Johnny Be Good

It may be too early to get excited about Yankees-Red Sox, or maybe its never too early to get excited even when they seemingly play almost every other week. But this week the game, the standings, the pitching matchups, were all secondary. The talk...how would Boston fan's treat Johnny Damon in his return to Beantown after crossing the boundaries?

I'm usually the type who says the media is blowing this out of proportion and who cares, but as a sports fan I always get a thrill out of the moment, a lot of which is created by fan reaction at a game. The lineup introductions at the All-Star game and game one of the World Series, or better yet a curtain call after game-changing homerun...and there goes that tingling sensation up my back. So I clearly have a stance on this issue, since I think it creates the moment which is what sports, especially live sports, is all about.

If I'm a Sox fan, Damon gets booed. No doubt about it. First of all, he was on the team for 4 years, otherwise known as two less than his Royals tenure, and it's not like he was Big Papi carrying the load. I know it's not how long, but which 4 years. The other thing, Damon could have stayed if he wanted to make a few dollars less which I think he could have afforded. To boot, it's the Yankees and that's the real kicker. BOO!!! (fill in other expletives from Landsdowne Street)...and deservedly so.

Paul O'Neill, Bernie, Mattingly, Rivera..I don't even think they would answer the phone in Boston called. They are YANKEES. Damon clearly was not a BOSTONIAN. That's one thing the Sox don't have that the Yankees do, players that bleed for the team. Maybe Wakefield and Varitek from this generation with Big Papi getting close, and that's it.

And yes Damon did get Boo'd. And yes Big Papi wound up delivering the killer blow. Could have predicted it from a mile away. And I bet everyone in that stadium on Monday night will remember "the moment".