become a hit in Boston and the person going to be there. in charge of music at Fenway plays it before My dad bought tickets to all of the Series every game. games scheduled at Boston’s Fenway Park. When The Standells have been around since the I heard the news, I was ecstatic. The Red Sox 1960s. The folks at Fenway have been playing had just completed the best comeback in the his- their song “Dirty Water” after every win since tory of sports and now they were going for their that time. Fenway Park exploded with applause first World Series victory since 1918. and everyone sang along when those two bands On our drive to Boston, I talked with my were announced. father about the past blunders and chokes by the Sox, their current team, and everything that had Woody, Papi and Pokey to do with the World Series. We got to Fenway Our seats were in section 11, which is down about 6:15 p.m. for a scheduled 8:10 first pitch. the first baseline. They were great seats, but then We headed straight for our usual lot – and again, every seat is good at the Fall Classic. were stunned to see that it was full two hours Unfortunately, the only way you could exit before game time. Luckily, my dad had a few our row was the left end, where we happened to backup plans, but those lots were filled, too. Photo courtesy Soltys family be sitting. All of the people who got up to get Sean, Katie and Christie Soltys at Fenway Park in Boston for Game 2 of the 2004 World Series We started to get frantic. Suddenly, my dad beer or go to the bathroom (which was about zeroed in on a parking garage still allowing cars three-quarters of our row) had to pass us, so we it 11-9, Sox. before we headed off to the hotel to get some to enter. He stepped on the pedal and was the were forced to get up every half inning. Bellhorn had hit one to almost the same spot shut-eye before Game 2. second to last car that was admitted. To our sur- When Game 1 started, the fireworks began as on the previous pitch that hooked barely foul. The next day dawned cold and damp. We prise, the last garage open cost only $30 – a bar- soon as the Red Sox got up. With two men on When he hit it again, everyone stood up and I hoped the weather would get better by game gain compared to the $45 charged at the other and nobody out in the first inning, David “Papi” couldn’t see the field, but I just kept my eye on time but we knew the chances of that were about lots. Ortiz came up to the plate and hammered a shot the Pole because it was headed in that direction, the same as the chances of Babe Ruth coming We walked into the ballpark about 6:45 and just inside the Pesky Pole to make it 3-0. and it was the only thing I could see anyway. I back to life and saying sorry to Red Sox Nation. made a beeline to our favorite before-the-game Nobody could believe that the Red Sox would saw the ball come down and pound into the pole. My two sisters, Katie and Christie, were com- spot at Fenway. I’m not talking about the Green jump ahead so early in the series. The crowd I thought I was going to go deaf because the ing to Game 2 with us, so we got them in the Monster or the Pesky Pole, but the Designated quickly struck up a chant of “Who’s your Papi?!,” crowd was so loud. I always have wondered what afternoon and made it back to Fenway 20 min- Driver Booth. This booth is a place where people making a mockery of the “Who’s your daddy?” the crowd sounds like from outside the building utes earlier than the day before to ensure a park- go and pledge not to drink for the whole game. chant that echoed through Yankee Stadium after when someone hits a home run. If I hear a sound ing spot. This time, we went straight to our new After you make the promise, the woman at the Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez called the that loud again, I may never know. garage, and we still snagged the second-to-last booth gives you a wristband and a coupon for a Yankees his daddy. The rest of Game 1 was uneventful except for available parking spot. We thought it was a little free Coke for everybody in your party. My dad In the bottom of the third, with the score 4-2, Keith Foulke pitching an outstanding top of the bit strange to be in the exact same parking spot never drinks at games anyway so this is a great the Sox bats came alive again, scoring three ninth for the save. even though we arrived at a completely different way to save $7.50 and quench our thirst midway more runs. The crowd jumped all over the time than the day before. But maybe it was a through the game. Cardinal’s pitcher, Woody Williams, by chanting good luck omen… “WOOOODYYY” non-stop until he finally got It was the first time in four years that my sis- Not all the stars were on the field pulled with one out in the third inning and the ters had been at Fenway Park, so we went Plenty of celebrities joined the World Series score 7-2, Red Sox. around the ballpark, taking pictures from every crowd at Fenway. Ben Afleck was there as I got a chuckle out of seeing an elderly lady a angle. always, for the first two games. You can’t see Ben couple seats down across the aisle from me The weather got worse as the day wore on. A Afleck without a girlfriend to accompany him, chanting that, and wondered if she even knew cold mist was coming from beyond center field and this month’s girl is fellow Hollywood star what it meant. and blowing towards home plate. It stayed cold Jennifer Garner. As you may know, the Red Sox defense leaves and damp throughout the game, but the Fenway My two sisters something to be desired. fans still had fun, and we lucked out with dry, joined us for The Not-So-Slick Sox covered seats. Game 2 and managed to have four Curt Schilling was pitching Game 2 for the these two stars errors in this game but still Red Sox with stitches connecting his tendon to were my older pull away with the victory. his ankle so it wouldn’t move. We learned before sister Katie’s Since the game was so the game that the only other time this surgery main focus close, every time the Sox had ever been done – except twice on Schilling – through the first made an error, the was when the Sox doctor practiced it on a four innings. She Beantown crowd lost its life Red Sox Nation corpse. We found that a little disturbing. was searching for an inning or so. After the last out, Fenway remained full. We expected a decent performance from vigorously with When outfielder Manny Everyone stayed in the stadium, singing Schilling, but not greatness. He ended up pitch- binoculars Ramirez made his seeming- “Dirty Water” at the top of their lungs. ing six innings, letting up only five hits and one through the box ly critical error by tripping The World Series crowd sings a lot more than run.