Byline: MIKE LOPRESTI
BOSTON -- Snapshot No. 1 from a weekend in Boston ...
With the New Jersey Nets' lead at 21 points, the fan walking at one end of the court turned and screamed at the Celtics ``Thanks for wrecking my Saturday!''
It was only the end of the third quarter of Game 3, but he was leaving, to miss the historic comeback that followed.
Snapshot No. 2 from a weekend in Boston ...
As the New York Yankees kept hitting home runs, the man sitting in the box seats at Fenway Park could take no more.
``We're blowing it. We're blowing it all,'' he muttered into his hands. ``Damn Yankees.''
Next day, the Boston papers suggested ominous tidings after consecutive losses to the Bronx heathens, which followed consecutive wins. I almost forgot there were 115 games left in the season.
They spook easy here.
Somehow, the sports fans of Boston remind you of someone waiting for the piano to fall on his head.
They see the Yankees in their soup, the Lakers in their oatmeal. They are passionate, but with confidence composed of frozen custard, especially when it comes to baseball. Melts in any heat.
We can understand. The Red Sox's past reads like an accident report.
Imagine following a baseball team the Yankees have used as a straight man for 80 years.
Which makes the current conditions so stunning. Here lies a city on a hot streak.
Pick a team, any team.
The New England Patriots?
Super Bowl champions. Trampled on the point spread. Trampled on the St. Louis Rams.
The Celtics?
Steaming toward the NBA Finals. Not even 26-point deficits can stop them.
The Red Sox?
Best record in baseball.
They seem to all be in it together. Among the cheering throng waving green towels during the Celtics' Game 3 rally were 16 Red Sox.
Among the Fenway Park customers rooting for the Red Sox was Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
``The best thing is we all support each other,'' pitcher Derek Lowe was saying. ``We all know how hard it is.''
Hard? The Red Sox last won a World Series when Woodrow Wilson was president.
The Patriots went a long time as an NFL sob story.
The Celtics faded into tragic oblivion for nearly a generation, having not one top draft pick die on them (Len Bias) but two (Reggie Lewis).
Now the good times roll.
Their faithful are another kettle of fish. Fenway Park sells out every game with 34,000 manic-depressives.
They fork over the highest prices in baseball. Infield grandstand seats go for $44. It is a lot to pay, to suffer so.
While the Celtics deal with the Nets, the Red Sox are holding first place without Manny Ramirez, playing the likes of New York, Seattle and Chicago.
``I know people have been saying we had just beaten Tampa Bay,'' Lowe said. ``But now we're not playing Tampa Bay, and we're still winning.''
But that was before Sunday night, when the Yankees sent baseballs into various parts of Back Bay Boston.
On Memorial Day, there was disquieting concern in the air about the Red Sox, and optimism for the Celtics. Tomorrow it could be the other way.
In a city suddenly gorging on victory, the mood can change with one error or one jump shot. Boston seems up, except when it's down.
Mike Lopresti is a columnist for Gannett News Service.
