Rolling Rally was Fabulous

Today I was a very bad mommy and pulled the Boy out of school to go to the Red Sox Rolling Rally. He also brought his friend with him, whose parents allowed him to leave school as well. It was amazing how many kids we saw that (ahem) missed school today.

We took the subway by our house. The first train to come was so crowded we couldn't even squeeze on the steps. I've never seen the trains that packed. Then another train came, and there wasn't a lot of space on that one either, but I got a handicap seat (go me) and the boys rode standing up. More people kept trying to get on the train, but it was like a sardine can. I thought I was in Tokyo it was so crowded. Boy's friend counted 15 kids on our car alone that were from their high school. That place must have been a ghost town by noon!

We arrived in Copley Square and of course, no handicap exit in the T. So I had to climb up 2 flights stairs, but it was worth it to see my beloved Red Sox. When we got up to the street, we had an awesome spot right up against the fence. Unfortunately there were some annoyingly nasty college students right by us, but we basically told them to act more politely. There was a family with very young kids and those college apes were swearing and acting like total asses. A lot of people complained, but you know, college kids out on the loose in a situation like this just do not get polite behavior.

We had to wait an hour or so for the parade to start up, but then we got to watch the helicopters and the Blimp coming closer and closer. First sign that the duck boats were getting really close was the first confetti throwing car.



The crowd behind us keep getting thicker and thicker. At one point, we only had a single row of people behind us. But by the time the boats came, there must have been a crowd 40 to 50 rows thick all up and down Boylston St. It was packed, even more than in 2004, I think. Maybe it was because of the sunshine and great weather. Maybe because this victory was even sweeter than 2004 because it solidified the power and glory of Red Sox nation. I don't know. But it was one mass of humanity out there.


The first duckboats were filled with the owners, the management, etc. And then the players started appearing right in front of us. So close that we could almost see their pores, in some cases. It was amazing. Inspiring. So much freaking fun.


Paperbon passed by us on the flatbed truck with the DropKick Murphy's playing Irish Punk music as he danced and acted like a complete fool. He's adorable. I mean, he's so freaking cute you just want to pinch his cheeks and coo. That adorable.


Manny and Papi were on the same duck boat, but we couldn't see the both at the same time. Papi was smiling so much it looked like his face was lit up with teeth. Manny was wearing an dreadlock hat marked Africa. He looked like he was having the time of his life.


Shilling was beaming. Mike Lowell's duckboat stopped for a long time right in front of us, and everyone was screaming MVP MVP. There were a lot of signs saying "Re-sign Lowell" and it was apparent that nobody whatsover had any interest in A-Rod appearing in Boston, even for a weekend visit. We hate him. We don't want him. We want Mike.


Tek's duckboat also stopped right in front of us for a while. He was having a blast, taking pictures. Julio Lugo was taking video and the guy by us, known as The Skunk, had this amazing mohawk in black and light gray (hence the name) attracted him, so we're all going to be in his home video. Cool! A lot of the players took photos of us because of The Skunk, who was quite the attraction on the route. Even Johnny Pesky was laughing and motioning to him about his hair. He was pretty cool, The Skunk. We needed batteries and couldn't get across the street to get some, and he gave us a 4-pack he had just bought. Wouldn't take any money, either.


We had the best time. It was so exciting. I know you're all pretty darn sick of my Red Sox obsession, which I warn people about on February 15, the first day of Spring Training (only 108 days!). I love this team. I'm baseball obsessed. I admit it. I'm not even embarrassed that I find the players totally hot and want to have their babies....not that this is even a remote possibility or anything.

Once the parade went by, we waited a long time for the crowd behind us to dissipate so I could get out without being crushed to death. I'm not particularly steady in a crowd, so I need to stay behind until the path clears. Then we looked around for someplace to eat, ending up in an Irish pub with expensive but mediocre food. The boys were starving, and I was too tired to walk much further. So we ate there by default.

By the time we got back on the T, the crowds had thinned out and we actually had a comfortable ride home. I was so glad to see my sofa, but the Boy had already staked it out and fell almost instantly asleep for 3 hours. To say that this was an exhausting day would be understating it. But it was a day that I'll always remember, just like the last parade in 2004. I don't care how sick I am, I will do this again and again if my Sox win the World Series again. Because I love them!

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