According to the Bleacher Report: "The atmosphere outside of Fenway Park before Red Sox games is unlike anything else seen in Major League Baseball.
Fans mill outside of the stadium for hours leading up to the game; shopping at stores, drinking at bars and grabbing good food from concessions.
Once the game starts, Fenway is always a packed house.
The Red Sox crowd has declined in overall quality since winning their two World Series in 2004 and 2007. Higher expectations have led to an increase in ticket prices, forcing out the die-hards and replacing them with more indifferent business folk.
But Red Sox fans still care about their team more than any other fans in baseball.
Players have gone so far as to request to leave Boston because they constantly felt hounded by inhabitants of the city. Perhaps Boston fans are too passionate.
The Celtics are one of the NBA's elite franchises, and the Patriots are currently among the kings of the NFL.
But when the Red Sox are good, Boston is first and foremost a Baseball town. The Red Sox have sold out every year since 2005."
I wish I could say I disagree with this report, but at least on the surface, it's quite accurate. Call it a natural ebb and flow given years of torture followed by recent success....but clearly we all have work to do this year.
Also, call me crazy, but is there something wrong with me that I can't take any city that is not on the East coast seriously when it comes to baseball fandom? Football?..sure, that's right up their alley, but America's pastime just feels "right" where America started in the first place. Who knows.
Anyways, ITM flies from London to Boston, then Boston to Ft Myers for a long weekend of Red Sox Spring Training, adult beverages, and the opening round of March Madness. Stay tuned....and hope that none of us get arrested.
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