When I became a Red Sox fan in 1946, they
were notable for having a perfect record in
World Series competition. They had been to
the big show five times and had won them all.
Their first blemish came that same year, when
they lost to the Cardinals in the '46 World
Series. It started them on the road to futility.
They became the team with the curse.
But hope springs eternal, even for Red Sox
fans, so as they prepared to meet the
Yankees in this year's ALCS, I prepared to
cheer them on.
But there was another contest on my mind
as well, the race between Bush and Kerry.
I considered it so important that I decided to
abandon the Red Sox this year and make a
deal with the Devil: The Red Sox could lose to
the Yankees, but Bush had to beat Kerry. One
more year of frustration seemed a small price
to pay with the future of the republic at stake.
As an aside, this is the first time I can
remember when I've allowed my personal
politics to intrude here (I'm a libertarian).
I've always figured that I have way too few
readers to drive any away, no matter how
unenlightened their politics might be.
Also, I live in a very blue state, and almost all
my friends are "liberals", so I have learned
to avoid political discussion as a matter of
course. Politics, like its cousin religion, is
the death of a good party.
But enough holding back, I decided. I am what
I am. So I bought Debbie a
Babes
for
Bush
cap
and let my secret out. Besides, it's my birthday
today. I'm 68. If not now, when?
Getting back to baseball, clearly I did not carry
out my end of the bargain. The Red Sox beat
the Yankees, in one of the greatest comebacks
in sports history. (Whoever it was that said
there's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip
must have had the Yankee champagne in mind.)
But now what will the Devil do? I can only pray
that he doesn't take revenge on Bush. Instead,
let him put a curse on me. There's one coming
available soon.
How appropriate it would be if the Red Sox
reversed the curse by beating the Cardinals,
who put it on them in the first place.
Returns for Week Ended
October 22
Gilder
Technology Index (GTI):
+ 2.8%
Nasdaq
Composite Index (NSD):
+ 0.2%
S&P 500 Index (S&P): - 1.1%
Historical Returns
|
|
GTI |
NSD |
S&P |
|
1997 (est'd) |
21% |
22% |
31% |
|
1998 (est'd) |
48% |
40% |
27% |
|
1999 |
284% |
86% |
20% |
|
2000 |
- 44% |
- 39% |
- 10% |
|
2001 |
- 43% |
- 21% |
- 13% |
|
2002 |
- 56% |
- 32% |
- 23% |
|
2003 |
130% |
50% |
26% |
|
2004 YTD |
- 12.2% |
- 4.4% |
- 1.5% |
|
Avg for 7+ yrs |
8.8% |
5.2% |
5.1% |
|
Last 52 wks |
- 3% |
3% |
6% |
|
Since the high
* |
- 82% |
- 62% |
- 28% |
|
Since the low
* |
203% |
72% |
41% |
*The
GTI high was 59,760 on March 6, 2000.
The low was 3,548 on October 9, 2002.
|
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