Boston Red Sox fans like me were surprised and excited Wednesday night as we watched David Ortiz lead the Sox into the record books.

Boston not entered the World Series since the days of Wade Boggs and Dave Sax all the way back in 1986; the year I was born. This year’s team boasts two Most Valuable Player candidates in David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, a resilient pitching staff and a lights out bullpen.

The Red Sox also engraved themselves in the record books for being the first team in Major League history to come back to win a series after being down three games to none.

The Yankees embarrassed the Red Sox in Fenway Park by scoring 19 runs, an American League Championship Series record, in game three.

The Red Sox woke up after being humiliated at home and went into game four determined to make history. Winning out the rest of the series, Boston takes home field advantage against St. Louis Cardinals starting Saturday night.

Game seven found an unlikely hero in a struggling lead off man. Center fielder Johnny Damon was batting less than .150 before Wednesday night. Damon went on to usher in RBI including a grand slam in the second inning.

If one individual deserves praise for taking this team on his back, it’s Ortiz. ‘Big Poppy’ batted an amazing .387 during the ALCS with a .742 slugging percentage.

Ortiz put New York away in game four with a walk off homerun in the bottom of the 12th inning off Paul Quantrill. The very next day, Ortiz hit a game winning RBI in the 14th in game five. Throughout the series, Ortiz nailed three homeruns with 11 RBIs to lead the Red Sox to their first World Series in 18 years.

A valiant performance by an injured ace would get the win in Game six. After much criticism, Curt Schilling came back to the mound. Despite the ankle injury, Schilling threw seven innings allowing only one run. A three run homer by second baseman Mark Bellhorn helped Schilling get the win and forced a game seven.

The Red Sox simply wanted it more going into game seven and they proved it. Boston vanquished the Yankees in the Bronx by a score of 10-3. Damon’s performance led the team along with a stellar showing by starting pitcher Derek Lowe. Lowe threw seven innings Wednesday night allowing one run on only one hit.

The only question that remains is simply: Can the Red Sox win their first World Series since 1918?

After battling the highest payroll in baseball and rolling into the World Series with a great amount of momentum, it looks good for the boys from bean town. St. Louis’ pitching can’t handle the lethal Red Sox lineup and Boston has plenty of arms to counter the Cardinals’ bats.

George Herman who? Curse what? In about a week the only words on every sports fans’ lips will be, “Red Sox world championship.”