Sports > October 22, 2003

By Alex Myers

Assistant Sports Editor

This past weekend I had the privilege of seeing the University of Maryland’s version of “midnight madness.” Held at the state-of-the-art Comcast Center, the school sure knew how to put on a show that created excitement for the upcoming college basketball season.  Well, besides the pathetic alumni game, which was basically a battle of those who were out of shape versus those who were way, way out of shape. An injured Juan Dixon had a better chance of putting the ball through the hoop from his second row seat than did most of those playing. The spectacular introductory laser show and a crowd of about 17,000 screaming fans, though, definitely did the job of proclaiming the commencement of exciting college basketball. As incredible a scene of bedlam as it was that Friday night at Maryland and across other schools across the nation, minus Wake Forest with its ill-timed “Fall Break” or day, nothing could compare to the madness that captured the sporting world’s attention just after midnight, the previous evening.

That sense of hysteria occurred when New York Yankees third basemen Aaron Boone jacked the first knuckleball he saw from Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield in the bottom of the 11th inning to break a 5-5 tie and propel the Yanks to their amazing 39th American League pennant. Yes, winning is nothing new to the Yanks and yes, they always seem to find a way to come out on top. But still, coming back from a four-run deficit twice against the greatest pitcher of this era and winning on a homerun by a guy who had managed only two infield hits in 15 previous series at-bats took their magical aura and the “Curse of the Bambino” to a whole new level.

As a Yankees fan, I’ve grown accustomed to the scene of Jeter, Rivera, Williams and others celebrating on the field. However, it never gets old and the circumstances surrounding this feel-good moment brought a tear to my eye. Simply put, this knock wasn’t your ordinary walk-off homerun. In fact, it wasn’t even your ordinary walk-off playoff home-run. This shot was more than that. It was history. The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry has been well-documented over the years. But for a series that has provided so many memorable moments over time nothing can compare to Boone’s game-winner and nothing ever will unless Babe Ruth, the “Bambino” himself, comes back from the dead to beat Boston with a bomb into the seats.

Boone’s version of “midnight madness” ended a thrilling seven-game series between two of the fiercest rivals in all of sports