Sox and Ducks

Yesterday 3.2 million fans watched the Red Sox victory parade. The players rolled through Boston on duck boats from Fenway Park, past the Prudential Center, Boston Common, and Government Center. At the end, the boats entered and then traveled down the Charles River so that fans could cheer from the Cambridge and Boston sides of the river.

The past two weeks in Boston, culminating with this parade, were monumental. Boston has always had an inferiority complex with New York. The Red Sox / Yankees rivalry was a big part of that. To beat the Yankees in post season after being down 0-3 and then win the World Series after 86 years. Follow that with the fact that the Yankees will be present next April when the Sox receive their World Series rings. Boston feels good about itself (for) now.

One other thing: Ducks boats? These aren’t the kind used for hunting ducks. If you’ve ever visited Boston, you’ve seen them. They’re restored World War II era amphibious vehicles (known as DUKWs in WWII). To Bostonians they can be a little irritating whipping around the narrow streets of the city.

At my last startup, Blue Ripple, we were celebrating a development milestone (Alpha, Beta?). I guess we were still flush with VC cash because the company paid for a night out. We went out for drinks, dinner at Mortons and a Duck Tours boat ride. The boat ride was fun. We had the entire boat to ourselves. While we motored down the Charles, the driver let us take turns driving. Intentionally or not, the driver misheard our company name and kept referring to us as Blue Nipple. In retrospect, a name like that might have been the basis for a more successful business venture.