All along I've been proclaiming that this is the year, that the cu*se will be lifted, that God has finally chosen this season to be the one that ends the suffering for Red Sox Nation. But something about this postseason doesn't feel right. I know you're probably thinking, "What the hell is this guy talking about? This postseason has been perfect for Red Sox Nation." Maybe you're right, maybe I'm crazy for not feeling like a kid in a candy factory, but I'm just not ready to start celebrating yet. Maybe this awkward feeling is due to the fact that I haven't been able to put 100 percent of my effort into carefully examining every pitch, every hit, every little detail of every game because of school work. Or maybe it's because it's impossible for something like this to live up to my expectations. I don't really know what it is, but hopefully whatever it is will feel right when and if the Red Sox finish their dream season.

Eighty-six years is a long time to go without a championship. I've only been a part of 25 percent of the Red Sox drought, and yet I feel like a battered war veteran. Maybe that's why I'm not ready to start riotously celebrating. I think that's why this postseason doesn't seem right. People are celebrating too much, too early. When 80,000 people storm to Kenmore Square after an ALCS victory, I think it's fair to say that fans are going a little overboard.

Even as a relatively inexperienced 21-year-old, I've been through this before. I may have been only three at the time, but I was alive in 1986 when the Red Sox lost to the Mets. I was alive in 1995, 1990 and 1988-all years when the Red Sox won their division. This is not the first time the Red Sox have beat the Yankees. Red Sox fans should try to act as if they've done it before!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we shouldn't celebrate beating the Yankees. The Yankees are a great team and a great organization with the most storied history in baseball. As hard as it is to admit it, the Yankees of the last eight years are what other teams aspire to be. The ALCS was the first time in Major League Baseball history that a team has come back from a 3-0 deficit to win the final four games and the series. That is quite an accomplishment. I even headed over to UMass after game seven of the Yankees series to do a little non-violent rioting myself, but my heart wasn't in it; I knew it was premature. Everyone was celebrating as if this win over the Yankees was the greatest accomplishment in franchise history. I know I wasn't alive from 1918-1982, but I'm pretty sure the Red Sox beat the Yankees a few times during those years too. Listen up Red Sox Nation: Act like you've done this before! (At least until we win the real series.)

If and when the Red Sox defeat the Cardinals, it will surely be a historic event. Only then will Sox fans have the right to celebrate like there's no tomorrow. People need to realize that beating the Yankees did not reverse the cu*se. Anyone who thinks it did should take a step back and re-examine his or her place in Red Sox Nation. Real fans know that anything less than a World Series title will be a HUGE disappointment. I don't know if the city of Boston can handle another heartache. In fact, I don't know if my 21 year-old body can handle another Red Sox heartache!

So I guess then, we must ask ourselves, what will happen if the Red Sox do win this thing? Will this be the pinnacle of my career and every other member of Red Sox Nation's career, as sports fans? And if so, do we have anything to look forward to? If the Red Sox win the World Series, what is there to live for? Boston sports will be on top of the world. (Sidenote: Boston was rated the number-one sports city in America last year by The Sporting News. What does that mean for this year? Number-one sports city of all time and for eternity?) Unfortunately, there would really be no place to go but down. Kind of depressing, eh?

But let's not start thinking about that just yet. The World Series is not over. Have we learned nothing during the last 86 years? I, for one, will not gloat, will not celebrate and will not jump for joy until it's all over. When it's over and the trophy is in the possession of Red Sox Nation, then I will rejoice. I will yell and scream and gloat and wear my Red Sox hat everywhere I go. But rest assured, I will be no more of a Red Sox fan because they won the World Series. I will just be, for the first time in 21 years, a happy, satisfied Red Sox fan, instead of a frustrated one. I'm really looking forward to knowing what that feels like.

If, when and if, the Red Sox win the World Series, you do not feel an 86-year weight off your shoulders, then I better not see you out celebrating. If you didn't watch Aaron "bleeping" Boone break Boston's heart live on national television last year, then I better not see you out celebrating. If you don't know who Pesky's Pole is named after, I better not see you out celebrating. Real Red Sox fans can celebrate. They must enjoy this while it lasts, because as we get older, things will change. Whether this is the only championship the Red Sox win in our lifetime or one of 20, this one is the most special. Some of us will move away from Boston, lose interest in baseball or, gasp, even change our allegiance. Some of us may not even be alive for the next Red Sox World Championship. So if it happens, let's enjoy it and take no shame in celebrating.