Now that the Boston Red Sox are world champions, Home Box Office can put a happy ending on its 2003 documentary, Curse of the Bambino.
The new version, Reverse of the Curse of the Bambino, adds 12 minutes of new footage to a history of the team’s legendary World Series dry spell. The “curse” stems from the 1920 sale of star player Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees; until this year, the team hadn’t won a World Series since Ruth led them to victory in 1918.
The original Curse of the Bambino first aired in September 2003 as the Red Sox entered the playoffs. The film recounted the notorious figures who played roles in the team’s moments of self-destruction, including indecisive Johnny Pesky, ground-ball flubbing Bill Buckner and Yankee spoiler Bucky Dent. It featured interviews with fans, as well as comedians like Denis Leary (now of Rescue Me) and Stephen Wright.
Quipped Wright: “Being a Red Sox fan is like a Charles Dickens novel, everyone is just trying to survive the situation,”
For Reverse of the Curse, which premieres on Dec. 10, producer George Roy documented four days of victory celebrations in Boston and revisited fans who appeared in the original version.
“They updated us on where they were when [the Sox won], and we were able to close the book on this wonderful story,” said HBO Sports President Ross Greenburg.
Greenburg hints at a moving ending, too. Reverse depicts how some fans shared the victory with loved ones who passed away before the championship season.
