I know that everyone is aware that I am the great niece of Lib Dooley, and that her father was the first president of the original Red Sox fan club called the Royal Rooters. However, there is a little more to the history of my passion than that. My father learned how to hit from Ted Williams himself. He went from being the ninth hitter on his little league team to playing Single-A baseball with the then Kansas City Athletics. The town in which I live, Holliston Massachusetts, also has a long baseball history. It has been said that the poem "Casey at the Bat" originated from the old baseball leagues that were in existence in my town at that time. The Red Sox awarded my great grandfather a diamond ring when they won the world series in 1918, which I proudly wore throughout the entire playoffs in 2004. After the Yankees defeated us in game 3 of the 2004 ALCS, I wrote a poem called, "Why Not Us?" in which I encouraged all Red Sox fans to keep the faith and to never give up. On the morning of game 4, I proceeded to hand in this poem to my teacher, Mrs. Miracle. I also snuck out of class a few times to hang up anti-Yankees posters on the walls of my school. When they finally won it all, I cried. All I could think about was how my Great Aunt had been so dedicated and had never got to see what I was watching at that moment. It made me feel as if I didn’t deserve it; not then, not yet.

Overall, I am a Red Sox fan in every sense of the term. I live and die with every game, and I will never forget the passion that my Great Aunt Libby demonstrated towards baseball. Because when it comes down to it, the only thing that really matters is the love of the game.