Weekend Werind: Bean(town)ie Babies

May 10, 2009

I’ll admit to two things tonight. Or rather, ‘tonight’.

First, I’ll allow that I’m going to be pretty lazy when it comes to this post, what with the whirlwind I’ve been spun through over the past few days. I’m sure I’ll have more to report about recent events soon, but for the moment, let’s just say that if I were equipped with ‘the vapors’, I’m pretty sure I’d be ‘feeling’ them right about now.

And second, I’ll admit to back-dating this post by a half-hour or so, because I just arrived home, it’s currently in the wee small twelve-o’clockish hour of Monday morning, and I haven’t written a Weekend Werind yet this week.

“Sometimes, being in Boston is hard. I bet people in places like Kansas City and Cincinnati and whereever the Raiders play these days don’t know how good they have it”

(Or last week, if you’re one of those ballbusting Type-A people who says that the week starts on Monday, and 12:30 am is as good a time as any to decide that Monday is ‘official’.

You people make me sick. You probably file your taxes in February and alphabetize your sock drawers, too. Sickos.)

Anyway, my reason for not-writing this post in the past several hours is simple — tonight (yes, yes, I mean last night, for you anal-retentive stickler whackjobs) is a good night to be in Boston.

Rather, tonight (and I’m just calling it ‘tonight’ from now on; damn the chronologically-precise assholes of the world) is quite an excellent night to be in Boston. At least if you’re a sports fan. Which I am.

See, without going into too much detail for you non-sports-watchers, the professional teams that go by the names ‘Red Sox’, ‘Celtics’ and ‘Bruins’ all played tonight. And they all hail from Boston, with their constituents competing in the sports of baseball, basketball and hockey, respectively.

And they all won.

Which, when I moved here in ’99, was not something to be expected of pro teams in the Boston area. Ever.

Just take a look back. Nearing the turn of the millennium, the Red Sox were lovable losers, the Bruins were terrible, the Celtics were nearly twenty years removed from any real hardwood success, and the New England Patriots were a .500 team who hadn’t yet heard the names Belichick, Brady, Welker, Moss, Vrabel, Wilfork, Samuel or Gostkowski. Outside of molasses-baked beans and a decidedly Irish slant, what did the city have, really? It’s kind of sad, when you think about it that way.

But now, a scant few years later, all that has changed. A resurgence in just about every major sport around has rendered Boston a city of pride again, of tradition, and of sporting fanaticism. And that’s what I was steeping in tonight. Which isn’t so terribly easy, when you’re looking for a place with decent food and three different satellite feeds that also serves beer — Guinness, if you please — in a state that still has a few Puritan-inspired ‘blue laws’ littering the books.

On the other hand, I’ve been here just about a decade now. If I hadn’t found at least one place to slug brews and watch sports on a Sunday by now, then how the hell was I misspending my time here? Luckily, I wasn’t. So I got to watch all three sporting events fall in Boston’s favor — and drank a beer or three in the process. Good times. Wicked good times.

Still, that doesn’t leave an awful lot of time for writing. So instead, before hitting the sack, I’ll duly relay a Weekend Werind that includes a couple of my favorite posts from the ‘Wicked Pissah Bahstan‘ category. If there’s ever a better night to celebrate being in Boston — and possible upcoming eliminations from hockey and basketball playoffs, plus a troubling inconsistency on the baseball club, say there might not be — then I don’t know what it is. So indulge me if you will, in just a smidgen of Bostonian pride, represented in these previous gems:

June 20, 2003: A Boston Compendium in Three Acts

August 9, 2003: Fenway — It’s No Walk in the Park, You Know

June 26, 2006: Wherein I Patronize the Arts

August 27, 2006: They’re Baaa-aaaack!

September 29, 2006: The Importance of Being Boston

November 20, 2006: The Fool of Faneiul Hall

July 2, 2007: Feeling Fenway

That’s all for now, as I’m soon planning to simultaneously bask in the glow of multiple Boston-area team victories, as well as the nighty-bye comfort of my soft cotton sheets. Excited, but spent and exhausted, I think what I need now is a good night’s rest.

All the more energy for tomorrow, to celebrate those wins. And a little left over — hopefully! — for Tuesday, when all those teams play all over again, with as much if not more on the line.

Man. Sometimes, being in Boston is hard. I bet people in places like Kansas City and Cincinnati and whereever the Raiders play these days don’t know how good they have it. Lucky bastards.