In between, they counted down the top moments of the season. An acapella quartet sang "Take Me Out to the Ball Game", then returned later to sing "Tessie" with the original lyrics as it would have sounded when sung by the Royal Rooters back in 1903. They raffled off a couple of playoff tickets, then played "Sweet Caroline". Fans walked around with signs saying "Tessie will save us" and "Rem-Dawg is my co-pilot". The evening ended with a set by the Dropkick Murphys, who sang their version of "Tessie", a cover of "Dirty Water", and several other songs.

I went in around 2:00 in the afternoon, and even though the game wasn't until 8:19 that night, the place was already buzzing. People were handing out buttons ("We believe"), posters ("Bye bye birdies" with a picture of an upside-down cardinal), complimentary copies of the Herald, and a team photo from a Globe insert. People were walking around with small children and bundled up babies in strollers. They weren't going to the game, but one day they'd be able to tell the kids they had brought them to Fenway on the day of the start of the World Series. American League Champions t-shirts were flying off the shelves of the souvenir stands, but I was holding out for a better one that was hopefully yet to come. Near the Gate D entrance on Yawkey Way, the freshly-made American League Champions banner was hung, and people were stopping to pose for photos under it.

Police were setting up barricades at the end of Yawkey Way and along Van Ness street, which meant the players would be arriving soon. There were already several hundred fans, lined four or five deep along the sidewalks, and deeper at the end of Yawkey Way. I staked out a spot behind some short people and had a good view of the players' parking lot. As each player drove in, we gave them a hero's welcome: Derek Lowe, Jason Varitek, Bronson Arroyo, Ellis Burks, Mike Timlin, Big Papi, Orlando Cabrera, Kevin Millar, Johnny Damon, Mark Bellhorn. Even Ramiro Mendoza got a nice ovation. No Curt Schilling sighting, but I knew he was already inside, getting sutured up for his start in Game 2 the next day. Someone said that Tim Wakefield, who was starting Game 1 tonight, had arrived earlier. And of course TV crews from every station were there to capture it all.

After an hour at the players' lot, I decided to head down the street. I walked down Van Ness to the Ted Williams statue. Across the street, the Boston Arts Academy Fenway High School had letters taped in the windows to spell out "The curse is dead" and "Papi is my Dadi". At the bus stop on Ipswich Street, someone had taped up a sign that I had seen in an email the day before. It read, "Today the American Medical Association issued an advisory that the Universal Choking Sign has been revised." It showed the old symbol as a person with his hands on his throat, and the new symbol as the Yankees' "NY". Hand-written at the bottom of the sign was, "Please do not take. Leave for others to enjoy." Around the corner on Lansdowne Street were tents, folding chairs, and a line of shivering fans who had camped out overnight in hopes of scoring tickets to the game. It had rained earlier and was cold enough that I could see my breath. In front of the parking garage across the street from the Green Monster, The Sausage Guy was giving away free Italian sausage sandwiches between 3:00 and 4:00, so I hopped in that line. Eating an Italian sausage under the Green Monster in a spot where I could look across and see the World Series symbol on the scoreboard inside was sure to bring them good luck! Around 4:00 I headed home to make sure I was back in my lucky spot before the game started that night.