Tonight at Fenway Park the Boston Red Sox have a chance to exorcise half-decade-old ghosts of the past and win not only their first World Series championship since 2007, but third title since 2004. Long-suffering toddlers and elementary school students from Southie to Stockbridge might not remember what life was like back then, so Vanyaland hopped in the way-back machine to take a look at the Number 1 songs in the United States the last time the Olde Town Team celebrated with some championship bubbly.
We went to the trusted birthdayjams.com to find out the sounds of our lives way back, when we were young disciples of Manny Ramirez. Milk cost the same, we were all taking high-angle selfies on MySpace, and some familiar faces dominated the charts…
On October 27, 2004, Keith Foulke threw a comebacker to Doug Mientkiewicz and the Sox locked up their first title since great-grandma was a player. The Number 1 song in the country that night? Usher and Alicia Keys’ “My Boo” — which unfortunately was not a cover of the timeless Ghost Town DJs jam. But it capped a great year for Usher — his Confessions record dropped in January, and it included the pinnacle of his career, the strip club mega-anthem “Yeah.”
Three years later, the Red Sox were high atop the rest of the country once again. Not just because they were about to win another ring, but because they were doing it in the Mile High air of Denver, Colorado. Celebrated closer Jonathan Papelbon struck out the Rockies’ Seth Smith at Coors Field to seal the deal, and no doubt he felt like Superman. Sure enough, Soulja Boy Tell’Em’s unlikely hit “Crank That” topped the charts on that fateful day.
Feels like yesterday…