I’ve been sitting here for a while trying to think of how to start this piece, but it’s difficult to put into words an event that left me totally speechless.

If you’re a diehard Red Sox fan like me, you’ve been waiting for this your entire life, and the feeling right now is hard to express. It’s somewhere between complete elation and the strongest sense of relief imaginable.

Last Wednesday night is a moment that every Red Sox fan has dreamed about: going into Yankee Stadium in a Game 7, putting all the nonsense talk of ghosts and curses to rest, and beating the Yankees on the way to the World Series.

The ALCS was easily the greatest playoff series of my lifetime, and not just because I am a Red Sox fan, but because each of the last four games will be aired on ESPN Classic for years to come.

In coming back to win a series after being down 3-0, the Sox accomplished something that had never been done in 101 years of postseason play in Major League Baseball, and I was privileged to watch every minute of it.

Obviously winning this series will lose much of its meaning if the Sox do not go on to bring home the ultimate prize, but Red Sox Nation needs to take time to reflect on the greatest comeback in the history of sports.

The strange thing about the series is that the Sox were actually favored to win it, and most fans definitely felt this year was their best shot at knocking off the Yanks.

The outlook quickly changed after the Sox were dismantled in a variety of ways in the first three games of the series.

First it was Curt Schilling, the franchise savior, coming out and getting racked due to an ankle injury that was far worse than anyone outside of the Red Sox clubhouse knew.

Then, in Game 2, there were the endless “Who’s your daddy?” chants and what looked like the last start Pedro Martinez would ever make in a Boston uniform.

And then, of course, there was the Game 3 debacle that surely did away with all of the fair-weather Sox fans.

The thing about this team is that it showed unbelievable resiliency all year. The Sox came out of the gates firing, taking six of seven from NY early in the year. But then they fell into a three month malaise that didn’t end until the former face of the franchise was traded.

After Nomar was gone the attitude of the team changed. No longer was there a dark cloud hanging over the clubhouse or stewing at the end of the bench.

The brawl between Jason Varitek and A-Rod in late July seemed to charge up the team even more, and the subsequent come-from-behind win foreshadowed two things that proved to play a huge role in this series.

First off, it showed that the Sox were not afraid of the Yankees and that they would not back down to them. Second, and perhaps just as important, it showed that they were not afraid of Mariano Rivera and that he could be beaten.

So when the Sox were faced with a one-run deficit and three outs remaining in their season, they did not shy away from the moment.

Kevin Millar drew a huge walk off of Rivera, who until this year was considered the most dominant closer in postseason history. It’s hard to say at this point which is fading faster, Rivera’s reputation as automatic in big games or his hairline.

Dave Roberts came in to run for Millar and swiped the biggest stolen base of the season. Bill Mueller followed with the game-tying hit and restored the faith all over New England in the process.

Later that night, David Ortiz sent the fans home with even more hope with his second walk-off homerun of the playoffs.

That one hit by Ortiz changed everything, because then it didn’t seem like the Sox needed to win three more games in a row. All they needed to do was go out and beat the Yankees one time and get to the next game. Then they would need to win that game, and then get to the next game, and so on.

The mountain seemed far easier to climb once the Sox went all out to win each game individually without worrying about the next game. If this approach seems familiar, it’s because a fairly successful football team in Foxboro has been using this formula for its past 21 games.

The Sox went through another marathon in Game 5, and again Big Papi came through with the game on the line.

This was the point when I realized that the Sox could actually do the unthinkable and reel off four straight wins.

With Schilling getting another shot at New York, you knew he would leave it all on the field. The blood dripping through his sock only added to the gutsiest performance I have ever witnessed in sports.

It wasn’t enough to go out and pitch through the pain, though. Schilling had to shut down one of the best lineups in baseball and pitch deep enough into the game to rest the bullpen which was absolutely taxed after the two extra-inning games in Boston.

Of course, Schill was dominant even though he didn’t have anything close to his best stuff. He seemingly willed the Sox toward victory and got the game into the increasingly trustworthy hands of closer Keith Foulke.

Everyone knows how Wednesday night played out, with Johnny Damon erasing a brutal slump with two sweet swings of the bat and Derek Lowe turning in one of the most brilliant and improbable performances imaginable considering the way his season has gone.

The Sox have finally brought down the Empire and the feeling as a lifelong fan is incredible.

My grandfathers never saw the Sox win a World Series, and after last year’s painful ALCS loss to the Yankees, my father was wondering if he’d ever see one in his lifetime. And while they haven’t done it yet, it seems like there is no other way for this story to end.

The Sox now head to St. Louis holding a 2-0 advantage in the World Series. They are a mere two wins from bringing the first title to Boston since 1918.

While there still is some work to be done, teams like this don’t get to the mountaintop and then let it slip away. As the signs all over Boston read “You Gotta Believe.”

After winning a series like the one they just did, it’s never been easier to believe that this truly is the year for the Sox.