Opening Day....In London - Thank God for MLBTV

Don't get me wrong, I miss my family and friends back home, but today has got to be the toughest day to be away from Boston.  Red Sox opening day....a sacred day of leaving work early (not happening here), meeting up with buddies for beers (may happen here), and obsessing over each pitch in game 1 of 162 (will happen here...but mostly just ITMGal and I...in our tiny flat).

All that gets me to this...thank god for MLBtv.  Joe Murph has been using it for years to satisfy his Red Sox needs in NYC...but I've never run into a sustained period away from Red Sox baseball in my life.  I must say, if he MLBtv premium package that I just purchased lives up to the hype, I might not suffer a total freak out here across the pond.
 
Here are the features....

• Portable to Multiple Devices* Mac, PC, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Apple TV, Android™ Phones, Sony PlayStation®3 system, Samsung®, Roku®, Boxee®, LG® Televisions
• HD Quality (where available)
• In-Game Highlights and Stats
• Full Game Archives
• Alternate Audio Options
• Pitch by Pitch Widget
• Clickable Linescore
• Fantasy Player Tracker (huge!)
• Home and Away Broadcasts (Don and Jerry (and hopefully Heidi)...yes please)
• Live Game DVR Controls
• Multi-Game View (PIP, Split Screen, Quad)

Wait...I can watch Sox games live on my iPhone??  Crap, my company is going to HATE those international streaming rates.  Yikes.

 

What did people do 5 or 10 years ago when this wasn't an option? I must say, I would have considered turning the opportunity to come to London down (kidding....or am I???).

Either way, it's opening day for the Sox...I hear the Boston area has some snow, but here in London is sunny and about 60 degrees.  Time to get focus, dial up some MLBtv, and settle in for what should be a great season.

Go Sox...

Game on....

Finally, I Found One...

It has taken over a month, but I finally found a fellow Red Sox fan alive and in person here in London.  I have the feeling this is only the beginning....it's an irrational belief that once the season gets going next week, Red Sox Nation will come out in numbers across the pond.

I also saw a 6 year old kid with Red Sox hat today when we were near the London eye...but it was clearly brand new, and he was from Spain, so that was a bummer.  Poor kid had no clue why I was so excited....pretty sure his parents threatened to call the cops on me too.

That said, ITM has received multiple emails about establishing a London-based Red Sox fan spot.  There are a few pubs around London that carry American sports, but perhaps we'll establish our own Red Sox Pub...it'll take a lot of work, and a lot of pints....but we may just get there.

ITM note:  Who's worried about our pitching staff right now?  Collective ERA of what seems like 13 (it's a bit lower in actuality, but not enough to make me feel good).  I know, I know, it's only spring training, but don't tell me you're not at least a bit worried.

Go Sox...Go London....Go Boston.  Just Go.

Red Sox Nation Number 2 "Most Passionate Fans"

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.

I've Been in London for 48 Hours and I'm Already Freaking Out

How do you say Stud in Spanish?....

- I missed team photo day? Really? I can only assume Manny was late.

- A Gon was cleared to swing a bat and take BP? Ahead of schedule nonetheless?  Why haven't I printed my planned "ITM-Arriba Bitches!" T-shirts?

- Joba is getting heat for being super fat in NYC? I wish I could buy the NY Post just for the back page.

48 hours into my nearly 6 month stint in the UK and I already feel like I'm "missing" everything. Granted, being in Boston wouldn't be much different seeing how the team is in Ft Myers, and not everyone is quite on the same level of Red Sox infatuation as I am of yet...but those days are coming.

Yesterday was technically day one in London. I dragged my wife to three different pubs close by our "flat", as expected, no baseball...only some crazies playing "soccer".

Don't get me wrong, I'm actually some what of a soccer fan, but let's get serious, I need the Sox. "Yeah I golf on Sunday, but I hate golf."

I totally forced that Old School quote, but somehow it's worth it.

Anyways, I'll make it a mission of mine to search out some kind of semblance of baseball while I'm here. I don't care if I have to start a facebook fan page/revolution and pay off the bar to purchase the channel in order to play he Sox game, I need to make this happen.

If and when I fail miserably at the above, I'll turn to MLB.com and just stream some Sox games through my computer at 2am local time here across the pond....the wife will love that.

All that said, I'm flying back to the States for 4 days of Spring Training greatness in less than a month.  The greatest use of 20,000 American Airline miles ever.