Only In Boston
By Steve Marsi
As the new Iraqi government prepares to try Saddam Hussein for war crimes, I have reflected on a lighter moment involving the deposed dictator. On a chilly morning last winter, it was Saddam who provided me with a vivid illustration of the fervor and passion that grips Red Sox Nation.
December 14, 2003. The first snowstorm of the season had arrived and I was holed up with my girlfriend in her apartment, having breakfast and listening to the radio. Around 11 a.m., a classic rock block was interrupted by a news bulletin. Breaking news on the airwaves.
"The Red Sox have agreed to terms with Oakland A’s closer Keith Foulke on a three-year contract. Foulke saved 43 games for Oakland last season and had been one of GM Theo Epstein’s top targets on the free agent market. The winter storm that has smothered New England for the past 24 hours is finally showing signs of letting up later this afternoon. Between 12 and 18 inches of snow has already fallen in parts of Suffolk County. And U.S. forces have apprehended former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. More coming up on the news at the top of the hour."
[Cut to catchy, station identifying-jingle and commercial break]
Unsure if my ears caught that last part correctly, I paused and looked at Liz, then asked for clarification. No way, she said. Had the Iraqi President-turned-fugitive been captured, that would have been mentioned first, not tossed in at the end of the bulletin. We were enjoying our egg sandwiches and probably just misheard it. Her dismissal seemed logical enough, and I believed her. I should have known better.
A full news segment a bit later confirmed that we had heard the initial report loud and clear. That 20-second sound byte is this city in a nutshell. The Red Sox come first – even in December – followed closely by the weather and distantly by all else. Saddam may have been one of the world’s most notorious dictators, the sworn enemy of multiple U.S. Presidents and the target of two wars, but on that morning he was an afterthought.
It didn’t stop there. Not 24 hours later, a friend sent me a forwarded e-mail message containing the now- infamous photograph taken of the bearded, disheveled Hussein after his capture. Airbrushed onto his head was a New York Yankees baseball cap.
You have to love Boston!
