AARON BOONE: WHERE WERE YOU WHEN...

I have a pretty good memory about many things that have taken place in my life. I remember my first day in Kindergarten. I even remember further back when I lived in Miami, Fla. for a few months when I was about 4 years old. There are always events that go down in life and you will remember where you were, what you were wearing, and maybe who you spoke with. It's the famous question, "Where were you when...?"  So I ask, where were you when Aaron Boone hit that home run back in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS? Well, let me share my story with you.

I remember going to work that morning, and all I could think about was the game and what I was hoping would happen. I obviously wanted the Yankees to win.  It was much of the day I was talking with friends and colleagues at work about what should go down, how exhausting this series has been for not just the players but the fans as well. I was hearing it all day from the Red Sox faithful. "It's over!" they said,  "Your team doesn't stand a chance with Pedro Martinez going tonight!"  It went as far as someone saying "Steinbrenner already put Boston's champagne on ice because we celebrate in the Bronx tonight."  The banter came from all ends, my neighbors, my father (who is a Red Sox fan by the way.)  Honestly, I stayed quiet. Not because I was confident, but I was freaking nervous. I was just one month into my married life and my wife thought I was going overboard.  Her "It's just a game, you're only a fan. Calm down" speech was just falling on deaf ears. I was looking forward to this game, but with butterflies in my stomach of course. She was never raised much around sports, so I understood that she clearly didn't understand.  I still think that to this day too by the way.... but hey,  I still love her.

Game time was here finally and I was in front of my TV.  The pizza was delivered, and I was in my Bernie Williams T-shirt. My wife sat down next to me, she remained quiet. A cloud of silence loomed over my house, not just from my wife, but for a little bit of the game Buck and McCarver were quiet as well. I remember that well.  When the Red Sox drew first blood in the top of the 2nd making it 2-0 Boston, I was numb. It was 3-0 after the Boston's half of that inning.  My wife said she saw my eyes sink. I had my fingers and my toes crossed, and I was doing Hail Mary's hoping the Yankees would answer back those runs. But they didn' t.  Then in the top of the 4th inning, Kevin Millar hit one out and suddenly, it was 4-0 Boston.

By now, I was pacing. No more sitting on the couch! All this and I had to be at work at 4 am the next morning. Then in the bottom of the 5th, Jason Giambi got the first Yankee run. I said to myself, "COME ON A FEW MORE!"  He does it again in the bottom of the 7th and now my thought was that if we come back, Giambi will be the hero of the game for sure.  Then, darkness again as David Ortiz sends one deep in the top of the 8th and the score was 5-2 after 7.5 innings of play.

I told my wife I couldn't look no more. I felt like the season was really winding down for the Yankees, and it was already after 10, and I had just under 6 hours until I had to be at work.  So, I laid in bed.  I went to sleep with the idea that I would have Sox fans rip me good at work the next day. I accepted it.

At 4am,  my alarm went off and I hit the snooze button. First thought was, "How do I avoid these guys at work without having to hear someone say anything to me?" I was ready to go, but not before I turned on the TV and see ESPN. At this point it wasn't in hopes of a comeback. Instead I wanted to see what I was about to get into. What was the final score? To my surprise, the first thing they show on ESPN... was Trot Nixon in the visiting dugout flipping a Gatorade cooler.  I was like "What the hell?"  Then they showed that Grady Little was to be fired.  Then, half awake, I watched over and over as they showed  Aaron Boone's shot in the 11th.  I sat back down and honestly shook.  Maybe it was me being excited or the fact that I had to be quiet since my wife was still asleep. I couldn't believe it... we won!

On my way to work, I heard it all over the radio, and I pulled over to the breakdown lane and let a big yell of excitement!  I can tell you this, work went smoothly that day, and my wife took me by surprise when she said this... "Next time just stay up! You missed an unbelievable moment, and you would have loved it!"

She was right. Since then, I stay up for all 9 innings for every game... I'll never miss an inning again, thanks to Aaron Boone!

Go Yanks!!!

-- Rudy Laurens, BYB Writer
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