Fenway Park 2013 World Series.jpg

The sun sets over Fenway Park as the Boston Red Sox work out Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013, in Boston. The Red Sox are scheduled to host the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 1 of baseball's World Series on Wednesday night.

(AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

We have come a long way since 2003, friends.

That's the year that a whole new generation of Red Sox fans first started plugging into the joy that can come with October baseball. Sure, the "Cowboy Up" Sox lost in agonizing fashion thanks to Aaron @#$%@# Boone and Grady Little's slow hook for Pedro Martinez. But the experience showed us what it might be like -- just maybe -- to play again in the World Series.

The following 12 months were a whirlwind, of course. Terry Francona replaced Little, Jason Varitek gave Alex Rodriguez a glove sandwich, Nomar Garciaparra got traded, the Idiots were born and somehow -- unbelievably, magically, incredibly -- Tito's boys busted through to beat the Yankees in the 2004 American League Championship Series, overcoming a 3-0 deficit, a bloody sock and "Who's Your Daddy!" in the process.

That 2004 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals seemed anticlimactic... and it was. But it's also where a lot of Red Sox fans started losing their way.

Not all of us, of course. But you can trace the arc of the stereotypical Red Sox fan over the last decade through the three World Series appearances the team has made. In 2004, the team was a lovable, free-spirited bunch that galvanized not only New England, but a nation. Its fan base had an ever-growing band wagon, and most of us were glad to share a seat with anyone who wanted to jump on. How could we not? There was so much joy in it.

Something changed between then and 2007, however. Many of us began to take for granted that the team would be great. Even when it flamed out in the first round of the playoffs in 2005 against the White Sox and failed to make the postseason in 2006, there was an insistence that the team should be considered among the team's best franchises on the field. The 2007 team cemented that, as it tied the Cleveland Indians for the most regular-season wins in baseball and rolled into the postseason as a juggernaut.

That's also the year this blog was first created, and skyrocketed in popularity. We laughed together about the absurdity of it all, from Jonathan Papelbon's then-fun Bud Lite box helmet to Josh Beckett's surly dominance. The team barely escaped the Indians in the 2007 ALCS, but it didn't matter: We were back in the World Series, and the Sox bludgeoned the Colorado Rockies in the process.

As fans, many of us took a lot for granted afterward. The team's failure in the 2008 ALCS against the Tampa Bay Rays was shocking, but we didn't know at the time it signaled the end of an era. Sure, the team made the playoffs again in 2009, but it was destroyed by the Los Angeles Angels in quick fashion. And that was that. There was no more postseason afterward, despite a series of lavish free agent signings and ridiculous rhetoric that made the team frustrating to root for, and easy to hate.

That's one of the major reasons this 2013 Red Sox team has been such a joy to watch. We all got a reminder that it takes not only superstars to win, but chemistry and toughness that is difficult to quantify. Sure, it can be seen in fantastically gnarly beards and Jonny Gomes' celebratory combat helmet. But it's also obvious in Shane Victorino playing hurt, Mike Carp taking a part-time role and Stephen Drew and Will Middlebrooks accepting that having Xander Bogaerts around is a good idea.

Be honest: For a while, the Red Sox were the most hated team in baseball, and its fan base as a whole the most insufferable. Some of you do not care, and that's perfectly fine. But even New York Yankees fans were correct when they pointed out that too many Red Sox fans wanted to be considered underdogs, while freaking out if the team missed out on available stars like Cliff Lee. That's the epitome of self-entitlement, and we learned it the hard way.

We've found our way again, friends. We've realized that each postseason run needs to be savored like a fine steak, because the stars align only so often to compete directly for a championship. The way the Red Sox opened their hearts this year to be #BostonStrong certainly was wonderful, but we also have learned to be grateful for success on the diamond.

Win or lose, it should be a great World Series. We'll pour our hearts into rooting the team on, and slap each other on the backs every time Big Papi cracks a dinger or Koji wants a high-five.

However, if -- bear with me here -- they don't win, it will still have been a fantastic run. The team will have accomplished things that seemed impossible in April, and we'll marvel at how it all came together.

That's progress. I can't wait for tonight's opening pitch, and I know you can't either.

Dan Lamothe was the main contributor to Red Sox Monster from 2007 to 2012. He covers national security and the U.S. military from Washington, D.C. Follow him on Twitter at @danlamothe.