BOSTON – Forget 1918, they say. Forget last year. The surging Red Sox don’t feel like underdogs against the Yankees anymore.

“I think we’re the best team,” Johnny Damon said yesterday. “Hopefully the best team wins.

“We know they’re no slouches.”

Even Vegas agrees, the MGM Mirage installing Boston as $165-$145 favorites.

The Sox said they’d ignore their franchise’s historical second-place status to the Yanks as they prepare for the most highly anticipated ALCS ever.

Boston scored 25 runs and used dominant starting pitching in the Division Series to sweep Anaheim and legitimately looked like a World Series threat.

The wild-card winners flew into New York last night following a workout at Fenway Park, and they are totally geared up for tomorrow night’s Game 1.

“A lot of people call this the World Series right here,” David Ortiz said. “We’ll see.”

We’ll also see if, once again, those who downplay the teams’ history are doomed to repeat it.

“I’m sure people want to make this more than what it is, but the bottom line is the World Series is on the line,” Doug Mientkiewicz said. “It didn’t make a difference if it was the Twins or the Miami Dolphins.

“This has nothing to do with last year. Last year’s over.”

Last year, the Yankees earned the pennant with a come-from-behind victory in Game 7 of the ALCS, known in New England as the Grady Little Game.

Damon was one of the few Sox players who admitted the loss took its toll.

“It’s never going to be gone. That game is going to live on for a long time,” Damon said.

Jason Varitek said another matchup is “good for our sport.”

“In my eyes, I think they’re the two best teams left,” Varitek said.

The Red Sox haven’t earned a World Series title since 1918, a fact that has dogged the franchise for 86 years considering the Bombers have claimed 26 world championships in that time.

Francona playfully chastised Post columnist Jay Greenberg for bringing it up, saying, “1918 – you were probably 12.”

“What has happened last year or 100 years ago really doesn’t concern me,” Francona said. “I just wanna win now. . . . I’m not a math major, but I don’t think any of them were around then.”

Ortiz, whose two-run homer on Friday night gave the Sox an 8-6 victory in the clincher, predicted the Sox would be back at Yankee Stadium about a month ago.

Reminded of that, he said, “I know that was gonna happen. It’s like a Nintendo game.”

Damon believes there’s equal pressure on both teams, while Kevin Millar said there’s no pressure on the “idiots.”

“We’re playing for fun, and we’re going out there to kick some ass,” Millar said. “This team don’t put any pressure on themselves.

“I can’t speak for the Yankees. I know we’re a bunch of idiots, and we’re going to have some fun and see what we can do.”