Obviously, that’s not a reference to the Red Sox, since there was no “almost” for this ALCS. Once upon a time, I ran a site by that name. It was so-named (as the site explains) for this reason: “In 1845, the owners of a townsite on the Willamette River flipped a coin to decide on its name. Reportedly with two flips out of three, the townsite became known not as Boston, but as Portland.”
There are Red Sox fans around the country, all the moreso since 2004, when all sorts of people jumped on the bandwagon. But when I moved here ten years ago, it became very clear, and very quickly, that Red Sox Nation has a rather bizarre presence here in the Pacific Northwest. And had one long before I got here.
So here’s what would happen were the world to run by my dictates and fiats.
This coming Wednesday at City Council, four commissioners (since it takes four commissioner to place onto the agenda something that wasn’t put there in advance) would agree to take up a resolution.
To wit, something like this:
WHEREAS, if not for an 1845 coin toss, Portland instead would have been named Boston; and
WHEREAS, Red Sox Nation has a long-standing outpost and presence in the Pacific Northwest; and
WHEREAS, Madras, Oregon, native Jacoby Ellsbury is a part of the 2007 American League Championship Red Sox team; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City of Portland designates itself, for the purposes of ceremony but not official City business, and for the duration of the 2007 World Series, to be called the City of Boston, Oregon.
At least, that’s how it would go were the world to run by my dictates and fiats.
