Going for the bronze

Wednesday's thrilling conclusion to the baseball regular season was pure heart break for members of the Red Sox Nation, of which my family and I belong.

But I am relatively new to the fan club, having only started cheering for Boston once Nome Garciaparra joined them at the end of the 1996 season. My wife and in-laws, however, have suffered their whole lives as Massachusetts natives. The 1986 ball-gets-past-Buckner World Series is merely a highlight for me. But every time it is replayed, it is lemon juice on a paper cut for my wife and in-laws.

The chronicle of pain associated with Red Sox fans is well documented, but the 2004 and 2007 World Series titles erased memories of misery. Those titles breathed happiness (and some would say conceit) into long-suffering fans.

Wednesday's loss (actually, the last month of futility) was a brutal reminder to Red Sox fans what life was like before Theo Epstein arrived as general manager after the 2002 season.

If we were to push Reese to join the Red Sox Nation, some would argue that is grounds for Protective Services to investigate child abuse. I mean, it does mean we are exposing her to a lifetime of heartbreak.

The alternative is for her to be a San Diego Padre fan. The biggest thrill for Padre fans is seeing former players find success with other teams (Ozzie Smith, Benito Santiago, Roberto Alomar, Fred McGriff, Joe Carter, etc.).

Padre fans know the season is basically over by June. Red Sox fans wait until September.

Padre fans are happy to finish above .500. Red Sox fans aren't happy unless they are in the World Series.

Padre fans are fine with five playoff berths in 43 years of existence. Red Sox fans are disappointed with six World Series crowns (seven if you count the 1903 Boston Americans title).

I had a professor in college who said the happiest person on the Olympic medal stand is the bronze medal winner. The gold medalist was always confident in victory, and possibly wished for an even better performance. The silver medalist is disappointed he/she did not get the gold, sometimes missing out on the top spot by fractions of a second. But the bronze winner is elated to have won anything at all!

In this analogy, Red Sox fans are perpetually the silver medalist - always looking at what they don't have, upset at the success of others. Padre fans, however, are bronze medalists - elated with any type of victory, no matter how small.

While Fenway Park is amazing, and seeing Red Sox fans everywhere is comforting, I would rather Reese appreciate any and all success then grumble about what she does have and pine away at what could have been.