Some time after the third game, I heard an interview on the radio with a guy from Boston. His team was down 0-3, but he was still upbeat — “It’s all right,” he said. “All we’ve got to do is come back and win the next four.” He didn’t seem the least bit worried. _They’re doomed and he doesn’t know it_, I thought to myself. _There’s got to be a word for that_.

I was wrong. And there _is_ a word: it’s “hope.”

I’m not a sports guy. The end of Game 7 is the only baseball I’ve watched in years. But the Red Sox and a dude on the radio taught me a lesson about hope tonight. Thanks, guys. I’m rooting for you.