Today the Red Sox play their annual Patriot’s Day morning game. And today is the Boston Marathon. Emotions at both locations will run high.
Last year, the Red Sox beat the Rays in a walkoff win. As that game was ending, everything was changing. As the team headed to the airport for their flight to the next city and next series, news of the Boston Marathon bombings spread and the entire city of Boston was shaken. There was fear and confusion and sorrow but, a few days later when the Red Sox got back to town, those feelings were met with strength and resolve. They were met with David Ortiz’s stirring speech to Red Sox fans and the city as a whole: “This is OUR F***in’ City!” he said. And with that, Boston Strong came to define the Red Sox season
Which isn’t to say that what happened at the Marathon was about the Red Sox or that everything the Red Sox do is about the Marathon. But it is undeniable that the Red Sox served as a rallying point and welcome diversion from the horror that was visited upon the city last Patriot’s Day. And that the tragedy of the bombings and the example the city set in the wake helped inspire the team. I’m sure every city would rally strongly if such a thing were to occur there — we’ve, unfortunately, seen cities have to do that in the past — but it just served as another reminder of how particularly close the Red Sox and Boston are. How the bond between sports and the city as a whole may be stronger in Boston than a lot of places, for a lot of reasons.
Last night the heroes of the aftermath of the bombings were remembered at Fenway Park in an official ceremony. I suspect that, later this morning, there will be many more unofficial remembrances to go along with it as the Red Sox take the field on a beautiful Patriot’s Day. In a city that could not be defeated and I suspect cannot be defeated.
