What a Difference a Month Makes

Red Sox, for a moment, I believe I spotted your doppelganger (the winning portion). Thank gosh Red Sox fans are too quick to praise and too quick to judge. Thank gosh for the month of May 2011 the Sox gave them reasons to. We’re only 100 some-odd games away from post season, but oh, how I love May- you’re either clicking or you’re… the ’09 Pirates. 

Some stories of May that will make you think.

            From suckage to awesomeness. WINNING is the Sox new mentality. Who ever’s slipping them the win juice don’t stop. (And no, I am not accusing of the ‘riods, but damn)

            The Red Sox win in all sorts of fashions. The hard, the close, the not at all- the rare but always welcome easy. Who knew come the May/June transition it would be the annihilation win that fans would witness with 14 run games.

            The Red Sox have scored 14 runs in back-to-back games for the eighth time since 1920, the first time since 1998. What’s even better for sports writers and not better for fan’s ulcers is this comes in a season where the Sox started out with less happy statistics. The longest losing streak to start a season, or it felt like it with an embarrassing 0-6 start that evolved to a 2-10 beginning.

            But an offensive explosion has happened and at least for three games it is having an atomic bomb effect for the batting order. The Sox recorded a seven game win streak then had a slip up to the Cubs and NOW- well now I’m in heaven and all of Boston can breathe again.

            That was a little snippet to my larger commentary to the Red Sox turnaround. Then Lester happened. Again.            

            “Jon Lester is the best left-handed pitcher in baseball.”

That’s at least what some commentators from MLB Network think… or thought. ESPN Power rankings had revealed Boston at a solid third place, the only people that disagreed thought the Sox should be at second. 

        Carl Crawford was dubbed the best hitter in the league. He batted .423 with three homers, eight RBI’s in seven games and was named AL player of the week last week. It’s hard to think, when a few games ago hearing, “Crawford is 0 for four on the night” was a regular saying.

            What a difference a month makes. Or, for the Sox, what a difference one game makes.

            When their last winning streak ended to the Cubs in game two of the series, it was okay because then Boston fans saw it as a fluke and a thankful pinch of reality as fans knew greatness was close.

            Then it happened and a dormant Boston offense awoke with a fierce fury of bats. Those in Bean town secretly chuckled remembering distant memories of panic in an early losing season. Remember when we were worried? pssh.

            It was a wonderful sight to behold as Ortiz, Gonzalez, Youk, Pedrioa, the ever consistent Ellsbury and of course Crawford became a confident front. A look at the past and the turnaround was a true manifestation of the sport’s great power to take control of those who should have been in control all along. But at least for May, the batting order that once evoked goose bumps in early expectation, were doing exactly what they were expected- with even more results then imagined.

            Which brings us back to Monday May 30, 2011, the cusp to another month. Another reminder that the winds of summer are coming and this is a long season.

            This brings us back to the glorious accolades Lester received before a darkly witnessed Sox loss handed by a team with a seven game win streak. Almost as large as Boston’s once-upon-a-time win streak. Now that goes back to 0.

            The series was not lost after game one but more people looked at the mechanics that were so greatly admired in the left-handed pitcher that did Lester no good on Sunday, especially in the sixth inning. Try telling of his infallible greatness to Red Sox nation who worried every time he took to the mound, try telling the four batters he hit on Sunday alone.

            This game, especially when the ball rests in dominated hands is an imperfect game. Especially when it takes one inning to turn back the clocks of perfection.

            The Chi Sox series was lost in a dominant sweep, and a brief stint at first is now just a memory. No, it’s not the end of the world, but Boston has lost its fourth straight for the first time since a six-game, season-opening slide. Well damn it.

            A new month, a new power ranking, a new series. Nothing is certain in sport and I for one just realized June is barely waving it’s welcome into the summer portion of the season. And just like the sound of an enemy home run smacking the Green Monster’s wall, a loss now is a rude push back to the reality of the game.

             

            Ebbs and flows of a season are the tugs and pulls on the passion of baseball fans. You can be on the top of the world, then come crashing down. Rockies fans know this toll well. In April the Rockies pulled away with a dazzling record and spots on ESPN’s top plays. But May would be a struggle of pitching, injuries and double headers. And still, star Ubaldo Jimenez was battling his own demons and a win drought dating back to September 2010.

            Rediscovering success and proving your own mind wrong can be the biggest battles an athlete can face. On June 1^st, the first day into a new month, Jimenez sent 14 in a row back to the dugout and struck out seven and walked no one for the first time this season- this being his 10^th start. He kept batters off balance and recorded his third career shutout, the last one in May 2010.

            Jimenez’s smile that June night was that of a man who could breathe for the first time in a long time, of an athlete that was reminded that no matter the deficit- persistence and focus will reward you eventually. He proved to himself at the age of 27 he, thankfully, could still pitch.

Roll Tide Never Sounded So Good

I was 19 when I first felt 92,000 people praying for one common cause. I watched with clenched hands, fingers locked and propped over my mouth so my hands could easily cover my eyes if the situation called for it.

            It was the third Saturday in October and I was in Bryant-Denny Stadium with the rest of the Tuscaloosa faithful. We were seconds away from a championship season ending against the Tennessee Vols. Tennessee set up their field goal with four seconds left on the clock. I realized, along with everyone else with an Alabama shirt, I was not ready to see this season end. We were meant for bigger things and this field goal wouldn’t stop us. The snap came and everything went into motion. Before I knew it the stadium erupted along with my nerves and I knew right then I had either witnessed the power of people believing or a miracle.

            Right there I knew we would at least see the chance to play for a national championship. I hugged strangers, we high-fived, we yelled Rammer Jammer at the top of our lungs and we reveled in how close we were from losing everything. We were happy and we were untouchable in the face of an almost untimely end.

             If you fast forward to now, the days following the historical April 27^th storm, so much seems irrelevant from the past. After a tragedy the people of Tuscaloosa still remain the same as the ones I saw in the stadium that fall afternoon. Faithful and refusing to surrender to the idea of a loss, no matter how close we were to one, Tide fans stay strong.

            Tuscaloosa has always been a sports town where football is king. Sports never left us even as we faced our most disastrous defeat yet.

            In the eve of the 2011 NFL draft, messages of hope came from those that were preparing to leave Tuscaloosa and travel on to bigger games.

            “I wish more than anything I could be in Tuscaloosa right now,” McElroy said.

            “I can’t believe the pictures and videos I'm seeing of Tuscaloosa,” said Mark Ingram. “My prayer and heart goes out to everybody in Ttown.”

            Thursday, as our city was still barely breathing, four of our Crimson Tide family members went on to their professional futures. Even though our attention was on obvious tasks ahead, the show in New York had to go on. In Alabama, those that could turned to the few TV’s that still worked and watched. Tide fans remained true to the tradition of football and Tuscaloosa’s proud process to produce professional athletes.

            I watched too. For a while I was lost and reassured in the familiar voice of Roger Goodell and the hopes of our players going to the right teams. I was huddled with 15 other people in the Northport Applebee’s. We all watched the same TV as strangers alike made eye contact and gave small sympathetic smiles. We all knew we had just gone through something unforgettable.  

             The University of Alabama would go on to make a school record of four players (Marcell Dareus, Julio Jones, James Carpenter, Mark Ingram) selected in the first round of the 2011 NFL draft.

            “In the green room with all the guys, all the magic happens here! So happy to experience this with my family and all the guys! It's time...” Ingram tweeted on day one of the draft.

            “I can't believe it. I'm a Jet!” McElroy declared from Twitter. “This is such an incredible honor and I couldn't be happier with the outcome. Awesome organization!”

            “Happy to be a saint!!! #WHODAT!!!!” Ingram proclaimed. 

            And just like that Marcell would be a Bill, Julio a Falcon, Mark a Saint, Carpenter a Seahawk and McElroy a Jet. Elation and success swirled from the news out of New York in the midst of Tuscaloosa’s somber reality.

            But we all knew who they really were. They were part of our Crimson Tide.

            Other parts of our Crimson Tide family showed up little by little. Javier Arenas came bearing donations from Kansas City. Le’Ron McClain lending a hand and bringing help from Baltimore to aid in the damage done by the monster storm. Finally, Ingram, Jones and McElroy came back home.

            “Spending some time with some tornado victim families!!” Ingram tweeted. “So glad I can brighten their days!!” 

            “Winning the Nat. Title in ‘09 was great and getting drafted by Atlanta was amazing, but giving back to the fans today was PRICELESS!!#RTR” Julio Jones described on his Twitter account. “It feels so great to give back to the people that have been so supportive of you.” 

             Just when the sun began to shine a little brighter The University of Alabama and those that love it were tested once again.

            Fifteen days after the tornado Alabama suffered another devastating blow. The UA family learned of offensive tackle Aaron Douglas’s death. A 21-year-old’s life was gone in the blink of an eye. It didn’t even take something as big as a tornado to bring him down. 

Alabama OT Aaron Douglas

            Alabama has taught me many things. The first thing is that people are resilient and are never ready to be defeated. Alabama also taught me that the lessons of the football field can ring true in life when you’re fighting for the most relevant of victories. Even when you’re trying to trump tragedy.           

             In life, just like football, there’s a lot to fight for. Perhaps this season the reasons to fight won’t get any worse. When tragedy brings you together you play for the ones you love, the proud memories of others and the love of an organization people live and breathe for. Reasons don’t get much better than that.

            Alabama fans that have not seen the damage ask almost immediately, “How is the stadium?” Those that know answer with a small smile. “Bryant-Denny is fine, thank God.” Because every Bama fan knows life can be hard and times can seem hopeless, but if there’s football there will always be light at the end of the tunnel.              

            Just like that day in October when I thought I watched the unthinkable happen, I said to myself. “There is something special about this place.” I knew that early, but I had no idea that it would be after a catastrophe that the real will to be champions wouldn’t be a fight on the field but a struggle in the streets.

            Outsiders don’t have to go to Bryant-Denny Stadium to find the passion people of Tuscaloosa have for sports here. Pre-tornado they could hear it in the stranger’s conversations  over the secondary or new quarterback prospects.

            Now, all the outsiders have to do is walk the war-like streets of Tuscaloosa. They can see the hand painted ‘roll tide’ signs, makeshift beacons of hope painted on the few pieces left of a proud sports town. Outsiders, I pray, can see what we have always seen. A proud sports town fighting to make sure hope never loses.