{"id":5006,"date":"2026-07-13T12:14:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T07:14:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=5006"},"modified":"2026-07-13T12:14:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T07:14:28","slug":"matt-damon-recalls-the-frantic-flight-that-nearly-cost-him-red-sox-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=5006","title":{"rendered":"Matt Damon recalls the frantic flight that nearly cost him Red Sox history"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F07%2F134241583.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft wp-block-nypost-editor-partner-article-links\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Matt Damon rearranged\u00a0his travel plans\u00a0so he wouldn\u2019t miss one of the biggest moments in Boston sports history.<\/p>\n<p>The Oscar-winning actor recently recalled racing home from Europe during the filming of \u201cSyriana\u201d so he could watch the\u00a0Boston Red Sox\u00a0begin their historic 2004 World Series run after the team defeated the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series (ALCS).<\/p>\n<p>Damon shared the story during a recent episode of Amy Poehler\u2019s podcast, \u201cGood Hang,\u201d as the two looked back on one of the most memorable moments in Red Sox history.<\/p>\n<p>At the time, Damon said he was filming \u201cSyriana\u201d in Dubai and had been watching Boston\u2019s comeback against the Yankees from Geneva, Switzerland.<\/p>\n<p>After the Red Sox clinched the ALCS and advanced to the World Series, Damon said he was supposed to continue filming overseas until producer\u00a0George Clooney\u00a0stepped in.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Matt Damon rearranged\u00a0his travel plans\u00a0so he wouldn\u2019t miss one of the biggest moments in Boston sports history. <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Boston catcher Jason Varitek, left, hugs pitcher Keith Foulke as they celebrate the Red Sox\u2019s 3-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in game four to complete a sweep of the World Series on Oct. 27, 2004 in St. Louis, Missouri.  <span class=\"credit\">Chris Lee\/mct\/ZUMA Press Wire \/ Shutterstock<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI called him immediately, and he said, \u2018I already redid the entire schedule. You can go home,&#8217;\u201d Damon said.<\/p>\n<p>He landed at New York\u2019s\u00a0John F. Kennedy International Airport\u00a0just as Game 1 of the World Series began and rushed to his apartment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI made it to my apartment by like the second or third inning, and we won that game,\u201d Damon said.<\/p>\n<p>The actor admitted he refused to change his routine after Boston won the opener, believing he had found a lucky spot.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Matt Damon and George Clooney in a scene from the 2005 film \u201cSyriana.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">\u00a9Warner Bros\/Courtesy Everett Collection<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cOnce we won that game, I knew that I had to\u00a0watch every single moment\u00a0on that couch by myself,\u201d Damon said. \u201cI didn\u2019t want to jinx anything.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The championship represented more than just a title for generations of Red Sox fans, Damon noted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI do feel like something psychically changed for all of us when that happened,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Poehler agreed, saying the victory had a profound impact on her\u00a0own family.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know it did for my family,\u201d she said, adding that the championship \u201cfelt like the Odyssey,\u201d joking with Damon, whose upcoming film, \u201cThe Odyssey,\u201d is set for release later this month.<\/p>\n<p>The Red Sox went on to sweep the St. Louis Cardinals 4-0 in the 2004 World Series, securing the franchise\u2019s first championship since 1918.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Matt Damon rearranged\u00a0his travel plans\u00a0so he wouldn\u2019t miss one of the biggest moments in Boston sports history. The Oscar-winning actor recently recalled racing home from Europe during the filming of \u201cSyriana\u201d so he could watch the\u00a0Boston Red Sox\u00a0begin their historic 2004 World Series run after the team defeated the New York Yankees in the American&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5007,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/134241583.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5006"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5006\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}