*FAN SUBMISSION by Gene Vitale of Plymouth, MA.*
Everyone is familiar with the what if game. We mostly apply it to situations that did not have a favorable outcome and hope for one delusional moment we can rewrite history and bask in a glory or victory that never was. I especially love torturing myself with ‘what if’s’ in Boston Sports. From my recollection, my ‘what if’ demons go back as far as 1975; the World Series to be exact.
What if Joe Morgan does not hit that bloop single?
What if Carl Yastrzemski hits that fly ball a couple of feet further?
What if the Bruins do not have too many men on the ice?
What if the Patriots started Steve Grogan in Super Bowl XX?
What if Len Bias stays home that night?
What if the ball does not go through Buckner’s legs?…The granddaddy of all ‘what if’s’ for myself and all Boston fans (maybe all sports fans in general). For years, I could not bring myself to watch the replay and when I could, every time it was as if I somehow thought I could will myself to some parallel universe, where everything is right in the world. For that one moment, in time my whole soul is channeling, “scoop the ball up” and the crazy part is, I actually expect him to do it only to have reality come crashing in every time and see the ball keep rolling and rolling…still get chills.
What if the Bruins played anyone but Edmonton in the two Stanley Cup Finals they lost?
What if Desmond Howard does not return that kickoff for a touchdown?
What if Grady Little pulls Martinez ?
What if Faulk gets the first down?
What if Asante Samuel catches that ball?
Courtesy: NY Daily News
And yes here it comes…the present day granddaddy of the present day Boston Fan…
What if the football does not stick to Tyree’s helmet like the construction workers hard hat on a steel beam in that classic krazy glue commercial? How can that happen!
What if Lex Luther doesn’t roll up on Superman’s ankle?
What if Welker catches that pass?
What if Gronk doesn’t break his arm?
What if Talib doesn’t get hurt?
I’m sure I have left some out; you could add in the old-adage, “What if Babe Ruth was not sold to the Yankees?,” but that is well before my time. I’m sure my trip down this path has conjured up your own ‘what if’ demons but right now this trip has left me mentally exhausted because the one constant in all the ‘what if’s’ is reality. It always comes crashing in like a wrecking ball smashing into a glass house and you realize that there is no what if! It is what it is.
Now I am typically not a negative person so let’s not stop here. What if we turned the what if on its head.
Think about this for a moment…
What if the Patriots do not draft Tom Brady?
What if Bledsoe does not get hurt?
What if Belichik goes old school and sends Brady back to the bench when Bledsoe is healthy?
What if the officials don’t know the tuck rule?
What if Vinatieri misses the field goal, part 1?
What if Vinatieri misses the field goal, part 2?
What if Vinatieri misses the field goal, part 3?
What if we don’t sign Rodney Harrison?
What if McNabb doesn’t get tired (or sick, depending on who you hear it from)?
What if the Red Sox don’t win four straight?
What if Schilling can’t pitch?
What if Papelbon breaks his ankle doing the barefoot jig on a wet field?
What if the Big 3 (part 2) never gel?
What if it’s not possible?
What if Thomas does not stand on his head?
What if the puck doesn’t bounce our way in one of the three game sevens?
What if Evans catches that ball?
WOW…The reality is that as Boston sports fans we have enjoyed an unprecedented run of sports glory for over a decade and no ‘what if’s’ can change that.
Thinking back on the last ten years or so, I can take solace in the fact that ‘what if’s’ don’t matter and history is just that, so I’ll relish the real good memories and try to put the old ‘what if’s’ to rest.
