Let it Be

ESPN.com: Page 2 : The Nation under siege: "During Thursday night's game, I was driving home from Worcester, Mass., with my father after yet another signing (this time, at Holy Cross). With the Sox trailing, 4-3, heading in the bottom of the eighth, we were talking about the signing during a commercial, forgetting to listen for the game coming back on. So one of us was in mid-sentence when we heard one of the announcers screaming...
'THERE IT GOES, WAY BACK, HEADED INTO THE MONSTER SEATS...
'AND IT'S GONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'
Big Papi. Again.
You can't turn your back on him, not even for a second.
In the ninth inning, Ortiz came up with runners on first and second and one out. Stupidly, the Blue Jays decided to pitch to him. Apparently they don't have scouts. One RBI single later, the Red Sox were celebrating again, the season was still alive and Yankees were coming to town.
As my father and I exchanged awkward high fives, we were pulling into the city on the Mass Pike. In the distance, you could see the lights from Fenway shining brightly, one of those goofy, movie-like moments you don't forget. Big Papi hadn't just saved the season, he reinvigorated it.
Now it's coming down to one weekend -- the Yankees invading Fenway Park -- the latest chapter in a rivalry that grows more unbelievable by the year. If the Yankees ultimately prevail, their fans have a winter of 'you guys got lucky, normalcy has returned' barbs ready to go. If the Red Sox ultimately prevail, we have a winter of 'how are you guys enjoying the new status quo?' comments ready to go. Either way, I guess I'm never dying in peace, because this feud with the Yankees is much deeper and more personal than I ever imagined. I want to beat them. I always want to beat them. I will neverstop wanting to beat them. And everyone else feels the same way.



Hey, maybe they have a better team ... but we have Big Papi, Wakefield and a weekend's worth of "MVP!" chants up our sleeves. After 11 months of celebrating the first Red Sox championship in 86 years, it's time to finally defend it.



See you at Fenway.

Bill Simmons at Page 2