Mon. Oct. 1

Ok, so it's the 40th anniversary of "The Impossible Dream" year for the Red Sox and Red Sox fandom does the same thing it did then: Watch (or listen) to the Sox win and then wait around to hope that another team beats the Sox' main competitor. Quite a coincidence. Of course, in '67 there was no wild card, so this year's victory (a division, not a pennant, plus by a team expected to be in the thick of it, not a team mired in the second division) didn't have quite the kick of yore. And, then again, I was 11 then and baseball was a bit more of my world. Still, yay. I share in a season ticket plan and I'm darn happy that some of my October nights will be filled with something good, some at the park, some on TV. What Boston is doing to mark the division championship is to hold a rally at City Hall Plaza Monday Oct. 1 to mark the occasion, with music from the Sox adopted rock band, Dropkick Murphys, (in photo, singer Al Barr) and the Standells (they still exist in some form?) who never hailed from Boston but did pen "Dirty Water" about the city and that's the song that plays over the Fenway sound system after every victory. So that makes them - whoever's in them - pertinent, I guess. And the Murphys, well, they updated an old Sox-related anthem, "Tessie," in their Celtic-punk way and they really are tried-and-true Bostonians, so it makes sense they're out there rockin' it up. (This, right after their Avalon-closing gig Sunday night.) Exoect the Mayor and more than a few other politicos. The rally is free and takes place 4-7 p.m. All we ask at JSink, is this: Make Boston proud. We win and we don't tip over cars and set crap on fire. Enjoy the moment, don't drink through it. Salute the Sox, don't put them on a hero pedestal - that's where firefighters go. And realize winning the division is a great thing, but as Curt Schilling said after they beat the Twins - the very same team they beat in '67! ooh! - they've got 11 more victories to go.

City Hall Plaza, Government Center, www.redsox.com