Christmas has come and gone and New Years Day is just around the corner. During the 8 days spanning from Christmas morning to New Years morning Go, Titletown will add daily updates to an 8 part series remembering the highs lows and all around heartwarming moments of 2013 in Boston Sports as well as a look ahead to what we might see in 2014. This is not a statistical analysis of these 298 professional sporting events that took place in Boston in 2013, this is a written rehashing and a reminder that we are the greatest sports town on the planet.
Complete Schedule
December 25th- A Year of Leaders
December 26th - Best Patriots Moments
December 27th - Best Red Sox Moments
December 28th - Best Bruins Moments
December 29th - Top Plays
December 30th - Top Games
December 31st - [To be determined] Is the Boston Athlete of 2013
January 1st - The Promise of 2014
On April 20th, David Ortiz, took to the mic and screamed to the world that his city did not belong to the terrorists who tried to break it. "This is out F****** CITY" he yelled with a rallying ferocity, "and nobody going to dictate our freedom, STAY STRONG!"
On April 20th David Ortiz screamed otherwise offensive profanity into a microphone that broadcast the now famous quote to millions live and even more through you tube clips and radio cuts and yet the FCC, surprisingly seemed to do the best job at describing the feeling Bostonians were feeling as Ortiz's battle cry rang through the nooks a crannies of Fenway Park.
"David Ortiz spoke from the heart at today's Red Sox game. I stand with Big Papi and the people of Boston" FCC Chairmen Julius Genachowski tweeted following the committees decision not to fine Ortiz.
Much like Genachowski, whether you like it or not, Ortiz's proclamation united a team, a fan base and a city scarred by the actions the evils that descended on the city on Marathon Monday 2013. But there was more that one cry to this season.
It seems like decades ago when we were questioning whether or not Ortiz would ever hit another home run following his Achilles injury the year before while we all wondered how John Lackey would respond to the urgency that Boston fans were rapidly demanding. There sure was no lack of talent on this team but what there also was not was allot of young talent. Between guys like Mike Napoli, and Shane Victorino many believed that they would never return to the hall of fame kind of play they showed in their early years in the league. How did they respond? Well, Victorino won a gold glove and delivered the Bob Marly walk up song to Fenway while Mike Napoli ground through horrendous slumps and slammed 28 home runs from his spot as David Ortiz' safety blanket.
The 2013 Red Sox World Series winning season gave us so much. We watched Koji Uehara become the most dominant closer in baseball while David Ortiz played his best baseball in his career. Between all this magic it would be tough to rank categorically the best of it all but nevertheless, we will try.
Below are the top 3 moments of the Red Sox season...
It was Shane Victorino not David Ortiz who brought Red Sox fans to their feet singing Bob Marly's Three Little Birds this season and yet as Tori Hunter went head over heals into the Boston dugout the reaction of Boston area police officer Steve Horgan said it all. As David Ortiz's 2 out 2 strike Grand Slam eluded the glove of Hunter every little thing really was alright.
2 games into the ALCS, the Red Sox had been absolutely dormant smacking just 1 hit in Game 1 before being shut down once again in Game 2 by Cy Young winning, Max Schurzer. 4 outs away from going down a prohibitive 2-0 in the best of 7 series, the Red Sox sent David Ortiz to the plate with one mission and one mission only. Clear the bases and by extension, tie the game. 16 years into his illustrious career it was no secret that David Ortiz knew the story of the postseason long ball well and yet, as he strode to the plate the odds were still stacked against him. Even Papi, mighty old Papi had never before hit a grand slam in October while also never homering off pitcher Haquim Benouit all together. But even with all that stacked against him, you got the feeling that Ortiz would somehow make it happen. We believed he would hit it simply by rationalizing what was needed and while it really only boils down to just hitting a home run, when that ball eventually left the yard we were as shocked as humanly possible.
While it is debatable as to whether or not the Sox would have still won the ALCS without Ortiz's slam, those 4 runs turned the tide of the whole reminder of the Red Sox postseason reminding the team and their fans that this team was and will never be out of a game until the 27th out is recorded.
2) November 2nd: Red Sox Rolling Rally
One of the greatest moments of this Red Sox season was not a single event but the celebration that followed it. 3 days after Sox fans were treated to their first world championship since 2007, the team as well as millions of fans took to the streets of Boston to celebrate together, the absolute unity that this team had provided the city with. Close to 8 months after the Marathon attacks, the 2013 Red Sox Rolling Rally seemed to be one of the biggest steps the city took finally vanquishing the fear and horror brought out by the Marathon Bombings in one day of delirious cheering.
3) April 20th: "This is our F***** city"
On that day the Sox wore a jersey that instead of reading 'Red Sox' read the single word, 'BOSTON'. 5 days after the city was torn apart by the maliciousness of those 2 bombs, David Ortiz took to the mic prior to his first game of the season and screamed those words now forever immortalized as one of the most remembered quotes in the history of sport. 5 days after the attacks, David Ortiz's rally cry served as the sole culmination of the professional sports world's support of Boston and it's people.
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