Under the proper circumstances, the collision of matter and anti-matter can release the most energy per unit of mass of any reaction known to science, or about what can be expected when the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees meet up this evening in the Bronx for Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.
The seventh game of any series in any sport is special, but tonight's game is something more than we're used to, for about 1,918 reasons. Here are a few:
1. Yankees vs. Red Sox
Without question, this is the greatest rivalry in all of sports. If this were the Twins and the Angels, it would be worth watching, but when you get the Yanks and the Sawx together for Game 7, it's more than just a game.
The personalities of these two teams could not be more different. The Yankees are clean-shaven, calm, and professional -- a team of gentlemen. The Red Sox have cultivated the exact opposite image. Facial hair seems to be required, hairstyles are erratic, and rally caps are the norm. Meet the Anti-Yankees -- a team of idiots. (They achieved true Bizarro World status when they jettisoned Nomar Garciaparra, who always seemed more like a Yankee. He even married Title IX's Marilyn Monroe, Mia Hamm.)
2. The Curse of History
The ghost of Babe Ruth likely won't make an appearance between the lines tonight, but you can be certain that he'll be on the minds of each of the 56,000 screaming fans in the stands, not to mention the millions watching on television in the New England area.
Whether or not you want to blame Boston's tragic history on a curse, history cannot be ignored. The Red Sox have teased their fans several times, reaching the seventh game of five different postseason series in the past 60 years (including four tries in the World Series), only to disappoint on each occassion.
Their most recent failure came at the hands of the Yankees and Aaron Boone in last year's ALCS, and that's probably the only loss that any of the players in tonight's game remember.
3. Recent History
Over the past three seasons, the Yankees and Red Sox have played each other 70 times, including the playoffs. Entering tonight's Game 7, their head-to-head record stands at 35-35.
4. Baseball History
The path to Game 7 is sometimes as important as the game itself. If these two teams had alternated wins over the past week, the way they did last year, we could afford to focus solely on tonight's game. But that's not the way it happened. The Yanks jumped out to a seemingly insurmountable 3-0 lead, humiliating the Sox in the process by thumping them 19-8 in the third game. While MLB was no doubt making arrangements for the World Series to come to Yankee Stadium, the Red Sox stormed back, matching New York's three-game streak with one of their own. Never before has a team climbed all the way out of a 3-0 hole to win a postseason series. At least until tonight. Maybe.
5. The Immediate Future
And when I say future, I'm not just talking about the winning team. These two teams have spent the past year gearing up for this game, leaving the rest of baseball behind. Ben Affleck likes to complain about how much the Yankees spend, but to the rest of baseball, Boston and New York are just this century's version of the United States and the USSR: two superpowers caught up in a spectacular arms race which could eventually destroy the world. The winner gets a trip to the World Series, but there will be no consolation prizes for the loser.
A Boston loss will cut deep. New Englanders will plunge into their deepest depression yet, even as they tell all who will listen that the loss was expected. A New York loss? To Boston? After being up 3-0? We can't begin to know how this will affect George Steinbrenner. No one will be safe.
As a Yankee fan, these past few games have been difficult to watch, but I look forward to tonight's game with nothing but excitement. I'll wear my Yankee jersey to work today and hunker down on the couch tonight to watch history, one way or the other. No matter what happens as these two champions stagger into the final round, as matter and anti-matter collide, one thing is certain: we'll never forget it.
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