Standing O

Nomar Garciaparra received quite an ovation before his first at-bat Monday night at Fenway, his first return to Boston since being traded in 2004, and here's the visual evidence

It was Nomar's night, but some people were too stubborn to realize it.

To think, that there were those in this town - fans, reporters, talk show hosts - who actually had convinced their lowly selves that Garciaparra was going to get a negative reaction, or at least, not a great ovation like the one above.

And to those people, I seriously ask, are you alright?

Just talking about it yesterday on my radio show brought back the memories of Nomar playing shortstop at Fenway. I'm a journalist now, but I wasn't then. And something that seems to be done more often than not, especially in Boston, is that the sports writers and radio hosts are afraid to cross that line which separates journalist and fan.

I see it all the time. Certainly, there are many times in which crossing that line cannot happen, for fair and balanced reporting purposes only. But there are definitely times in which that line almost has to be crossed in order to realize the importance of an event.

Nomar's first return to Fenway Monday night was one of those moments.

It's too often that we hear about the negative stories of Garciaparra's tremendous seven-and-a-half seasons (1997-2004) in Boston. We hear those stories from reporters and radio hosts alike all the time. From the red tape around his locker that reporters couldn't cross, to the contract negotiations that went bad with the team's new ownership group, all of it is overplayed.

Why? Because the media doesn't like it when a player doesn't treat them with the utmost respect, for example, the red tape. So they spread the word that Garciaparra's a bad guy. Radio hosts all over take that bit of information and run with it. A refusal to stand at the top step of the Yankee Stadium dugout later, and what do we have? A Boston superstar-turned-villain.

It really was ridiculous how much it got out of hand then. And it was even more ridiculous for some of those writers and radio hosts to continue to hold onto whatever anger they had with the guy and use it to try and justify his return to Boston as being not-so-special.

Give me a break.

Go back and look at the numbers. Put yourself back in time, to 1997, when a highly touted rookie was living up to the hype, and then some, while he was amidst his 30-game hit streak during a Rookie of the Year season. Remember the consecutive batting titles and the popularity this guy had throughout the city.

Forget that he wasn't on the team in the 2004 postseason, and that he didn't technically win a championship. But if he did stick around, and the Red Sox still broke the 86-year curse in 2004, Garciaparra would have the keys to the city.

It should be no different just because he was traded. The difference in the 2004 Red Sox was Curt Schilling and Keith Foulke. Nobody truly knows what would have happened if Garciaparra wasn't traded. So give that argument a rest.

Nomar got what he truly deserved Monday night, a standing ovation that lasted over a minute. Anyone who witnessed it and disagrees with that sentiment is completely lost, and I feel bad that there are actually members of this town's media that can't get past a few of the negative times during his career in Boston.

Am I a part of that media now? Absolutely, but unlike some, I was willing to cross that line Monday night, and give Nomar his due.

After all, he deserved it.