Heartbreak Day

Last year I invented a new national holiday, Heartbreak Day. Heartbreak Day is the day when the Red Sox fall out of first place for good. Wouldn't ya know, the Red Sox hadda pick that very year to reverse the curse. No Heartbreak Day in 2004.

This year for sure.

One trouble with Heartbreak Day is that you almost never know on Heartbreak Day that it's Heartbreak day. Every now and then you can tell, such as when the Red Sox fall out of first place on the last day of the season (as in 1978—Hiya, Bucky!), or when they lose the nth game of an n-game post-season series (as in 1986—Hiya, Buckner!). If Heartbreak Day comes at any other time, there's always a chance that the Sox will regain first place, thus postponing the inevitable for days or weeks.

So you never really know when to celebrate Heartbreak Day. Then again, Heartbreak Day ain't exactly a celebratin' holiday anyway.

There's a good chance that Heartbreak Day will fall on September 20 this year.

Happy Heartbreak Day!