That's right. He's back.
No, not Rafael Palmeiro, although he is once again in an O's uniform. I'm back. Firmly back in the Orioles nest, and this time, I'm pretty sure it's for good. I just couldn't do it. I tried as hard as I could to embrace this whole Red Sox thing, but it just wasn't working. I guess you can take the kid out of Baltimore, but you can't take Baltimore out of the kid. Despite how awful the past six years have been and how badly I've felt betrayed as a fan, I just can't pry myself away from the O's.
So pardon me for my months of strongly considering a switch to the Red Sox. I'll gladly take my spot on the back of the bandwagon, cause I certainly don't deserve to be driving it any more. I just got wrapped up in the moment last November. I wanted to see the Yankees stumble so badly and the Sox broke my heart. I already felt comradery with the folks in Boston because of my Patriots ties. It just seemed like the right thing to do at the moment.
The only problem was that the media has quickly turned the Sox/Yankees rivalry into one of the most gagging topics ever. Before, it was fun. Now it's just been driven into the ground so many times that I'm left wishing both teams would spontaneously combust. Another surprising discovery was that the Patriot fans I have become so endeared to suddenly become very disgruntled and antagonistic once summer rolls around. Mention the "curse" once and you're likely to get your head knocked off. Hey, I've endured a "curse" of seven consecutive first round exits with the T-Wolves and never got the least bit testy with my fellow fans.
I really don't know what I was thinking at the time. I think it ultimately came down to a bad combination of the emotion of Game 7 coupled with the desperation of being an O's fan. I became blinded to the fact that as great as it was to see Pedro toss Don Zimmer, the guy is still a jerk. I suddenly forgot that the Red Sox were doing the same thing as the Yankees were in spending tons of money. They just happened to be less successful at it. In retrospect, it was like teaming up with Saddam Hussein to take down Osama Bin Laden. And once Johnny Damon shaved off the best facial hair in the Majors, there was absolutely nothing left for me in Boston.
I had realized this a while ago, but just hadn't taken the initiative to officially return home. But after taking a trip to Yankee Stadium to watch them play the Birds, I knew that it was time. It might not be like the good old days when Cal was at short-stop and Roberto Alomar was spitting on umpires, but at least Raffy's back. And Javy and Miguel are sure better to watch than the "baby birds". (Was that the worst marketing attempt to cover up an owners cheapness in history?) So until the my next moment of insanity, I'm back on the Orioles side. Hey, at least we'll probably do better than fourth this year!
