MVP…Most Valuable Papi!
When I left for my trip I told myself I would try to cut myself off somewhat from the world I left behind. As most of you know I’m a huge Red Sox fan and missing the whole season was definitely something that I did not want to do but it was a small sacrafice. By the 2nd week of my trip I found myself being a regular visitor to Boston.com to find out the latest scores and wrap-ups from the games.
Here we stand now at the 1st of August and the Red Sox are in first place 1 game ahead of the New York Yankees, with all credit going to the most electrifying athelete i’ve ever seen in my life, David “Big Papi” Ortiz. I’ve read about all the walk-offs and homeruns and kept thinking to myself, “he better win the MVP this year or someone will pay.” I think I even said to myself that no matter where I was on my trip if i found out he didn’t win the MVP I would punch the first person I saw in the face and scream, “Yankees Suck” at them…ok, that won’t happen.
Not since Jeff ripped off an amazing summer at both sides of the plate in the backyard at wiffle ball or since my cousin Chris Flanagan once threw 7 touchdowns in the first quarter of a Methuen High School Football game with a torn labrum a concussion and a pulled hammy have we ever seen an athelete perform above folk lore.
I pulled up at the internet cafe today and after i read my e-mail went straight to boston.com to see who won. I saw the final score of 9-8 and didn’t think much of it. As i refreshed the page and saw the headline i grabbed the guy next to me and said, “Papi did it again…holy crap…he did it again.” Ok, that didn’t happen either.
I spent the whole day walking around Hong Kong thinking about what he has done in his short time in a red sox uniform and it gave me chills. Here I am half way around the world and i’m getting chills from thinking about David Ortiz’s walkoff homer in the 9th inning.
We we will never see a person live up to the caliber of David Ortiz. He sets the bar so high for himself but he continues to fly right over it everytime. I hope you all enjoy what he is doing cause I know I am. If he does not win the MVP this year then I consider the award to be absolutley meaningless. It should be his 3rd if not 4th MVP trophy. If the idiots who voted realized that the world “Valuable” is part of the award then maybe justice will be served.
Tags: Travel
Gagnonius
Thank you so much for mentioning me in your blog. I don’t deserve so much praise, I am just doing my job, man.
If I do win the MVP, I will be happy, but right now all I want to do is help my team win games and get to the playoffs. Would it be possible to get an autograph from your cousin Chris? Continued good luck on your trip and keep track of the Sox as we continue on the road to the playoffs.
Thank you so much for mentioning me in your blog. I don’t deserve so much praise, I am just doing my job, man.
If I do win the MVP, I will be happy, but right now all I want to do is help my team win games and get to the playoffs. Would it be possible to get an autograph from your cousin Chris? Continued good luck on your trip and keep track of the Sox as we continue on the road to the playoffs.
Posted from United States
Brian-
First, let me apologize for the significant gap in time since my last posting. I have been busy working the Methuen Ranger Fantasy Football Camp where regular people, like you, get to rub elbows with legends, like me. Enough of that though.
I feel compelled to set the record straight concerning your memory of my schoolboy exploits. I certainly didn’t throw seven touchdown passes in one quarter. In fact, I probably didn’t even throw that many in my career. You may be confusing passing touchdowns with my many running touchdowns (Thank God for the quarterback sneak!) and my flawless operation of the complex option offense. With that said, you correctly remember the torn labrum and concussion — both of which plague me to this day — but the only hamstring problems that I have encountered were lugging my 215 pounds to the fridge in between innings of a Sox game. Anyway, glad someone remembers my athletic exploits such as they were.
While we are on the topic of Papi’s heroics, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the most noteworthy athletic accomplishment in the Flanagan-Gagnon family. If you guessed one of my many thrilling moments — I could go on and on here, but will leave you to your own memories however faulty they may be — you are wrong. I’m talking about the day when a young Brian Gagnon, the then-runt of the Gagnon litter, scored his first basket (or should I say baskets) in the Dracut Saturday morning basketball league. This is still the stuff of legend in Dracut despite the fact that the Gagnons snubbed their nose at the town and “moved on up” to Westford. Forgive me if the details are not completely accurate. Brian, who was perhaps 8 at the time, had never scored a basket — ever. It was understandable that he had never even scored one in his own driveway because Jeff and Dan were constantly swatting his offerings right back at him. On this fine morning though, Brian finally scored his first official hoop — nerf doesn’t count, Brian — and he didn’t stop scoring until hit for at least 20, outscoring the opposing team. For those who followed the story last winter, it was like the autistic boy on New York who couldn’t miss. (Sorry to compare you with an autistic boy, Brian). Anyway, it was incredible! My little cousin Brian, with the blonde bowl haircut, freckles and a hugh ear-to-ear grin, as he sunk shot after shot. It was an experience I will never forget. Unfortunately for Brian, it was the highlight of his athletic career which peaked that day.
Brian, while you may not be the “Big Papi” of the family from an athletic standpoint I’m sure many would agree that you are our MVP for having the courage to take this trip (and write what you write). I’m envious of your trip and proud of you for making it happen. I look forward to more stories of your adventures and seeing you at Christmas. Be well.
-Chris