After every cursed collapse, wretched setback and poor managerial decision, and after every time that I almost lost faith, my brother would remind me how much sweeter victory would taste having been through those trying times.

He was right. There is no greater feeling in the world than being a World Series champion. Unbridled joy. Unspeakable euphoria. It didn’t come immediately and certainly not easily, but the Red Sox did it.

I’ve been waiting my whole life for this. Heck, I waited my grandfather’s whole life, too. Now I just feel spoiled to have witnessed the pinnacle moment of my life while still a young man. An outsider might find it disturbing to hear me speak of life fulfillment, but I don’t care because the Sox are World Series champs.

I was four when I attended my first major league baseball game. I was too young to remember more than a few specific details (such as Don Baylor hitting a grand slam to lead the Sox to victory over the Twins), but I do recall being awestruck with Fenway. As you walk up the ramp and into the park, you are simply overcome by the green of the field and of the walls. The place maintains a buzz, enhanced by the coziness (read: small size) of the park.

That was 17 years ago, the summer after the 1986 World Series debacle against the Mets, epitomized by the ground ball going through the legs of you-know-who. Who knew that salvation would come from a pack of 25 self-proclaimed idiots with crazy hair?

Pedro Martinez, Manny Ramirez and Curt Schilling will certainly be remembered as great baseball players, but are they better than Ted Williams, Jimmie Foxx and Carlton Fisk? The latter three are all Hall of Famers who formerly played with the Red Sox and never won a World Series. What makes this year’s Sox team so compelling are gritty veterans like Bill Mueller, Kevin Millar, Mike Timlin, Trot Nixon and Alan Embree, and unheralded, defensive-minded newcomers Orlando Cabrera, Pokey Reese and Doug Mientkiewicz. No matter their payroll, the Red Sox became an everyman’s team — playing their heart out, enjoying their work to its fullest and pulling a great upset.

The impact of this win can be felt throughout New England, as the regional pride of Red Sox Nation is unparalleled. The Sox victory may even resonate in the national polls if Boston’s hometown senator can translate some of that momentum into today’s election.

But a Red Sox World Series title was important to me on such a personal level — as if it were a reward for my countless hours of devotion. To win was an adrenaline rush of a sort I cannot explain. I cried with uncontrollable delight as I called my brother, my parents and nearly every friend I’ve ever made. My brother was in New York City along with 2,000 Sox fans romping through the Village as if it were Kenmore Square receiving the spillover crowds from Fenway itself.

My celebration was calmer only in numbers. Thirty or so of us gathered on the Lawn, but it certainly did not lack intensity. My room serves as an embassy of Red Sox Nation in Charlottesville, and the crowd grew with each passing inning. During the final few outs, friends remarked that my face was the manifestation of sheer determination. I wasn’t ready to think about a celebration until it was impossible for the Sox to choke it away. After Keith Foulke flipped the ball to first base for the final out, however, the hushed tones of my room gave way to a raucous roar and the popping of champagne bottles.

The past several days have featured me alternately grinning with childish glee, calling everyone I know and crying at the heartfelt stories of those who didn’t live to see this day. The headline of a major Sox fan site read, “If you are reading this now, it happened in your lifetime.” How fortunate I feel to have seen it.

I’ve often argued with my editors about the number and frequency of my columns about the Red Sox. I was always dumbfounded that they didn’t understand how prevalent Red Sox Nation is in central Virginia. Limits were eventually put in place, but there was no denying that I had to write this final piece.

Last Wednesday’s victory was the culmination of all my previous columns. I won’t be writing about the Sox again anytime soon. I’ll be too busy smiling.

The debacle in Tallahassee three weekends ago in which the No. 12 Cavaliers (6-1, 3-1 ACC) fell 36-3 to the Seminoles was more than a confidence destroyer and reality check. After that contest, Virginia’s coach Al Groh said no defensive position was safe and each starter had to earn back his “orange jersey,” worn by the defensive starters in practice.

Two weeks and two days later, only six of the 11 jerseys have been claimed.

“You play to a certain standard — orange jersey goes with it,” Groh said. “We’re having a hard enough time stopping [opponents] with 11. … We’re never going to put nine out there because certain positions aren’t playing up to what we need. But just because a player gets to start the game doesn’t mean he’s earned the orange jersey.”

According to senior safety Jermaine Hardy, who was one of the six to win back the jersey, Brennan Schmidt, Andrew Hoffman, Rich Bedesem, Ahmad Brooks and Darryl Blackstock round out the group of orange penny holders. Bedesem began the season as the first-team inside linebacker before giving way to Brooks in week two. The senior started his second game of the season last week at Duke in front of Kai Parham.

“It’s competition out there every day,” Hardy said. “You got to go out there and make plays in practice, and then [coach Groh] will decide if you’re going to play in the game.”

Adding more intrigue to the defensive lineup is freshman cornerback Philip Brown’s entry into a starting role in place of sophomore Marcus Hamilton. Hamilton, who has started all seven games this season, is sixth on the team with 34 tackles and leads the defense with two interceptions. However, Hamilton received a 15-yard personal foul penalty and two pass interference penalties in the Duke contest, including a 15-yard infraction that resulted in a Blue Devil first down on third-and-10. He also was part of a Virginia secondary that was victimized for four passes of 20 yards or more to the ACC’s last place offense in Duke last Saturday.

“Right from the start, he’s been tuned in,” Groh said of Brown. “As it is every week, [starting] is based on who’s performing the best at the present time. What a player has done in the past or what he has done in the future has no bearing on who plays each particular Saturday.”

Brown has appeared in all seven games and 189 plays this season — tops for non-defensive starters.

News and Notes

After the upsets of then-No. 4 Miami and then-No. 5 Florida State to unranked North Carolina and Maryland, respectively, Virginia stands tied for first in the conference at 3-1 with Miami and Virginia Tech. … Groh told reporters that Marques Hagans would have played this Saturday had there been a game and that he practiced well Thursday and Friday. “Overall I think that there will certainly be some players that got more spring today than they otherwise would have had,” Groh said of the extra time off from the bye week. … Groh told the media that he watched the college football upsets this past weekend on his home television. “I was paying pretty rapt attention,” Groh said. “But there weren’t a lot of invited guests.” … Groh said he started Alvin Pearman last Saturday versus Duke on “just a hunch.” The hunch paid off as Pearman ran for 223 yards on 38 carries, both the second-highest figures in school history. … This Saturday’s home matchup with ACC rival Maryland is set for 3:30 p.m., as is the home finale versus Miami Nov. 13.

Not all of the blowouts this fall are happening on the football field. The women’s rugby team is turning in some dominating results of its own, most recently in a 60-10 home win over Tennessee on Saturday.

Performances like that have been typical of the No. 2 Cavaliers. Their fall season has included a 63-0 drubbing of Virginia Tech and two victories over their traditional rival, James Madison University, by a combined 114-21 margin. The team has only lost once, a close 12-0 game against North Carolina on Oct. 3.

This year’s team looks to continue a proud tradition of rugby success at U.Va. The squad has made the National Division I Final Four twice in the last four years, including last spring. They also have advanced to the Division I Elite Eight four times since 1999. Now, this year’s team is busy writing the next chapter, beginning with the state tournament next week.

“States is really important because it sets up the brackets for the spring season,” team president Alicia Evangelista said. “The better your ranking at states, the easier a time you will have getting to nationals.”

Virginia won the state championship last year in an overtime thriller with JMU, kicking off its successful run to the Final Four in the spring.

The team’s closeness, on and off the field, has had a tremendous impact on its success.

“Our team has a very special bond going for it,” Evangelista said. “We are like a family, and that closeness transfers onto the field.”

Despite only having three practices weekly, players work out together on off-days and are often inseparable off the field.

The team’s togetherness and dedication is evident in its great triumphs in past seasons.

“Our success is contingent on all of our players really buying into our team goals of success at the national level,” said captain Rachael Warden, who also has played on the U-19 National Team. “We are dedicated as a whole to putting in the effort to consistently improve.”

The team has been very successful in finding talented players to continue its tradition. Former player Jaime Burke was named as the top female collegiate rugby player in the country. Current players Fiona Foxon, Lauren Baker and Warden were all named to the All-American team last year.

Of course, with so many players coming from different sports, many of whom have never played rugby, coaching is an important part of that success. Unlike most club sports at Virginia, the women’s rugby team has two coaches, Nancy Kechner and Julie Comer, who oversee practices and teach rugby skills such as tackling and scrumming.

“Our coaches are like surrogate rugby parents,” Evangelista said. “They work with us when we’re having tough times, they entertain us, and best of all, they make us dinner regularly. It’s like having a little family here.”

After coming so close to the title the last few years, the team’s goal this year is nothing short of a national championship.

“Last year we came in third place after an extremely close match against Princeton,” Warden said. “We hope to win the national championship this season.”

Student groups at the University are gearing up for today’s election with a common goal in mind: They want everyone to get out and vote. From canvassing neighborhoods to working the polls, students are fulfilling their civic duty by getting involved in various levels of politics.

While many of the active student groups today will voice a certain political affiliation, on the whole students are stressing the importance of making sure that everyone who can vote casts a ballot.

“We are trying to encourage students to vote regardless of their political affiliation,” Cavs ’04 Kerry member Maria Petrini said. “We want to encourage general awareness of our political system.”

Cavs ’04 Kerry spent yesterday on the Lawn handing out information, and the group plans to stand near the polls with Kerry signs today.

The College Republicans will cover four precincts for the election.

“Virginia isn’t a swing state, so we will just be covering the polls,” said Amber VerValin, vice chairman for campaigns for the College Republicans. “We hand out sample ballots and greet voters and see if they have any questions.”

The University Democrats have been working in conjunction with the Al Weed campaign, spending much of their time standing in highly visible areas with signs, reminding motorists and pedestrians to vote.

“I’m being terribly optimistic and saying of course Kerry will win,” University Democrats Secretary Amanda Le Tard said.

Political issues and discussions are more prominent on Grounds this election year, Cavs ’04 Kerry member Andrew Erwin said.

“I think everyone in our age group cares a lot more this year because there are so many issues affecting our personal lives,” Erwin said. “Issues like the war in Iraq, abortion and gay rights directly impact today’s youth.”

All groups seem optimistic about their respective candidate’s chances.

Caitlin Howarth, a second-year College student working on Weed’s campaign, said that not only wanting her candidate to win compels her to action.

“People have to speak up to make sure their voice is heard,” Howarth said. “It’s not so much that your guy is spectacular — you have to send a clear message if the incumbent has screwed up.”

These informational campaigns will be working full strength tomorrow, with the University Democrats going door to door, asking if people have voted or if they need a ride to the polls.

Civic participation “helps people feel better about politics in general,” Le Tard said.

Democrat or Republican, the message is the same.

“Go vote!” Le Tard said. “I hope everyone has said that.”

Associate Editor A.J. Frank contributed to this report.

Raising the ire of some local businesses, the City of Charlottesville recently began enforcing an ordinance requiring West Main Street merchants to remove all sandwich-board signs from sidewalks in front of their businesses.

The move by the City, however, still did not please those who were hoping for the removal of sandwich-boards from all city sidewalks.

In June, Gwen Beavers, representing the Virginia Federation for the Blind, expressed her concern regarding obstacles such as signs, chains and chairs placed without a clear pattern on the Downtown Mall at the City Council meeting, according to minutes from the meeting.

“We are concerned with the signs sitting in the middle of the Mall,” said Kathy Owen, president of the Blue Ridge Federation of the Blind, who went with Beavers to the June City Council meeting.

In response to their concerns, City Council has decided to enforce the portion of the city ordinance banning movable signs from West Main Street. Such signs are still allowed on the Corner area and on the Downtown Mall.

“They wanted the removal of all sandwich-board signs, among other things,” Director of Neighborhood Development Jim Tolbert said. “But we could not remove them if the ordinance allows it.”

Charlottesville regulations are less stringent in this regard then those of Albemarle County, where sandwich-boards are only allowed for use as temporary signs, said Amelia McCulley, zoning administrator for Albemarle County.

Beavers and Owen said they were not aware of the Council decision regarding West Main Street. Beavers said she did not think West Main Street signs were a problem.

“The Downtown Mall is our main concern,” she said.

Businesses on West Main Street did not react kindly to the new enforcement of the ordinance.

“I feel that a blind person has as much of a chance avoiding a sandwich-board as an upcoming curve,” Big Mouth Pizza manager Adrian Massie said.

West Main Café, another restaurant in the area, has experienced a slight daytime decline in sales after it was required to remove its sandwich-board, manager Patrick McClure said.

“I do not think that the City should have a blanket policy regarding these signs,” McClure said. “There are places where it would be potentially inappropriate or even unsafe, but the sidewalk outside my business is about 10 feet wide, as wide as the sidewalk on the Corner.”

The blind community, according to Beavers, does not wish to alienate any of the merchants, especially those on the Downtown Mall, where their efforts are centered.

“We’re not against the merchants on the Downtown Mall,” Beavers said. “In fact, we want to do business down there, but it’s just really hard to get around.”

BOSTON, Mass. — Located near the site where the Pilgrims landed nearly 400 years ago, and near many Revolutionary War events, one could argue that Boston has often been on the “frontline” of American history.

But the city that also hosted the Democratic National Convention last summer and a parade Saturday to honor Major League Baseball’s newest world championship team also may first witness the naming of a new American president tonight — that is, if Democratic candidate Sen. John Kerry garners the needed 270 electoral majority at stake today as voters travel to the polls. Kerry and running mate Sen. John Edwards will make appearances in Boston’s historic Copeley Square tonight as the election results are announced.

“Last year we won the Super Bowl, then we won the World Series, tomorrow we are going to win the election,” Boston resident Bob Sennett said. “It’s the trifecta.”

Setup crews and independent contractors currently are working around the clock in Copeley Square building stages, communication lines and risers in preparation for tonight’s activities.

Fifteen-year resident Bill Demontigny described the Bostonian atmosphere as incredible, especially after coming off the heels of a World Series victory.

“The mood is unbelievable,” Demontigny said. “It couldn’t be more exciting.”

Demontigny, a Kerry supporter, said the election brings a chance for “a new beginning, a new future” for the nation. He added that he is not concerned about terrorist threats disrupting tomorrow’s election events.

“I’m familiar with the Boston police,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to mess with them.”

But Boston Police Officer John Blair said security for the event was not under his control, but rather in the hands of the federal Secret Service.

“They trump us,” he said. “This is not like some carnival coming into town. They are handling security.”

Blair would not say exactly what the police department would be doing in coordination with the Secret Service.

“We will work with state and local law officials to ensure a safe environment for our protectees,” Secret Service spokesperson Tom Mazur said. Mazur declined to comment on specifics or the number of officers or agents present, citing operational concerns for the event.

Democratic supporters were in the clear majority of visibly vocal Bostonians as Republican supporters were virtually invisible. One man, donning a “Bush-Cheney 2004″ T-shirt yelled “Kerry sucks!” at crews in Copeley Square. The man ran away before identifying himself.

The Massachusetts Republican Committee did not respond to several calls seeking comment for this story.

Boston-area students also have been politically active in the upcoming race. While some have volunteered or interned for campaigns, Harvard student Rebecca Leventhal has co-founded the “I Decide” campaign. “I Decide” focuses on getting students from non-contested states, such as Massachusetts, to contact three students in swing states and urge them to vote. Leventhal said the non-partisan campaign has targeted college students in Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio and other states. The campaign held a rally in Cambridge yesterday.

“Students in uncontested states often feel as if they don’t really have a say,” she said. “We really want students in swing states to get out and vote. We really want to mobilize swing-state voters and for students in states like Massachusetts to realize that they do have a say in this democracy.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Washington, D.C. should be home turf for the GOP. From our view of the Washington Monument, we control both the House and Senate as well as the most powerful position, arguably, in the world — the presidency of the United States. But things are far from friendly here on Capitol Hill — with a city that has voted over 80 percent Democratic since Reagan’s election and has gone to the Democratic candidate since the 1960s, Republicans aren’t finding any easy victories here. Yet day after day, poll after poll, the GOP of D.C. struggles on, encouraging people to make the right decision on Nov. 2: four more years. It is a fight that is simply a microcosm of the greater Republican struggle — and a fight that will be won, in a large sense, today with the re-election of George W. Bush.

For the past four years, the Republican Party has lead a strong, courageous battle against those things that wish to harm America. And no, I am not just talking about the terrorists.

President Bush has led the fight for a better economy — trying to make up for the slowdown he inherited from the (thankfully) long-gone Clinton years, and the brutal blow Sept. 11 had on our financial stability. He’s opened up Medicaid benefits to help ease the rising costs of medical coverage brought about by numerous causes, including outlandish law suits (John Edwards, I am looking at you.) He struggles for school vouchers and makes sure that no child is left behind in our educational system.

This message, though is not reaching the residents of D.C. From K Street to Dupont Circle to Georgetown, Democratic residents remain the norm. Luckily, the tides — not the current administration — are changing.

In the 2000 election, the Republican Party of D.C. did not even have a headquarters in the city. They were spread around with no central location. In the words of Chair Betsy Werronen, no one even knew they existed. That year the city voted overwhelmingly for former Vice President Al Gore — 86 percent in favor of the Democrat who couldn’t even win his home state. Four years later, D.C. is still overwhelmingly Democratic, and its three electoral votes are not even in question. But things have changed — visibly changed. The Republican Party of D.C. now has headquarters sitting prominently on K Street in the heart of the Washington lobbyists’ headquarters. Bush/Cheney signs in the front windows draw in foot traffic — average Washingtonians asking how they can help or just looking for more information.

In the already liberal stronghold of higher education, colleges surrounding the D.C. area are seeing a boost in their Republican numbers. At nearby American University, 350 students showed up for the College Republicans kick-off meeting — over 50 more than at the College Democrats meeting. They have spent the past month in Michigan and Pennsylvania, at phone banks and flyering — fighting the good fight for our president. And two streets over from both Kerry and Edwards’ Georgetown homes, students at GU are campaigning hard for the Bush ticket. Senior Christaan DeLivigi will be a precinct captain in the capital all day today — making sure people know the facts about the Bush administration and encouraging the GOP ticket.

Granted, a nice building, a handful more students at a meeting and one dedicated Hoya won’t change the Presidential election. But it’s a start.

Hopefully, it’s a start that will spread to the rest of the nation. We won’t know the final numbers of D.C.’s vote until late tonight, but one thing can be clear: this city represents the hard work and dedication of Republicans everywhere. Republicans who are willing to fight against animosity to stand for what they believe in; Republicans who are unwilling to back down when loss looks inevitable.

President Bush is one of these Republicans — he will continue to fight for our safety, our future, our health, our education and our values. And behind him the whole way will be the D.C. Republicans who won’t back down or give up, regardless of the outcome of this election.

Today, Americans have the chance to re-elect a great national leader who will help create a stronger America. Washington, D.C., will sadly vote for Sen. Kerry, but in the hearts of people like Cherrenon, DeLuigi and others, it will always be Bush Country. Here’s hoping the rest of the nation will be too.

Maggie Bowden is a Cavalier Daily Opinion editor. She can be reached at mbowden@cavalierdaily.com. She is staying in Washington, D.C., and will opine on the election results in tomorrow’s paper.

BOSTON — SPORTING two world championship teams, Bostonians are walking around with a bit of a swagger in their step these days. Unsurprisingly, that bravado extends to supporting their native son for president. In fact, the revelry and optimism is tied directly to the city’s recent success. Flyers handed out by Kerry volunteers read in bold print and capital letters: “We won the World Series. We can win the White House.” Yet this confidence belies a potential crisis: Here in the Democratic heartland, there is literally no acknowledgement that Bush can possibly win without cheating.

Boston is, as everyone knows, a liberal city. Walking around Monday, not a single Bush sign could be spotted; indeed, the only Bush supporter in sight appeared quite skittish about wearing his Bush/Cheney T-shirt. Still, it was slightly disturbing to see the degree to which the left-leaning public took their politics; of nearly a dozen Kerry volunteers I spoke to, not a single one said they would accept a Bush win as legitimate.

When queried about the veracity of a potential Bush victory, answers ranged from “it would depend on the specifics, but I’d be skeptical,” to an unhesitating, definitive “no.” One volunteer summed up the rest of his comrades’ feelings by stating, “I strongly doubt that more people will go to the polls intending to vote for Bush than for Kerry.” If broad sections of the Democratic Party refuse to accept a Bush win, the country could be heading for turmoil. Polls indicate that Boston is but a strong example of a deeper trend: 48 percent of respondents to a recent TIME survey said that they believed an illegitimate candidate could win the presidency.

With massive chrome structures being erected in the background and a partially-finished painted American Flag hanging on a partially-finished stage, it was not hard to imagine Boston’s Copley Square as the site of amazing drama tomorrow night. What will happen if it appears Bush wins, but Kerry refuses to gracefully concede, or vice versa? A balance must be struck between ensuring as fair a vote as possible and maintaining the integrity of the government.

There is something worrisome about the mood in Boston. Perhaps the Red Sox triumph has gone to their heads, but it seems as if the only possible scenarios under consideration are a Kerry landslide, narrow Kerry victory or Bush feloniously stealing the election. Most of the rationale stems from memories of the 2000 election, which traumatized many Democrats, and fury at the allegations of voter tampering already coming forth from Ohio and Florida. Any possible evidence of Republican shenanigans simply reinforces an already strong belief of some Democrats that the GOP can only win through malfeasance.

Certainly it is true that some amount of trickery is underway, and evidence seems to suggest that the Republicans are more heavily engaged in such a campaign than the Democrats. Such behavior must be fettered out and stopped. Nonetheless, the serious potential exists that the president will legitimately and fairly win re-election. Rejecting that option is both foolish and dangerous, just as is any Republican who flatly refuses to accept a Kerry victory. While it is encouraging to see people holding Kerry signs in the streets of a state where he leads by 10 percentage points, there simply must be acceptance of the fact that when the dust settles, Bush has a real chance to be the one left standing.

No one knows what is going to transpire tomorrow, and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. Either way, a trip through downtown Boston and the surrounding college campuses reveals a nation still wounded from the 2000 debacle and perhaps nursing a deeper scar than we ever thought. Our faith in the democratic process has been reduced to furtive glances for illegal activity and declarations that only one candidate can legitimately win. This state of affairs begs the question: Will we ever again have a quiet election night?

With any luck, Election Day 2004 will go down with few hitches, and 2000 will be swept away as an aberration. With any luck, John Kerry will come out on tomorrow night with a blustery wind assaulting his steely gray hair and give either a rousing victory speech or an elegant concession. It could happen — and if there’s any city that feels lucky right now, it’s Boston.

Elliot Haspel is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. He can be reached at ehaspel@cavalierdaily.com. He is staying in Boston, and will opine on the election results in tomorrow’s paper.

Six ACC teams earned places in top 20 — three in the top four — of the USA Today/ESPN preseason Coaches’ Poll.

Wake Forest sits atop the list at No. 2, followed by North Carolina at No. 3, and Georgia Tech ranked No. 4. Duke, Maryland and N.C. State round out the list at Nos. 12, 16 and 19, respectively.

The Virginia women’s soccer team collected several honors when the ACC announced its conference awards Monday. Leading the Cavaliers was junior midfielder Sarah Huffman, who was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year.

Huffman was recognized for her contribution to a Virginia defense that allowed only eight goals this season and shut out its competition a school-record 12 times.

Senior forward Lindsay Gusick was named to the first-team All-ACC, along with Huffman, after leading the Cavaliers with 12 goals this season.

Sophomores Christina de Vries and Shannon Foley earned spots on the second-team All-ACC along with junior midfielder Noelle Keselica.

The conference also chose freshman Sarah Curtis for the All-Freshman team after the forward/midfielder started every game for the Cavaliers this season.