When Mariano Rivera bade farewell to Fenway Park, he was saluted with a video montage and the Boston Cello Quartet’s rendition of “Enter Sandman,” the song that had long accompanied his entrance from the bullpen.
When it was Derek Jeter’s turn to say goodbye to Red Sox fans, a parade of Boston sports dignitaries turned out — Bobby Orr, Paul Pierce, Carl Yastrzemski, Luis Tiant among them — and the crowd at Fenway Park, which had for years greeted Jeter with boos, honored him with a standing ovation.
Perhaps three World Series titles in a decade have done wonders to soothe a region’s animus toward the Yankees, or maybe it was simply an appreciation of one of the most enduring rivalries in sports, but even Jeter and Rivera were surprised at how respectfully they were treated on their way out.