Boston's booming

It's almost terrifying to think, but it's actually fun to be a fan in Boston right now. Everything about it feels different this year. The Patriots did the absolutely unthinkable and won the Super Bowl, and now it seems that there is a glimmer of hope for all of Beantown's beloved - even the Red Sox.

But I can hear everybody around the world yelling rebuttals already.

"Silly fool. You do this every year you idiot. The Red Sox will be right around first until the All Star break, and then they'll suck. Just you wait."

First of all, the Patriots won the Super Bowl. Can we just sit back and look at that for a second? The Patriots won the Super Bowl. What business did the Patriots have winning the Super Bowl?? What entirely sane person would ever have picked the Patriots to be champions when the season started? Absolutely no one.

I sometimes still find myself checking websites to make sure that it actually happened. It was a completely new feeling for a whole generation of fans. It was the first professional championship that I as a fan was able to truly enjoy. It was incredible, and nobody expected it.

Second of all, the Celtics are the third seed in the East. If you had asked me last year whether or not I thought the Celtics would be in the playoffs at all this year, I would have laughed at you and brushed you aside like the moron that you would have been. Last season, Celts games were nothing short of sad.

Stands were usually half full, if that, and all anybody seemed to care about was screaming at Rick Pitino and telling Antoine to pass the ball. As Pitino would have said while blaming the fans for his own coaching ineptitude, "It stunk and it sucked and it stunk."

As the contempt for Pitino grew and he became a truly hated figure on the Boston sports scene, I kept expecting him to go through some Gordon Bombay type resurrection. "Ducks fly together!" But it never happened. The Celtics continued to spin farther and farther downward into despair.

But then one day, by the graces of god, Pitino was gone. He came, he saw, he floundered, and then he blamed everybody else for it. And then he left to go play with horses.

(Seriously, I don't think that I have ever hated a coach as much I despised Pitino in his last few months of coaching the Celtics. Blaming the fans for his and the team's failures is something that I'll never forgive. What a punk.)

This season started off with Jim O'Brien at the helm, and the Celts found themselves in the midst of a winning season. In fact, not only a winning season, but also in the playoffs with home court advantage for the first time in the history of the Fleet Center. The city is once again proud of its basketball team, the most successful franchise in the history of the NBA.

At game two last Thursday, the atmosphere was more electric than at any event I have ever attended. The crowd was on its feet, and nobody could contain the excitement pervading through the stadium. Probably one of the most memorable moments I'll ever have was hearing the "MVP!" chants for Paul Pierce as he faded back and nailed a three to give Boston the lead. Absolutely classic.

And of course let's not forget the Red Sox. Our loveable losers are once again in first place after the first month of the season. And even though I've said this every year for as long as I can remember, this year is different. There is no more Dan Duquette, and no more Carl Everett. Everybody is healthy, but more importantly, everybody is happy. Pedro's arm looks like it's coming back, and the team is putting runs on the board like nobody's business. Gone are the Yawkeys and the archaic and invisible ownership, and in is John Henry who likes to sit in the stands with the fans. Yes, something is definitely different.

The Red Sox have already started to break curses. On Saturday, Derek Lowe threw the first no-hitter in Fenway since Dave Morehead no-hit Cleveland in 1965, by far the longest streak for any ballpark. Nolan Ryan threw six no hitters in six different stadiums in that time. Coming out of a not-so-fruitful career as a closer, Lowe has been stellar so far this season, and even flirted with another no-no on opening day.

(And while we're on the topic, Lowe threw the no hitter, which Jason Varitek called, the second no-no he has called in as many years having been behind the plate when Hideo Nomo threw his own no-hitter in April of last year. Both of these players came to Boston in a trade for Heathcliff Slocumb, possibly the second best trade in the history of baseball. Remember what Heathcliff Slocumb was like? Imagine trying to close a game with an impaired sloth. That's about what it was like. I still get chills.)

So now the Red Sox are on top of the AL East. Will it last? Who knows? But for once it feels okay to be optimistic. I don't feel like an idiot when I say maybe they have a chance. The Patriots did, and the Celtics may be doing the impossible, so why not the Red Sox? Maybe they won't make it and they'll falter like they usually do. But right now it's good to love Boston. Right now it's fun.