Red Sox rally mirrors a classic Hogan comeback

By By Will Bardwell / staff writer
October 21, 2004
Back in April, right after the Boston Red Sox completed a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium, I compared their rivalry to a classic professional wrestling match.
You know how it goes. The good guy (in this case, Boston) charges as soon as the bell rings, pounds the bad guy, and the crowd goes wild.
But after a while, the bad guy (in this case, New York) regains his wits, pulls an underhanded stunt, and escapes with a narrow (albeit tainted) victory.
I fully expected the American League Championship Series to proceed according to my pro wrestling model. Even when the Yankees won the first three games and appeared to be on their way to a stunning victory, I stuck with my theory. After all, sometimes the bad guy doesn't stumble out of the gate and settles for demolishing the good guy a la Sid Justice or Andre the Giant.
But I completely forgot about my favorite moment of all in a wrestling match. It doesn't come around too often, but when it does, there's nothing that any bad guy in the world can do about it the improbable, illogical comeback.
That's the only way to describe Boston's rally from three games down to a World Series berth.
Hulk Hogan was the best ever at comebacks. It didn't matter how many times you hit him over the head with a chair or how long you kept him in a sleeper hold. Once he got his second wind, you were dead.
Just when you figured you had the Hulkster beat, his eyes would open wide, his arms would start shaking, and he'd point his finger right at you. At that point, bad guys could pack it up. Their time was up.
So it was with the Red Sox in this series. After New York laid a historic 19-8 beating on Boston in Game 3, the Sox suddenly improbably and illogically woke up. It was the steel folding chair to the head that woke the sleeping giant.
Boston opened its eyes wide in Game 4 and showed signs of life with its 6-4 extra-innings win.
In Game 5, with their 5-4 win in the 14th inning, the Red Sox rose to their feet, clinched their fists and began twitching uncontrollably.
And then, in Game 6 on Tuesday, Boston pointed its collective finger straight into the face of George Steinbrenner, Derek Jeter and every member of the Yankees' evil empire.
Was the outcome of Game 7 ever in question? No way. Not after Curt Schilling pitched the game of his life on a bleeding ankle on Tuesday. Not after David Ortiz's heroics in Game 4 and again in Game 5.
And certainly not after Johnny Damon's grand slam that gave the Red Sox a commanding lead early in Game 7. Damon might as well have strapped on some yellow tights, given Steinbrenner a boot to the face and given him the Atomic Leg Drop.
Whenever the Hulkster "hulked up," the end was never in question. Likewise, when the Red Sox hulked up, the Yankees were helpless.
Hulkamania was one of those things that transcended its own time. The 2004 Boston Red Sox are four more wins from becoming another.