It’s all about redemption. There has never been a Red Sox season like this; a team that stared into the abyss of a four-game sweep and rallied to eliminate its arch-rival.

Yes, the Sox pulled off the greatest Lazarus act in the history of the game. That’s why Game 2 of the World Series is being played at Fenway tonight.

The Sox redeemed themselves in putting together an unprecedented rally to the pennant. They were led by Derek Lowe, the Game 7 starter who had been banished to the furthest reaches of the bullpen.

Prior to the ALCS, Lowe had pitched but one inning in the Division Series. He pitched very well in his Game 4 start, but put together the outing of his life when it mattered the most. Red Sox management hoped for three salvageable innings from the sinkerball specialist. They got six outstanding innings. Lowe threw 69 pitches, and kept the vaunted Yankee offense at bay while the Sox poured on the offense.

Johnny Damon provided the bulk of that attack, driving in an ALCS game-record six runs on a second-inning grand slam and a fourth-inning two-run homer. This, after the leadoff hitter had gone three-for-the-series in the first six games.

Mark Bellhorn drove the final stake in the Yankees coffin with a solo blast in the eighth. It came after Pedro Martinez struggled in the seventh, giving up a pair of runs and allowing the Yankee Stadium fans to get back into it.

The seven-game victory set off a call that “The Curse” had been lifted. I disagree. (I also don’t believe in such things as curses, but that’s an argument for another day. Hey, any team can have a bad century. And this one’s already off to a better start than the 1900’s.) The 86-year albatross hanging around Fenway’s neck concerns the World Series. The Curse of the Bambino is that the Sox haven’t won a Championship since 1918. And, as of this point, they still haven’t.

So don’t lose sight of the task at hand. The Sox/Yanks showdown of October 2004 should never be forgotten. It was something special, something we’ll be telling our kids and grandkids about for years.

That said, it will all be forgotten should this World Series end in a Bill Buckner-like meltdown. In 1986, the Sox staged a comeback for the ages in the ALCS against the Angels. Down to their final out in Game 5, the Sox hit two home runs and won the game in extra innings. They then won the sixth and seventh games to go onto the World Series against the Mets.

Ask a few Red Sox fans what they remember from that season. I guarantee you not a single one will start with Dave Henderson’s amazing ninth-inning home run. The memories will start and end with Game 6 at Shea Stadium, and they won’t be happy ones.

None of this is to take anything away from what this band of self-proclaimed “idiots” accomplished Wednesday night in New York. It was truly amazing.

It brought the Sox to a new stage — the ultimate stage. And a chance for the ultimate redemption. A chance to end a string of 86 years of unhappy endings.

Lewiston native Tom Caron cover the Red Sox for NESN.