First Reading Log

Since trading The Great Bambino in 1919 after winning the World Series, the Boston Red Sox had been so close to winning the Series, but the "Curse of the Bambino" had seemed to get in the way.  The opportunities have surely been there, as the final out of Game 6 to clinch the world series went between the first baseman's legs, and then losing the next game to lose the series, and losing in Game 7 on a walk off home run to lose the League Championship Series (LCS) in 2003.  It seemed  the curse would never be reversed.  It was however in the 2004 season, as the Red Sox came back from a 3-0 series lead against the hated Yankees to win the LCS 4 games to 3, facing elimination all 4 games.

The book Faithful chronicles the magical, yet historic 2004 season, and is written by Stewart O'Nan, and Stephen King, both die-hard Red Sox fans.  The die-hard tag applies to both of these guys in many ways.  First, they go to the ballpark hours before the game to shag home runs during batting practice, and watching every game, from first pitch to the final out.  This book is written in a diary format, as there is a post for every day the Sox play during the regular season.  These die-hard fans took a trip to Ft. Myers, Florida to take in a few scrimmage games as well as official spring training games.  Additionally, O'Nan looked for tickets to the Yankees vs. Red Sox diligently.  This was what I did for the IU vs. Kentucky basketball game.  It was a rivalry game where tickets were going for thousands of dollars. Being a die-hard fan is something I can relate to, and that is why I find this book interesting.