It’s a rivalry because they made us feel badly. A lot. Here are some off the top of my head:

1. Knobloch’s Phantom tag in the 99 ALCS.

As hard as it is for me to say this the Sox were not the better team. We had Pedro and Nomar at their zeniths but we didn’t have a complete team like we do now. It was a shame those two didn’t end up in a few world series when they were as good they were back in 99-00.

2. The Yankees sweep a five game series…..in Fenway…..in August
This ruined August!

3. Combo Aaron Boone Hr and Rivera Shutting us down for 3 Straight Innings:
Check out the game details here. There are some odd stats in that game. Clemens got rocked, Moose saved the day, Pedro picthed a great game until he wa sofrced back in the game in the 8th on fumes. Millar came through while Nomar didn’t…but the performace of Rivera in that game was outrageous. I can remember seeing Rivera just had to sit down right after the yankees won the game. He just couldn’t deal with the emotions/physical exertion. That game/series was the beginning of the Sox/Yanks rivalry becoming (almost) even. It was like the series the Celts stole from Pistons with Bird’s last second steal and pass to DJ. Detroit was better that year but they had to wait another year to move into the top spot in the East. Ditto Sox. they should have won that game, but the Yankee’s were the kings and had a few magic bullets left. And then Wayno and I spent the night walking around NYC being taunted by 10 Million people for wearing Sox gear.

4. Jeeter Fucked Your Momma!
the year was 1999. It was Sox/Yanks game in Fenway during the season. i was watching the game from Section 4 (staring at the outfield) with my two beers in hand….and Jeter came up to bat…Some jamokes in the stands start yelling at jeter..stuff like “Heyyyyyyy JEEEETEEERRRRR…JEEETER’S GOT NO PEEEEETERRRRRR”…on and on and on through the at bat: “JEEETER’S GOT NO PEEEEETERRRRRR”…..and then out of nowhere comes a young woman’s voice, crisp, clear, to the point: “JETER FUCKED YOUR MOMMA!” Right into the guy’s ear. Shut him up, Jeter got a hit….and ten seconds later I watched as a young family in our section (Dad carrying the two kids in his arms) left a Sox/Yanks game in the second inning.

5. Yankee’s Stranglehold on the Al East Crown:
Until last year, the Yankees had one 8 AL East titles in a row. Every year felt like the year we would hold off the Yankees but each year we would slip a little each month as the Yankees gained momentum…until we lost the AL East…until last year.