Live-blogging Opening day at Fenway

With some members of the Boston Pops playing "Thus Spake Zarathustra", the banners were unfurled on the left-field wall. First the first 5,



and then an enormous one for the 2004 World Series Championship.






There was footage this morning of DHL trucks delivering rings to Fenway park. Now we discover what happened to them.

Ever since DHL delivered the rings this morning, they have been in the care of some remarkable American heroes. Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Air Force personnel who, after returning from war, have been hospitalized at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Bethesda Naval Hospital. These are some of the same soldiers that our players visited in Washington, D.C. on March 2nd.
-Joe Castiglione

So the Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Air Force personnel came out onto the field with the rings.






They're putting large pictures of the rings up on the diamond-vision to call the players out.




They gave away a lot of rings.





While they raised the banner, the crowd was treated to a new song, from Terry Cashman.

This is for Teddy Ballgame.
This is for Dom Dimagg..
This is for Johnny Pesky,
Fisk and Yaz.

Raise the flag! The curse is over.
The Babe don't live here anymore.

This is for Teddy Ballgame
And this is for Bobby Doerr.

They won it for Dewey Evans.
They won it for Tony C.
Tiant and Petrocelli,
Remy, Rice and Lee.

Raise the flag (something I can't make out)
The curse is banished when you win
They won it for Dewey Evans,
they won it for Freddie Lynn.

Hail, Hail Red Sox Nation,
both the present and the past.
Hey, hey, daddy can you hear me?
we're champs at last!
We're champs at last!

So this is for Curt and Kenny Coleman,
their voices echo through the New England night.
And this is for Bill Buckner.
It's all right. It's all right.

Raise the flag, the curse is over,
those idiots made us all believe,
So this is for Johnny Damon,
Schilling, Manny and Ortiz.

Raise the flag and damn the curse, boys.
The bambino don't live here anymore.
So this is for Teddy Ballgame,
This is for Bobby Doerr,
Yeah, this for Teddy Ballgame,
Dominic, Pesky and Doerr.

And the banner went up, pulled up by two long-time Sox...





And, for the ceremonial first pitch, we had Bill Russel, Bobby Orr, Richard Seymour and Tedy Bruschi.





And then Broadway Charlie Wagner, 92 years old, who debuted with the Boston Red Sox in 1938, called "Let's Play Ball!"