Be careful what you wish for. Bostonians spent almost nine decades longing to "Reverse the Curse." Now, as the Fenway faithful get over their World Series hangovers, they may have awoken a sleeping giant.
Looking back on the 20th century and, more importantly, recent history, few regions have had better luck than the greater Massachusetts area.
In sports, the Boston Celtics had the glory days of the '60s, '70s and '80s, when Bill Russell, Larry Bird and Kevin McHale dominated the old Boston Garden. The Boston Bruins won five Stanley Cups and had one of the greatest players ever, Bobby Orr. And most importantly, the New England Patriots won two of the past three Super Bowls and are approaching dynasty status.
In addition, Boston is the home to Harvard and is one of the most visited cities in the world. Politically, it boasts the most famous and outspoken senator, Ted Kennedy, and a would-be president, John Kerry. In addition, Mayor Thomas Menino is a political gem, and New England is about to hit its prime tourist season.
But all that changed on the night of Oct. 27. As Keith Foulke tossed the 27th out into the glove of Doug Mientkiewicz, time froze.
Let's consider the events that followed. First, in the parade celebrating the Sox victory, star pitcher Pedro Martinez was hit in the head with a baseball thrown from the crowd.
Then, dissent within the ranks rose as emotional leader Curt Schilling endorsed Kerry's competitor, President George W. Bush, causing team owner John Henry and general manager Theo Epstein to endorse Kerry. The strife within the organization was well-documented.
The most disastrous blow came on Sunday, as the excited Patriots took their NFL record 21 straight victories into Heinz Field in Pittsburgh and dropped the ball. Look where they played. I'm no conspiracy theorist, but some things are just too coincidental.
Next, the Bruins ... well, the Bruins didn't do anything because hockey is locked out.
So, still celebrating the breaking of the curse, Bostonians now have to deal with the breaking of the streak.
And then the curse reappeared, slapping Massachusetts in the face. The thought of having a homegrown star in the White House was magical. And then it didn't happen. Just as Heinz Field was the place that ended the Patriots' streak, it was Mr. Heinz who couldn't end a more improbable streak.
So, instead of 1918, Boston is now a chorus of "four more years." And let's look into the future. This may not improve for some, say, 86 years. Now that Kerry has lost the election and the baseball off-season is getting underway, let's evaluate.
The Pats are tied for first with the hated New York Jets at 6-1. George Steinbrenner is surely strategizing in Tampa, Fla., planning on a monumental takeover of the World Series trophy that will likely include names like Beltran, Pavano and Percival - names Bostonians don't want to hear.
The Celtics are a joke, a sideshow of sorts that is preparing for another season in the dumps of the NBA. And the Bruins - like I said before, what Bruins? At least the Connecticut Sun made the WNBA finals.
On the political landscape, with Dubya in for four more years, early speculation is that, you guessed it, New York, the hated rival of Boston, will be dominating the 2008 election.
Since Boston's favorite veep candidate, John Edwards, dropped the ball big time in '04, and since Bush's cabinet is older than death, it's looking like New York Sen. Hillary Clinton will run for the Democrats and probably challenge New York's favorite son, former mayor Rudolph Giuliani.
So there you have it ... Bostonians begged, pleaded, prayed, cried, died and yearned for the curse to be broken ... until it happened. Now, the Red Sox Nation is faced with the crippling reality that fate works in a funny way. And so starts a run of misery for the city that is so used to it.
