I may as well admit it: I was happy for them at the time. I hate the Yankees so much that I actually cheered right alongside Red Sox Nation when their team came back from 3-0. What can I say? It was a great story, and they hadn’t given me any reason at the time to begrudge them their happiness. I had two favorite teams then: the Orioles and whoever managed to knock off the Yankees.

Who knew their fans were such dicks?

After the World Series, their visits to Camden Yards quickly went from charming to infuriating. Conveniently forgetting 86 years of history, they started acting like the “Sauwx” were the only team that ever won anything, or ever would again. They became not only as bad as Yankees fans, but worse.

Then, God stepped in.

As Labor Day 2006 comes and goes, the Red Sox playoff hopes are all but extinguished. That means no gloating when they limp into town next week, no overhyped Yankees-Sox playoff showdown, and, best of all, not a shred of difference between them and the Orioles when the two teams close out the season at Fenway on October 1st.

Welcome back.