This column originally ran in The Standard-Times on May 12, 2006.

By Nick Tavares

Hysteria should come with the territory at this point.

Whenever the Red Sox and Yankees lock horns, which is far too often, the fantastic overreactions of two sets of rabid, sometimes irrational fans overrun the cup. There's no dealing with it at this point, no analyzing, just taking it all in.

And man, there's a lot of insanity to take in. Just check some of the message boards on the Internet.

For the record, entering last night's game the Sox and Yankees had played three times out of 19. The Sox held a 2-1 advantage, and it's the second week of May. There's still four and a half months of baseball left, and neither team is even at full health.

But sure enough, there is no ridiculousness on either side to spare.

Yankees fans are in a panic over their new centerfielder, the displaced Johnny Damon. Said one astute fan on an ESPN.com message board

"it would be nice to see him stop joking with that jerk varitek every at bat I imagine he won't go hittless inn 19 games against them this season."

And another fan on the same site, following the 14-3 loss

"Red Sox will own us this year IMO. Randy Johnson is shot, Chacon and W@ng simply aren't good enough to get Red Sox hitters out, and the Red Sox pound Mussina's slow (stuff)."

Of course, this isn't just about Yankees fans, this is about Sox fan madness, too.

Here's one Sox poster on ESPN.com following the Yankees' win Wednesday night, in response to a Yankees fan

"Gotta love fickle Yankee fans ... Monday night, he's crying and whining about A-Rod and the spanking the Sox are putting on 'em. Now, 'their boy' A-Rod is suddenly one of their favorites again and the Yanks are once again a contender. If any fan base deserves to have a $200 million payroll, it's hardly this ungrateful and despicable bunch."

Meanwhile, this fan thinks that the banner adorning redsox.com is the reason for Tim Wakefield's struggles this season

"He has been terrible ever since they put him on the banner. Take him off now."

Thankfully, in defense of Damon, another Sox fan on RedSox.com tried to put the others back in line

"Many of you need help. Johnny Damon was a very good player with the Red Sox. He may prove to be a very good player for the Yankees. Only time will tell. You cannot judge a player's overall performance with less than two weeks worth of games."

Now, it goes on and on like this, with more that would be even less fit to print. This also goes along with frantic Sox fans calling WEEI, suggesting that Willie Harris' presence in the lineup doomed the Sox, or that Schilling is too fat to pitch.

Does this represent the majority of baseball fans who happen to root for Boston or New York. I don't think so, but maybe that's just wishful thinking.

Not all too long ago (1997, in fact), just a week before the game I had no trouble getting three tickets to a Sox-Yankees game in the right field grandstand, and in front of the view-obstructing poles no less. The face value on the ticket was $18, and that is what I paid to see a Tim Wakefield-led 5-2 win.

And I sat in front of three Yankees fans, probably in their late 20s, and even more Red Sox fans. No incidents, no T-shirts, nothing.

Maybe it was because the Sox didn't have a very good year in 1997, but the Yankees were just a few months removed from a World Series title.

Still, it felt nothing like this. The media scrutiny was much lower, the drama wasn't there (thankfully), and for all of that it felt like just another baseball game between historical rivals. How quaint.

Now, it's hard to imagine it ever being normal again. A balanced schedule would help (I'd love to see the A's, Angels and White Sox come through Boston six more times a season), but that's not on any horizon.

So, when the Sox and Yankees play, early in the season no less, the madness and exorbitant ticket prices seem here to stay.

What to make of all this, beyond the obvious? I don't really know.

It's Sox-Yankees.

It comes with the territory.

Nick Tavares is a columnist for The Standard-Times. Contact him at ntavares@s-t.com

Date of Publication May 12, 2006 on Page C04