This so doesn't happen 5 years ago

After 2 World Series in 4 years, the first ending an 86 year drought, leave it to Red Sox fan to suddenly have a heart. The Red Sox asked Bill Buckner, he of the muffed grounder in the ’86 World Series against the Mets, to throw out the first pitch for the Sox home opener, whereupon he received a standing ovation from the faithful.

Well, well, well. Isn’t that special. They savaged Buckner to the point he and his family ran off to Montana or Idaho somewhere and now he’s welcomed back like a native son.

Even now, in video here, he looks somewhat hesitant, like he’s waiting for the other shoe to drop as he walks in from the outfield. We would’ve loved to have been a fly on the wall when Buckner took the call inviting him back. “… this is some sort of sick joke, pal.”

New England fans have always been obnoxious but there was an (almost) endearing quality to them in the recent past as all their professional sports teams were terrible. Not like Cubs fans, though, who almost revel in their teams futility because Sox fans believed failure was inevitable, pre-ordained… their existence spent under the gloom of a Calvinistic cloud (paraphrasing George Will).

But now that the Celtics are running away with the East, the Pats being among the top teams in football, the Red Sox collecting their rings and even BC QB, Matt Ryan, possibly being the first player at his position to be taken in the NFL draft, New England fans have become the nouveau riche’ of fandom: always loud and obnoxious but now with an extra helping of in-your-face crassness, arrogance and I-told-you-so.

Forgiveness made easy.