Boston Red Sox championship heals psychic wounds of marathon attacks

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><script async="" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><!-- 3 --><br /><ins class="adsbygoogle" data-ad-client="ca-pub-4973891917352186" data-ad-slot="2995338919" style="display: inline-block; height: 250px; width: 300px;"></ins><script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="http://www.cnn.com/">http://www.cnn.com</a><br /><h1 style="border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 30px; line-height: 33px; margin: 15px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 600px;">Boston Red Sox championship heals psychic wounds of marathon attacks</h1><div class="cnn_stryathrtmp" style="border: 0px; color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Utkal, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 1px 0px 14px 10px; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="cnnByline" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">By <strong style="color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Michael Martinez</strong>, CNN</div><div class="cnn_strytmstmp" style="border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 1px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">updated 7:18 PM EDT, Thu October 31, 2013</div><div class="cnn_strytmstmp" style="border: 0px; font-family: arial; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px; margin: 0px; padding: 1px 0px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="Boston Red Sox players hold up the championship trophy after Game 6 of baseball's World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday, October 30, in Boston. The Red Sox defeated the Cardinals 6-1. " src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/131030235454-06-world-series-win-horizontal-gallery.jpg" /><br /><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">(CNN)</strong> -- Boston is a land of memory. After all, it's the capital of a commonwealth, not just a state, evoking the colonial era. And when it comes to baseball, well, how many times have we heard the yarn about how the antique Fenway Park endured 86 years of pain without a World Series championship?</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph2" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Now the Boston Red Sox have won their third title in nine years -- at Fenway, no less -- but this victory seems to hold deeper meaning than just winning a sporting crown.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph3" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">It's being compared to a divine balm to heal one of the darkest recent memories in America: the terror bombings at the Boston Marathon last April.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph4" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"It lifts the spirit back up after the marathon," one woman told CNN in Boston during a noisy street celebration so loud that it wasn't possible to get her name. "They obviously deserve it. I feel like I knew it was going to happen."</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph5" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/31/sport/world-series-5-things/index.html" style="border: 0px; color: #004276; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">5 things you need to know about the World Series</a></div><div class="cnn_strylftcntnt cnn_strylftcexpbx" id="expand16" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; clear: left; color: black; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Utkal, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 27px 0px 10px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="clickToPlay" id="clickToPlayvideoContainerexpand16" style="background-image: url(http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/video/416_player_Click_to_play_off.png); border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; height: 42px; left: 45px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 27px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 136px; zoom: 1;"></div><img alt="" border="0" class="box-image" height="120" src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/131031043214-ortiz-intvw-nichols-00004827-story-body.jpg" style="border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="214" /><cite class="expCaption" style="background-color: black; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; bottom: 0px; height: 20px; left: 10px; margin: 0px; opacity: 0.85; padding: 0px; position: absolute; width: 214px;"><span style="border: 0px; color: white; display: block; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; left: 4px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: 2px; vertical-align: baseline;">World Series MVP Ortiz on winning title</span></cite></div><div class="cnn_strylftcntnt cnn_strylftcexpbx" id="expand26" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; clear: left; color: black; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Utkal, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px 27px 0px 10px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;"><div class="clickToPlay" id="clickToPlayvideoContainerexpand26" style="background-image: url(http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.e/img/3.0/video/416_player_Click_to_play_off.png); border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; height: 42px; left: 45px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; top: 27px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 136px; zoom: 1;"></div><img alt="" border="0" class="box-image" height="120" src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/131031075926-vo-ma-red-sox-locker-room-celebration-00002025-story-body.jpg" style="border: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="214" /><cite class="expCaption" style="background-color: black; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; bottom: 0px; height: 20px; left: 10px; margin: 0px; opacity: 0.85; padding: 0px; position: absolute; width: 214px;"><span style="border: 0px; color: white; display: block; float: left; font-family: inherit; font-size: 11px; font-style: normal; left: 4px; margin: 0px 0px 20px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; position: relative; top: 2px; vertical-align: baseline;">The Red Sox celebrate their victory</span></cite></div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph6" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Many mused about the supernatural being at work.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph7" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"First the Boston Bombing and now the World Series...," said Michael David Reel on the Red Sox Facebook page, "it was given to you."</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph8" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">It was as if Boston rose again after a trial of the spirit.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph9" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"This was not just about winning a Championship. It was about a group of regular guys that believed in themselves and this city, and this country, and through their unbelievable efforts it helped relieve the pain of the Boston Marathon bombing in April," wrote Dave Hornoff on the same social media page. "They dedicated their season to the victims and the entire country embraced them, and they embraced Boston and the entire country. What we witnessed was a real life movie in the making and for me this was more than just sports. More championships will be won every year but the story of the 2013 Boston Red Sox will never be repeated."</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph10" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Fans like Hornoff also repeated all or part of slogan that has since become a mantra in the marathon tragedy's aftermath: "Boston Strong 617." The terror explosions disturbed the nation because they occurred in such a public place: the attacks killed three people, wounded more than 260 others, and put the city in a five-day lockdown until a manhunt finally captured the sole surviving terror suspect.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph11" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"This World Series was so much more than just a baseball game for the city of Boston," Derek Lemieux wrote on the team's Facebook page.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph12" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Then, signing off in a shorthand of the digital era, he wrote: "#BostonStrong."</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph13" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Immediately after the victory, some fans ran to Boylston Street, where the finish line of the Boston Marathon is still painted on the street.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph14" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">The April bombings occurred near this line -- which still says "Finish" -- and fans kneeled and kissed it.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph15" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">The city's victory parade for the team on Saturday will cross over the finish line, using the same route traveled to celebrate the team's championship in 2004, when they broke their streak for not winning a World Series, the team said. The team's last championship was in 2007.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph16" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/14/us/massachusetts-red-sox-bombing-survivor/index.html" style="border: 0px; color: #004276; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Jane Richard, 7, Boston bombing survivor, sings anthem at Red Sox game</a></div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph17" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Wednesday's win over the St. Louis Cardinals also marked the first time that the Red Sox won a championship while at home since 1918 -- the year that began the team's infamous 86-year World Series drought.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph18" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Mysticism was behind that punishment, fans cried. It was the Curse of the Bambino -- the hex imposed on the team because it sold legendary player Babe "Bambino" Ruth to the New York Yankees in 1920.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph19" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Indeed, 97-year-old Helen McGonagle of Boston was 2 years old when the team won that 1918 championship at home.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph20" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"I never thought I'd live to see this," she said of the 2013 championship.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph21" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">No story on the Red Sox would be complete without interviewing a Bostonian with such a long memory like McGonagle's. She now lives in a nursing home, still peppy enough to talk with reporters.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph22" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"I would go down and see the Red Sox a lot," McGonagle said of her childhood years at Fenway.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph23" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Back then, a hot dog cost 15 cents, she said.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph24" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/25/opinion/garnick-sports-fanboy/index.html?iref=allsearch" style="border: 0px; color: #004276; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Opinion: I'm a Red Sox fanboy</a></div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph25" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">She explained the enthusiasm of fans.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph26" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"They're a great team," she said. "I don't think as good as they were in Ted Williams' time, but I think they're doing a great job and I'm rooting for them all the time."</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph27" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">Batting legend Williams played for the Red Sox from 1939 to 1960.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph28" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">This year's team was also noteworthy for how players cultivated beards out of a superstition since spring training: The team kept winning as more players grew one, despite early predictions that this wouldn't their season.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph29" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">The season indeed ended as theirs.</div><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph30" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">But one fan on Facebook now wonders:</div><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8896966065785019252" name="em1" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Utkal, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></a><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Utkal, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8896966065785019252" name="em2" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Utkal, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></a><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Utkal, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"></span><br /><div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph31" style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: black; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; padding: 0px 24px 19px 186px; vertical-align: baseline;">"Now can they shave?" Robin Gilliam said</div><br /><br /></div></div></div><script async="" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script><!-- 1 --><br /><ins class="adsbygoogle" data-ad-client="ca-pub-4973891917352186" data-ad-slot="6623240111" style="display: inline-block; height: 280px; width: 336px;"></ins><script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script></div></div>

Boston Red Sox Boston Red Sox championship heals psychic wounds of marathon attacks

http://www.cnn.com Boston Red Sox championship heals psychic wounds of marathon attacks By  Michael Martinez , CNN updated 7:18 PM EDT, Thu...

Read more »