On The Silly Side by Jimmy Del Ponte

(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries of The Somerville News belong solely to the authors of those commentaries and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville News, its staff or publishers.)

This past week’s Fenway Park 100th anniversary celebration brought back many memories. I recalled the first (and only) time my dad and I went to a game at Fenway Park together. I had won two tickets on a WBCN radio quiz and took dad. That was around 1978 when he was still a Red Sox fan. It was a great day and I will never forget it. Since then, my sons have been to many games at Fenway and even met Johnny Pesky at a sports show.

When I saw all those former Red Sox players walk out onto the field, it reminded me of 1967 when I became a Sox fan. The whole region was buzzing about The Impossible Dream team. The Sox had won the pennant and they were to play the St.Louis Cardinals in the World Series. I was never a baseball fan until then. My father took me to try out for little league, which I didn’t make. We just weren’t a big sports playing family, but we loved watching. When the Sox were in the World Series I jumped on the bandwagon. The excitement was crazy. I watched every game and remember actually crying when Yaz popped out to end game seven.

I wasn’t as excited about a sporting event again until 1986 when the Patriots made it to the Super Bowl against the Chicago Bears. I was working at Kiss 108 at the time and I wrote a parody to Elvis Presley’s Teddy Bear called Skin the Bears. We even made a video of it and it made it onto local video station V-66 and even to M-TV. After all these years a copy of that video just recently surfaced. It stars many Somerville people and I can’t wait to see it again. We will post it to you tube.

We are definitely lucky to have been alive to see so many great Boston sports victories. Three Super Bowl wins, a few Bruins Stanley Cup championships, and two World Series trophies. It’s a shame the way the 2011 Red Sox season ended. It’s a bigger shame the way 2012 has begun. I can’t wait to start wearing my Red Sox stuff again because I guess I am a fair weather fan.

I don’t know exactly when my father became a Yankees fan. I do remember the reason. He was disgusted at the Red Sox management for making what he thought were too many bad team decisions (does this sound familiar?). He basically threw in the towel as a Red Sox fan. He got himself a Yankees hat and started rooting for the Bronx Bummers. It was a little embarrassing for me but no one told my dad what to do and how to feel. I think he got more enjoyment from jawing with people about his Yankees hat than anything else. Today, if I see someone wearing a Yankees hat I have to hold myself back from making a remark. It just doesn’t seem right to see someone wearing a Yankees hat around here. If I decided to jump ship as a Red Sox fan (which I never would) I would not pick the Yankees as my team. It’s just wrong. If nothing else I learned how to carry a grudge and harbor lingering disgust. That’s the way it is with the Yankees. I’ d rather root for the Cubs, (the perennial underdog) than the Yankees.

As I am writing this, the Bruins are on their way to a game seven at the Garden. Thankfully Vancouver has already been eliminated. The Celtics are in the post season also. Hopefully, the Red Sox can get things straightened out and start playing good baseball again. I know people who won’t wear their Red Sox hats or jackets until they start winning. My Patriots’ shirts and jackets are still locked up in the closet where they were thrown after the sad loss to the Giants. I think I will wear my Red Sox jacket tomorrow just to show that I am not a fair weather fan.

Even though the Sox are off to a bad start and the Patriots lost another Super Bowl, we are still in the greatest sports town. And please be kind to the new Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine. All he did was accept a job. If you want to hold anyone responsible for the Red Sox’s sad start, blame the ownership. But whatever you do don’t run out and buy a Yankees hat, unless it’s to burn!