You gotta love this Red Sox-Rays rivalry. Let’s face it, the Red Sox-Yankees feud has ebbed a bit recently. I think that has much to do with Boston finally breaking through and winning three World Series titles. The various complexes Red Sox fans suffered from when it came to the Yankees are gone. In fact, it’s almost as if the roles have flipped. Now it’s Yankee fans bringing up the 26 titles, which they never really felt the need to do in the past as they were almost always the favorites going in.
I imagine the bad feelings between the Red Sox and Yankees will return at some point. It could be as soon as next year if the Yankees somehow make something happen in October. But let’s face it, at the present time, there’s not really a whole lot to dislike about the Yankees. They’re an old and pretty much non-threatening team, and the main focus as far as they’re concerned is all about the Derek Jeter retirement journey around the majors. And almost everyone likes and respects Jeter.
But the Red Sox-Rays deal is real. This is nothing new, as it goes all the way back to an exhibition game more than a decade ago. But it’s really sizzling right now, and David Ortiz, to the delight of Red Sox fans and the aggravation of virtually everyone else, just keeps adding fuel to the fire. His pose following the three-run homer on Sunday was epic. Unlike the terse comments from David Price following the previous incident, Sunday’s victim was far more talkative post-game. Chris Archer had plenty to say about Ortiz and while he was quick to say this was strictly based on Big Papi’s on field actions, Archer was clearly pretty upset.
As for Ortiz, he was hilarious as usual. He made some reference to Archer having been in the majors “for two days”, fired off a few bleeps and got a big laugh from the assembled media.
I think every sport needs one of these nasty rivalries, and the players have to buy in. The Giants-Dodgers dislike is real, but I really think it’s more the fans than the players. Maybe not, but it’s tough to get past Clayton Kershaw calling it “fun” while being interviewed last night during the ESPN Sunday Night telecast. I realize Kershaw is simply not the type to instigate, so this wasn’t unexpected. Still, and this is from someone who doesn’t care about either team, I would have much preferred Kershaw letting a “blank them” slip out when being asked about the Giants.
Here’s the serious part of this. The fans are supposed to have fun with these rivalries. But in too many instances now, we’re seeing actual cases of serious physical harm being inflicted because someone happens to be rooting for the wrong team. I haven’t attended an NFL game since I had hair on my head, and the baldness is not a recent development. I have no desire to be surrounded by drunks, and I don’t want to have to make sure I’m wearing the right colors before attending a game.
Maybe that’s why I’m enjoying the Red Sox-Rays rivalry. It’s between the players. And that’s where it needs to stay. Once it escalates to real problems between people who think they’re a part of the team but aren’t, the fun is done and there’s a serious issue. Let’s hope this one stays the way it is right now.
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