B is for Brian

Baseball has always been popular in my family, especially on my mother's side. Growing up in the Bronx my mom was a huge fan of the Yankees - which is why the story of my baseball loyalty is so bizarre.

Seems that when I was a young child my mom thought it would be cute to buy me a blue baseball cap with a red "B" on it. "B is for Brian" is what I was told growing up. Well, it didn't take me long to realize that I was wearing a hat that pitted me against the rest of my family and friends. I'm not sure if it had anything to do with youthful rebellion, but from that day forward I've been a fan of the Boston Red Sox.

As a kid I was a baseball fanatic, a die-hard little leaguer and an avid baseball card collector. Somewhere around the end of high school and the start of college my interest in the game waned. When the Sox won their first world series in ages a few years ago, I was happy, but I didn't get sucked back in.

Fast forward to last year. Somewhere along the line I was bitten by the bug once again. I think it might have been spending a few days in Rockport, MA among countless other Boston fans, opposed to the plethora of upstate New York Yankee fans. The fact that the team was doing fairly well didn't hurt either. In any case, I followed much of the 2006 season and was disappointed when the Bronx Bombers swept my team, effectively ending their season.

I wasn't sure if I'd be as interested in the game this year but I've been following the 2007 season even closer than last year. I've even gone as far as ordering the MLB package from Time Warner Cable so I can actually watch some games that are against teams other than the Yankees. Speaking of which, another sweep this week?