Congratulating Boston Red Sox on Winning the 2004 World Series

CONGRATULATING BOSTON RED SOX ON WINNING THE 2004 WORLD SERIES -- (Extensions of Remarks - November 24, 2004)

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate the Boston Red Sox on their historic World Series Championship, and I want to thank my colleague from Massachusetts, Mr. Capuano, for his continued-and, I might add, longstanding-leadership on this issue.

I must admit this moment is somewhat bittersweet. As a lifelong fan of the New York Yankees, winners of 26 titles and 6 American League East division titles in a row, I had become accustomed to the annual October routine of dispatching the Red Sox-often in the most heartbreaking of fashions.

As such, I have always treasured moments like Bucky Dent hitting his game-winning home run off Mike Torrez in a sudden death playoff game against the Red Sox in 1978. Last year had been particularly satisfying, as the Yankees had triumphed over the Red Sox in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series with Aaron Boone's extra-inning homerun after having stormed back against a seemingly dominant Pedro Martinez.

And this year, the Yankees seemed poised yet again to break the collective heart of Red Sox Nation-having outmaneuvered Boston to trade for Alex Rodriguez in the off-season before staking a three-games-to-none lead in the American League Championship. No baseball team had ever come back from a three-game deficit in a best-of-seven series. And with a crippling injury to Curt Schilling's ankle in Game 1 and a 19-to-8 drubbing of the Red Sox at Fenway Park in Game 3, it seemed once again that the fabled Curse of the Bambino would be making its annual devastating appearance.

Yet then, the impossible happened-in what even this ardent Yankee fan must admit was thrilling, historic fashion, the Red Sox won the next 4 games and the series.

And so, with their defeat of not only the Yankees but also their commanding 4-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals, I join my New England colleagues in congratulating the Boston Red Sox for rewarding the fans of Red Sox Nation with their first World Series title in 86 years. I, for one, will miss the "Nineteen-Eighteen" chants for sure, but life will go on. Even if the Red Sox are the very best baseball team in the world right now, I know that a return to Yankee domination is but 4 short months away. So, we will give you this one.

Let me again thank my colleagues-I can only hope that they will join me here next year as we return to our annual practice congratulating the Yankees.