I was at the Red Sox game today and I am bursting to tell what an amazing experience it was so please indulge me.

It took quite a while to enter the park with the increased security presence which we were all grateful for. The pregame ceremony was inspiring. First, there was a video montage of the marathon, the hideous events at the end, the emotion on people's faces, the manhunt in Watertown, and then the jubilant police officers after the capture. Much applause. Then about a hundred B.A.A. Boston Marathon volunteers came out from left field to more applause. Then the announcer told a story of a volunteer firefighter who was having lunch in the restaurant near the bomb blast when the bomb went off. He rushed outside to help, put a tourniquet around a boy's left and carried him to get medical help, saving his life before going back to help others. This gentleman was then introduced to the crowd and came out of the Red Sox dugout to throw one of the first pitches. Another story was told of a man who shielded his friends, was injured, and just released from Beth Israel. He then came out to throw another first pitch. And then the Hoyts were introduced with the father and his son in a wheelchair having run the marathon for the 32nd straight year. They were introduced to represent all the runners. They each threw out a first pitch to Pedroia, Middlebrooks, and Big Papi, who of course got a big hand. Then out came Governor Patrick, the Boston Police Chief, the Watertown Police Chief, the State Police colonel who became familiar to all of this from his briefings to the press, the transit police chief, and the F.B.I. bureau chief! Accompanying these gentlemen were dozens of uniformed Boston police and state police. We all got a chance to give these law enforcement people a thunderous ovation of gratitude for their incredible skill, bravery, and dedication. Finally, Big Papi came out and made a speech thanking law enforcement and ended by saying right into the microphone so that everyone could hear, "THIS IS OUR F*CK'N CITY!"

This was all before an amazing game. Clay Bucholtz and James Shields matched zeros until the Royals broke through and took the lead 1-0. In the last of the sixth, none other than Big Papi tied the game with his second hit of the day. The Royals retook the lead 2-1 in the top of the 7th and in the last of the 7th, we had men on first and second with nobody out and Daniel Nava killed the rally by getting picked off second by the catcher.

It was still 2-1 after the top of the eighth with Bucholtz escaping a jam to preserve the lead. And then, none other than Neil Diamond himself came out to lead the crowd in the singing of "Sweet Caroline". It was amazing to see. And then in the bottom of the 8th, as if inspired by the song, the Sox rallied and Nava atoned for getting picked off by hitting a two-out three run homer to put the Sox ahead 4-2.

Andrew Bailey made it too interesting in the 9th by giving up a leadoff homer and putting 2 more men on but on a 3-2 out with two, one of the Royals' best hitters, Alex Gordon, grounded out to short and we all breathed a sigh of relief and celebrated one of the most dramatic and meaningful Red Sox victories that i have ever witnessed.

Thanks for listening,
Boston Strong!