I don't get the Red Sox angst.

Nobody will ever accuse me of not taking sports seriously enough. In fact, the property damage my friends and I may or may not have caused after Boston College lost the 2007 NCAA hockey national championship game is the stuff of legend, and I vividly remember crying myself to sleep as a 15-year-old when the Red Sox were knocked out of the ALCS in 2003.

With that said, I really can't help but shake my head at my friends and neighbors demonstrating Red Sox angst today on the heels of the Sox' 4-game sweep at the hands of the Yankees. I really, truly, honestly can't see how anyone over the age of 15 can't have a healthy attitude about the Red Sox under all circumstances since 2004.

My favorite Red Sox blog, the Joy of Sox, has a post today that sums up my attitude. Prior to 2004, all we wanted was to see just one god damn World Series. I was just a teenager, and I assumed that I'd never see them win it all. When the Red Sox lose a tough one now, I might throw my pillow against the wall, but generally, I don't lose any sleep over it and am already moving on to the next one.

"[That mindset] is because of 2004. Prior to that, who knew when the Red Sox would win a World Series? Would it be another five years, 10, 40? When the team was a contender, every game was a crucial battle, because this loss right here could end up being the one game that kept us out of the playoffs. And so there was plenty of anxiety, frustration, rage, despair. It's exhausting to keep that up for six months. Waking up still fuming at the previous night's loss is not healthy. I know some fans still think that way, and if I asked them "Why?", they'd give the same answer I do when asked why I am less intense: I just am.

Now not only do I intuitively know that the previous night's loss is history, its result unchangeable, and tomorrow's game is far away, so all we can hope for -- and the only thing the team can do today -- is win today, but I can actually have it work in my brain.

..

It is the same attitude I was forced to take when things looked dark in 2004 and 2007 (and 2005 and 2008, for that matter). Take a deep breath and boil it down. No team can win three or four games (or make up 6.5 games in the standings) at once. It is a waste of time and energy to fret about winning on Tuesday when you play on Monday. So win Monday's game."

I don't like it when non-sports fans condescendingly rip on fans for getting upset when their team loses (it's only a game!), so maybe I'm way off base here. But really, Red Sox fans, how many of you would have sold your soul to see them win it just once? Let alone twice?

This weekend's series - and, particularly, last night's game - was like jumping into a time machine and landing in 2003. The parallels were hilarious (I was actually bursting out in laughter on my couch when the Yankees hit back-to-back homers to take the lead in the 8th; you can't make shit like that up).

But there's one big difference between now and 2003. Rather, two big differences - World Series championship flags hanging over Fenway.

So relax and enjoy the ride. Baseball is a funny game anyway, and a team that looks dead can be the hottest team in baseball by the time you come home from a long weekend.

The Red Sox play again tonight at 7 p.m. That's the great thing about baseball. I'm more of a hockey fan than a baseball fan, but that's one thing baseball has that other sports don't - a game every day. So like I said before - relax, folks, and enjoy the ride. We're lucky to be in this generation of Boston baseball fans. Never forget that.