Slice

Ain't That A Wicked Pissah?

Posted by Adam Kuban, October 21, 2004

REVERSE THE CURSE: With the help of Pedro Martinez (and perhaps his little-person good luck charm), right, the Red Sox have a chance of breaking the curse of the Bambino (left). (We like this fella's take on Mr. Martinez's sideshow-like antics.)

SLICE ON BOSTON PIZZA
Boston P. Party: Our roving reporter E-Rock visits a Beantown pizza parlor on his most recent trip up north.
Beantown Brouhaha: A Boston pizzeria gets wicked pissed about the loss in business due to the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

DID YOU KNOW ...
that Nelson de la Rosa played the role of Majai in Marlon Brando's universally panned The Isle of Dr. Moreau? De la Rosa's character inspired Mike Myers to create Mini-Me in the Austin Powers series.

Sometimes our narrow focus on pizza severely curtails Slice's ability to highlight things it finds truly fascinating. For the past couple weeks we have been obsessed with Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez and his since-disappeared "good luck charm," Dominican actor and little person Nelson de la Rosa (above right). We tried in vain to find any connection between pizza and Mr. Martinez or Mr. de la Rosa. No dice.

But, like a game-winning home run, the fact that Yankees fans are leaving graveside offerings to the Babe has allowed us to run this photo of Mr. Martinez and Mr. de la Rosa, which was taken after Boston's victory against the California Angels in Game 3 in the run up to the American League Championship Series.

Yes, the poor saps think that by leaving "full pizza pies, cold beers, cigars and a lone hot dog, as well as rosary beads, a baseball helmet, Baby Ruth candy bar miniatures and page-long notes" they can cajole Mr. Ruth's spirit into kicking "The Curse" up a notch to prevent the Sox from winning the World Series.

If you detect in these words a note of giddy delight in Boston's historic victory, you are not imagining things. While Slice is fiercly loyal to New York–style pizza, we are not as loyal to the Bronx Bombers—with the exception of Yankee-fan Seltzerboy, who is crying tears in his beer as I type this. Every last one of us at Slice is a champion of the underdog, and there is no top dog in baseball like the Yankees, so more than half our staff was hoping for a Red Sox upset.

Like Domino's, they delivered.

Now, if only they can keep the momentum going.

[Thanks to contributing editor Tien Mao for spotting this.]

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