Just a quick post to pull in what I’ve seen tonight/this morning, and my reactions to it.

What a game! Lowe, whose role on this team had been in question, stepped up and pitched beautifully. The bullpen performed equally well. Moreover, it is more fun to watch a game in a bar packed tightly with people than to meander around a half-empty restaurant with a beer in your hand. Spilling beer on your own shoes is a small price to pay for casual camaraderie.

I watched the first seven innings from the Summer Shack in Cambridge. I watched the last two in their bar. The bar was much more fun. Watching old men hit on younger women provides constant amusement. Then my buddy/mentee got hit on by some random chick wearing a V-neck and too much makeup. Priceless. Ten horny sales engineers and me trying to figure out which chick is checking him out.

The Sox came through for me. In a classically masochistic scenario, I told me girlfriend that I could not visit her in NYC if it meant that I would miss the Sox clinching the Series. My original plan was to take the bus on Thursday afternoon, working on Performance Reviews from the bus. If the Sox did not sweep, I could not go. Heck, if they were up 3-2, I would miss Saturday night, the crux of the weekend! Even worse, if Thursday’s game were rained out, then I would not be able to travel at all.

The sound of horns outside my window is clear evidence that the Sox did indeed win the Series. I’m so conditioned from avoiding the jinx that I can’t even say World Series or Curse or 1918,. There’s a comma after 1918,. If you don’t know, then look it up.

With a whole crew of civil libertarians reading this, I’m sure people want to know how the celebration went. How did people behave, and similar questions. I did not go to Kenmore Square, outside Fenway. That area has its own events. I took the T from Alewife (Summer Shack) to Davis Sq (where I live). When I surfaced, there was a party in Davis. About 500-800 people had clogged the square (technically Elm St from Mike’s Restaurant to The Burren) and were gathered peacefully, but above capacity, in the street.

This crowd was loud. Chants of “Go Red Sox” and “Johnny Damon” and “Who’s your Papi” rang out. And people behaved. Gasp. People behaved. The police, at least until 12:40 when I went home, performed perfectly. They advertised their presence with slow rolls down Elm St on their motorcycles. They blocked traffic, allowing people to congregate safely. They let a happy, non-destructive mob gather loudly in the heart of Davis Sq without suppressing their enjoyment. As the police motorcycles passed, the crowd even cheered! Nobody seemed to be interested in mayhem. Open container laws had predictably been de facto suspended, but otherwise, everybody had a legal and enjoyable time.