What about Phase 1?
It’s not fair to all you readers in cyberland that my first entry in this blog talked about Phase 3 of the Joy of Sox project: “But what about Phases 1 and 2?”, I hear you cry. Point well taken, so here’s a quick update.
I’ve been a lifelong Sox fan (I saw my first game at Fenway in 1960 – Ted Williams hit his next-to-last career home run in it), and I’ve studied energy medicine for over 20 years, but I never put these two interest together until the summer of 2005. When I had a bloc of free time last July, I used it to do some writing on the theory and practice of energy medicine. Much to my surprise, my writing sessions began to produce some long-repressed ideas about subtle energy and the Red Sox. Their dramatic road to victory in the 2004 World Series had all sorts of unusual, flukey, and nearly paranormal aspects to it, so I began to write about them – everything from team spirit and the cohesion of the team of “Idiots”, to fans’ prayers and curses, and the electricity in the air at Fenway.
A 50 page draft was nearly finished by last September when, ironically, the Sox’ season seemed to be falling apart. So as a last ditch effort to rally the troops, I submitted a shortened 4 page version to the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine, but it was rejected because they’d already met their annual quota of Sox stories! I then distilled it even further to make the 800 word limit for their Op-Eds. As luck would have it, the essay was accepted, and given prominent placement, along with an accompanying graphic, in the Sept. 25, 2005 Globe.
The Op-Ed stirred up some interest, becoming the 4th most emailed Globe story that week. It also generated some negativity in the blogosphere (one writer said the 5 minutes he spent reading it was the biggest waste of time in his entire life). But that would have been the end of the story, were it not for the chutzpah of my partner in crime - my film maker cousin, Joel. His phone call to the Sox front office the next day – basically a cold call without any intros or cover letters - gained us permission to begin filming a documentary about the science of fan support, and from that day onward, the project has unfolded with a life of its own.
So Phase 1 ended with that phone call; Phase 2 began with our first round of interviews of Fenway fans and energy medicine scientists and ended with the creation of the “Joy of Sox”website. And Phase 3 you know about. So when I get some time, I’ll fill in some details about Phase 2 (which included filming in such exotic locations as a café in midtown Manhattan, a retirement community in Scottsdale, and Room 522 of the Marriott Hotel - OK, the Marriott was in Hilton Head). The start of this new blog marks the beginning of Phase 3 – and now you’re up to date.
I’ve been a lifelong Sox fan (I saw my first game at Fenway in 1960 – Ted Williams hit his next-to-last career home run in it), and I’ve studied energy medicine for over 20 years, but I never put these two interest together until the summer of 2005. When I had a bloc of free time last July, I used it to do some writing on the theory and practice of energy medicine. Much to my surprise, my writing sessions began to produce some long-repressed ideas about subtle energy and the Red Sox. Their dramatic road to victory in the 2004 World Series had all sorts of unusual, flukey, and nearly paranormal aspects to it, so I began to write about them – everything from team spirit and the cohesion of the team of “Idiots”, to fans’ prayers and curses, and the electricity in the air at Fenway.
A 50 page draft was nearly finished by last September when, ironically, the Sox’ season seemed to be falling apart. So as a last ditch effort to rally the troops, I submitted a shortened 4 page version to the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine, but it was rejected because they’d already met their annual quota of Sox stories! I then distilled it even further to make the 800 word limit for their Op-Eds. As luck would have it, the essay was accepted, and given prominent placement, along with an accompanying graphic, in the Sept. 25, 2005 Globe.
The Op-Ed stirred up some interest, becoming the 4th most emailed Globe story that week. It also generated some negativity in the blogosphere (one writer said the 5 minutes he spent reading it was the biggest waste of time in his entire life). But that would have been the end of the story, were it not for the chutzpah of my partner in crime - my film maker cousin, Joel. His phone call to the Sox front office the next day – basically a cold call without any intros or cover letters - gained us permission to begin filming a documentary about the science of fan support, and from that day onward, the project has unfolded with a life of its own.
So Phase 1 ended with that phone call; Phase 2 began with our first round of interviews of Fenway fans and energy medicine scientists and ended with the creation of the “Joy of Sox”website. And Phase 3 you know about. So when I get some time, I’ll fill in some details about Phase 2 (which included filming in such exotic locations as a café in midtown Manhattan, a retirement community in Scottsdale, and Room 522 of the Marriott Hotel - OK, the Marriott was in Hilton Head). The start of this new blog marks the beginning of Phase 3 – and now you’re up to date.
posted by Rick Leskowitz,MD at 11:01 AM
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