Cursed no more

With each strike, with each out, the room crescendoed with "Let's go Red Sox" chants and cheering. By the time the third out in the ninth inning had been called, the room exploded with volume as the Boston Red Sox threw an 86-year old monkey off of its back. \nWhile the fanfare surrounding the game didn't rival past Bloomington bar classics such as the 2002 Final Four run, the Cubs' 2003 playoff run and the Hoosiers' football upset of the Oregon Ducks, the Boston win made up for the lack of people with pure volume. By the end, the Boston faithful made their presence known with noise rivaling any Major League park. While the fans would have preferred to be in Boston, Bloomington was a fine place to be for most of the fans.\n"If I could of been in Boston, I would have been, but this is alright by me," said senior Nathan Gilbert. "It feels so great to see them finally get the win. I was in Bulgaria last year and watched them from 3 a.m. to 8 a.m. only to see them lose. It wouldn't matter where I am, so long as I get to see them win." \nAfter 86 years of trying and six blown chances at closing out the World Series, the Boston Red Sox have finally done it and in the most improbable of settings -- eight straight wins and have become the only team in well over a century of Major League Baseball to overcome a 3-0 deficit in a seven game series with their ALCS win against the Yankees. \nThe supposed "Curse of the Bambino" has now been blasted into oblivion by impressive play throughout the lineup. The Babe's bat has been eclipsed by Damon's sweet swing and his mighty pitching arm has been replaced by Curt Schilling and his gimpy ankle. \nMost of the attendees of the bar were among the ranks of the Red Sox fans, but there were some St. Louis fans in attendance. While Cardinal fan senior Ryan Pfeiffer was unhappy to see his team lose, there was some respect for the Red Sox' accomplishment. \n"It's one of the teams that are hard not to root for," Pfeiffer said. "While it's tough to see my team lose, I wouldn't rather lose to anyone other than the Boston Red Sox."\nHowever, there were fans who were a little harsher toward the Red Sox and their newfound Bloomington fan base. IU alumni Matt Warner said many of the Boston fans were nothing more than bandwagon jumpers who were inspired by the Red Sox only when they began to win. \n"I think all these Boston fans were wearing Cubs' hats last year," Warner said. "Most of them are nothing more than people jumping on the bandwagon now that they've won the series."\nBandwagon jumpers aside, there were people in attendance who have proclaimed their allegiance to the Red Sox for most of their lives. Boston fan and Lexington, Mass., native Stephen Hodson said the win was one of the happiest moments of his life.\n"I'm beside myself, I'm very happy, (Boston fans) are on top of the Prudential Center" Hodson said. "I'm so happy for everyone in Boston, everyone in New England and I'm so happy for my grandfather who died 10 years ago, he was a beautiful man and he would have loved this." \n-- Contact staff writer Dan Patrick at djpatric@indiana.edu.