How much does winning and losing affect your fandom?
- Thread starter TomRicardo
- Start date
I’m not in that boat, though I did work as an aide in the self contained classroom of a junior high in an earlier incarnation, and I’m sending hugs too!
It’s funny @AMS25, some people throw away the 20 season, which i get, but I really I felt that same line about sucky baseball over no baseball when Covid hit. Just add a quality pitcher and a RHH knuckle-heads, it’s way more fun.
I'm a number 4 with some number 5 sprinkled in. I was a rabid fan for 52 years before they won their first World Series in my lifetime. I love the laundry and the players. The Red Sox have filled a lifetime of pleasant memories, firmly rooted before a phenomenal 2004. I will always love the Red Sox.
Is this a purity test?
Most here love the Red Sox but as we have learned over the years, for many different reasons. Laundry - how most of us got here, particular player (s) on the roster, prospects (sometimes prospect hoarding is more important than winning for some people), the Fenway Experience, being part of RSN etc are all reasons besides winning to follow the team
To me, the question we all have to ask as consumers is if the place we are patronizing deserves whatever business we are giving them. I am not throwing my Red Sox gear in my smart trashcan like Skip Bayless but until it feels like this team is truly investing in trying to be competitive, I am not going to worry about whether they sign some flawed FA or not etc or which middle manager is the GM of the moment. To me, their economics appear to be more important than going all out to win. If they are indifferent to trying to compete at present, I am not going to spend a lot of time or money following them.
The thing is, I suspect it won't matter if some of the diehards dial it back. There are plenty of people who will be happy to take their places.
Most here love the Red Sox but as we have learned over the years, for many different reasons. Laundry - how most of us got here, particular player (s) on the roster, prospects (sometimes prospect hoarding is more important than winning for some people), the Fenway Experience, being part of RSN etc are all reasons besides winning to follow the team
To me, the question we all have to ask as consumers is if the place we are patronizing deserves whatever business we are giving them. I am not throwing my Red Sox gear in my smart trashcan like Skip Bayless but until it feels like this team is truly investing in trying to be competitive, I am not going to worry about whether they sign some flawed FA or not etc or which middle manager is the GM of the moment. To me, their economics appear to be more important than going all out to win. If they are indifferent to trying to compete at present, I am not going to spend a lot of time or money following them.
The thing is, I suspect it won't matter if some of the diehards dial it back. There are plenty of people who will be happy to take their places.
I know we keep saying this and maybe it’s because the Red Sox have been the RED SOX our entire life but when FSG bought the team in 03, they were the unquestioned number one team in the area.
That has changed as most people care more about the Pats* than the Sox. There are lots of factors to blame for this but the Sox are now lumped with the Bruins and the Celts as the number two team in New England.
* with Belichick and Brady gone, this could change but it won’t do so this year with so many people wondering who’ll they’ll take at number three and how Mayo will do.
Presently, the Sox are probably number four in the region but these rankings are fluid. Which is why it’s so strange to me that Henry and company decided that the last five years they’re just going to say “fuck it” and quit trying to be the Sox.
If they continue down this path, the days of Fenway being banged out with “the best fans in baseball” may be a memory. And I know at SoSH from our high horses were not supposed to care what the “pink hats” think but you know what I like when the city is talking baseball. I like when your neighbor who would know WAR from a split fingered fastball asks if I saw last night’s game.
Baseball is a great communal game and I want MORE people liking the thing that I like than fewer. Because from those “fair weathered” fans sprout true fans.
Henry and his cohorts are doing real damage to their brand, the Sox as a franchise and to baseball itself all in the name of short term gains. This doesn’t make him any different than any owner or MLB as a whole under the Manfred administration but it sucks just the same.
I’m fairly certain it will matter. There is likely to be less interest in the Sox, broadly speaking, at the beginning of this season than we’ve seen in quite some time. NESN ratings, and buy rates, are likely to be very low. Tickets will be plentiful. I imagine I’ll be getting daily emails from the team about April/May deals.
The Celtics and Bruins having deep playoff runs would only make it worse.
There will be lots of announced sell outs over the summer. But there will be gobs of tix below face on the secondary market, and pockets of empty seats visible on TV.
If the Sox don’t have an unexpectedly good season I think revenue is going to take a meaningful hit. Apathy is a killer.
I purchase the MLB package every year so I can watch Boston (can't get NESN where I live), and I would say that I am more of a Boston fan than a baseball fan. I start every season with optimism, but when they suck I stop watching. I still follow, but won't start investing time to watch until they get somewhat competitive, or have some interesting narrative with new players, or something,.
The thing is I am going to have to try and step away if thet are not looking to be a playoff team. I care too much and the recent years have injured my mental health. The lack of effort by the brass depresses me so I will work hard to disengage. May need anAA like support group.
I’m almost 50, grew up living all Boston sports teams and living and dying with each game, and have witnessed the unprecedented run of championships over the last 20 years or so. I am still as devout and hardcore as ever, watch a majority of games for all 4 teams, but have developed a level of appreciation for what these teams have accomplished that not winning every year doesn’t really bother me. I hate Spoiled Boston Fan Syndrome. I appreciate the process of things and building championship contenders has been fun to watch. I’m looking forward to seeing what Breslow can do — and looking forward to the next run, much like the Bruins (Sweeney) and Celtics (Ainge and PBS) and Patriots (BB multiple times) have experienced despite all of the naysayers on SoSH.
For a short while but the Fenway experience will be a one time thing for most newbies if thet finish in last place again. I wonder where the NESN numbers were in late August or September. My guess is revenues will fall due to unrest in the fandom.
But. . .if everyone constantly and publicly complains, even if they make the playoffs like they did in 2021, we can really generate a feedback loop of apathy and suck!
If they lose but look like they are trying to build a winner every year I can live with it. Things happen that we can't predict. Who knows, the 2024 Sox could be great. Casas becomes MVP, Bello wins the CY, Giolitp and Pivetta are strong number 2 starters, Cutter and Houck grow, Jansen discovers the fountain of youth, Duran and Cedanne terrify teams with their speed., Grissom is a stud, Story and Raffy hit between 50 and 50 dinners each and Raffy becomes a dependable defender. So the Sox might get the last laugh.
Voted 4, but my heart and my time devotion are nearly equally divided between options 1,2,4, and 5. I do understand the need for the other options, and hold no grudge to those who land there, I get it. It's kind of like a weird 'normal' marriage. There are highs and lows in communication and commitment, and sometimes we don't even want to to talk to each other, let alone being in the same room, but I'll always be there, and will always love you.
I put myself down for the "I really only care when they are competitive" option. Baseball has largely become a game I check the standings every two weeks and follow down the stretch in September if the team is in it. If they're in the playoffs then I watch otherwise I don't pay much attention. Life goes on.
I dont think it has much to do with the on field product. Baseball's just not that high up on the entertainment tier list anymore... there's too much other good stuff around to spend time engaging with baseball constantly.
I dont think it has much to do with the on field product. Baseball's just not that high up on the entertainment tier list anymore... there's too much other good stuff around to spend time engaging with baseball constantly.
Since a couple of you mentioned special needs relatives, I'll relate a funny story (at least to me). I coached a Special Olympics softball team for 10-12 years that won the Massachusetts State Championship 3 years running in the late 80s. One time, Red Sox player Steve (Psycho) Lyons was a guest at our awards banquet. I caught up to him at the bar (we were about the same age, in our mid-20s). He asked me how the team was, and I replied "better than you might think, we turn all the routine plays and a few of our guys can really hit, but we run the bases station to station." His reply, "Sounds just like the Red Sox".
I think I'm an odd fan in the sense that my Red Sox fandom has ebbed and flowed between being a complete diehard in the early-mid 2000s, to not really caring at all in the 2010s, to now coming back during what seems like a down phase for the franchise.
I started to love the Sox in around 2000/2001 as I was taking pitching more seriously and loved Pedro. I grew to love Manny and Nomar, and the history of the franchise and the quest to break the curse. The 2003 and 2004 Red Sox teams are without a doubt my favourite teams out of all the teams I follow. I really liked the 2007 team, but I started to lose interest as I saw the players I loved either retire or move on to other teams, and there was just a different vibe with the team after having won two championships in four seasons. I also hated how I thought Pedro was treated by ownership after the 04 season, and how Manny was always on the trade block, and how Ortiz was only offered a series of one year deals.
In 2009, my wife and I went to Pittsburgh to see the Phillies play the Pirates as Pedro was then playing for the Phillies. Pittsburgh was a place that I had spent a lot of time as a kid, going to a lot of games at Three Rivers and PNC when visiting family in Western PA. The Pirates won the game on a walk-off HR by a young rookie named Andrew McCutchen. I felt the Pirates were a cool, up and coming team and wanted to be part of their ride back to relevance. I was pretty in on them for a while, but after the run from 2013-2015, there was nothing worse than following the Pirates. If you think it's bad right now following the Red Sox with their lack of stars, imagine *never* being in any discussions for *any* free agents. The only hope when you're a Pirates fan is that you'll hit the lottery on a draft pick, and even then, it's just a matter of time before that player prices himself out of your franchise and leaves for a bigger team. To add to that, even when you do hit the lottery on a draft pick, you get the pleasure of seeing that player never develop, get traded for Chris Archer, and then become a superstar for another team.
I continued to watch baseball all the time, but shifted more towards rooting for players on my fantasy team while keeping an eye on the Pirates and the Red Sox. Watching baseball that way was really unfulfilling. You watch games only to see your pitchers do well, or your hitters hit a home run, without ever really caring about the outcome of the game. You flip back and forth between games only to see individual at bats or pitching stats and you miss out on a lot of the drama of caring about the result.
At some point last year, I felt really nostalgic and missed rooting for the Red Sox. No baseball team ever made me feel the way the Red Sox did, and I have a lot of history rooting for them. There are a lot of people who still know me as being "the Red Sox guy" where I'm from. Of course winning matters, but it's not everything. I can live with a rebuild if I think the team will spend to augment a core of home grown players, unlike the Pirates in 2013-2015. I can live with a rebuild knowing that the team will do their best to keep their homegrown superstars. I know the wounds from the Mookie trade are still raw, but a situation like the Devers extension would almost never happen with the Pirates. Yes, they re-signed Ke'Bryan Hayes and Bryan Reynolds, but those players are not the same caliber of player as Devers. They traded McCutchen and they traded Cole just as they were about to get expensive. I don't need my team to win every year, but at least show me you're trying and that there is a plan other than to do the bare minimum while lining the owner's pockets. Despite how this offseason has gone, for the first time in a while, I'm actually excited to root for a team during a baseball season.
I started to love the Sox in around 2000/2001 as I was taking pitching more seriously and loved Pedro. I grew to love Manny and Nomar, and the history of the franchise and the quest to break the curse. The 2003 and 2004 Red Sox teams are without a doubt my favourite teams out of all the teams I follow. I really liked the 2007 team, but I started to lose interest as I saw the players I loved either retire or move on to other teams, and there was just a different vibe with the team after having won two championships in four seasons. I also hated how I thought Pedro was treated by ownership after the 04 season, and how Manny was always on the trade block, and how Ortiz was only offered a series of one year deals.
In 2009, my wife and I went to Pittsburgh to see the Phillies play the Pirates as Pedro was then playing for the Phillies. Pittsburgh was a place that I had spent a lot of time as a kid, going to a lot of games at Three Rivers and PNC when visiting family in Western PA. The Pirates won the game on a walk-off HR by a young rookie named Andrew McCutchen. I felt the Pirates were a cool, up and coming team and wanted to be part of their ride back to relevance. I was pretty in on them for a while, but after the run from 2013-2015, there was nothing worse than following the Pirates. If you think it's bad right now following the Red Sox with their lack of stars, imagine *never* being in any discussions for *any* free agents. The only hope when you're a Pirates fan is that you'll hit the lottery on a draft pick, and even then, it's just a matter of time before that player prices himself out of your franchise and leaves for a bigger team. To add to that, even when you do hit the lottery on a draft pick, you get the pleasure of seeing that player never develop, get traded for Chris Archer, and then become a superstar for another team.
I continued to watch baseball all the time, but shifted more towards rooting for players on my fantasy team while keeping an eye on the Pirates and the Red Sox. Watching baseball that way was really unfulfilling. You watch games only to see your pitchers do well, or your hitters hit a home run, without ever really caring about the outcome of the game. You flip back and forth between games only to see individual at bats or pitching stats and you miss out on a lot of the drama of caring about the result.
At some point last year, I felt really nostalgic and missed rooting for the Red Sox. No baseball team ever made me feel the way the Red Sox did, and I have a lot of history rooting for them. There are a lot of people who still know me as being "the Red Sox guy" where I'm from. Of course winning matters, but it's not everything. I can live with a rebuild if I think the team will spend to augment a core of home grown players, unlike the Pirates in 2013-2015. I can live with a rebuild knowing that the team will do their best to keep their homegrown superstars. I know the wounds from the Mookie trade are still raw, but a situation like the Devers extension would almost never happen with the Pirates. Yes, they re-signed Ke'Bryan Hayes and Bryan Reynolds, but those players are not the same caliber of player as Devers. They traded McCutchen and they traded Cole just as they were about to get expensive. I don't need my team to win every year, but at least show me you're trying and that there is a plan other than to do the bare minimum while lining the owner's pockets. Despite how this offseason has gone, for the first time in a while, I'm actually excited to root for a team during a baseball season.
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This is the Sox ticketing page selecting two tickets for Opening Day. Opening Day used to be a lottery draw in the early aughts, register with 20 or so email addresses and hope one gets picked and you better have been logging in right at the start or you were going to be SOL.
Oh, and two lower bleacher seats for OD will set you back over $140 before fees on the Sox site.
I land here too. The Sox are just a part of my daily routine during the season. I almost never watch a whole game (but still pay out the nose for cable to watch the last inning or two after the kids are in bed). And I rarely to to Fenway these days. But spring and summer is overflowing with baseball, with my sons playing on Little League and High School teams, daily trips to get in extra hitting at the local batting cage, working on the board of our local Little League, going to as many Sea Dogs games as possible, playing in a super competitive fantasy league with old friends that has lasted more than two decades, and the occasional pick up softball game. I have loved baseball my whole life and the Red Sox, and, in particular, Joe Castiglione are the soundtrack to my spring and summer.
And I do hate meaningless September games since it feels like summer fades too early when the Sox are out of it as school starts. Competitive games in September is my hope every year.
I voted 1, but really it's this. I grew up as many of us did, in a world where it just seemed impossible that the Red Sox would ever win a World Series. Now, they've amazingly won 4 championships, and all with this ownership team.
I am a diehard baseball fan and if the franchise folds I will still watch baseball every day. The Fenway Sports ownership team has more than repaid my fandom, and I'm willing to be patient with what they do, because while the pace of all this is frustrating, it's not only on them. I supported Chaim Bloom, I supported the firing of Chaim Bloom, I support Craig Breslow. To think that any of us would do a better job is ridiculous. You want to negotiate with Scott Boras? Pass.
Let's Go Red Sox! Clappity clappity clap.
I am a diehard baseball fan and if the franchise folds I will still watch baseball every day. The Fenway Sports ownership team has more than repaid my fandom, and I'm willing to be patient with what they do, because while the pace of all this is frustrating, it's not only on them. I supported Chaim Bloom, I supported the firing of Chaim Bloom, I support Craig Breslow. To think that any of us would do a better job is ridiculous. You want to negotiate with Scott Boras? Pass.
Let's Go Red Sox! Clappity clappity clap.
Most days I can't come close to living up to the attitude you express, but man I love every word of this post unconditionally.
I went with option 4, but I'm somewhere between 4 and 5.
I don't necessarily get pissed off when they lose, but I do get very pissed off if I think they're wasting a season. Which, to be clear, does not mean spend, spend, spend every single season.
I'm a firm believer in that each year at the deadline, the team should make one of two decisions. Either a) add for a playoff run and try to do as best as you can when you get there or b) sell off anything that is only on the team for the rest of that season - or of course if you get an offer you can't refuse for something with more term.
So the 2020 "season" didn't really bother me, or an example of the 2014 season, didn't bother me at all. The team was awful and they moved pieces for longer term assets. Good. Same with something like 2013 (obv) or 2021 (though I still think they should have added pitching that season). On the other hand, 2022 and 2023 pissed me off greatly.
I don't necessarily get pissed off when they lose, but I do get very pissed off if I think they're wasting a season. Which, to be clear, does not mean spend, spend, spend every single season.
I'm a firm believer in that each year at the deadline, the team should make one of two decisions. Either a) add for a playoff run and try to do as best as you can when you get there or b) sell off anything that is only on the team for the rest of that season - or of course if you get an offer you can't refuse for something with more term.
So the 2020 "season" didn't really bother me, or an example of the 2014 season, didn't bother me at all. The team was awful and they moved pieces for longer term assets. Good. Same with something like 2013 (obv) or 2021 (though I still think they should have added pitching that season). On the other hand, 2022 and 2023 pissed me off greatly.
I chose 4, largely because my real answer is 5. I get way too upset when they lose, especially when they lose stupid, and at a certain point I decided it wasn't good for me - certainly it wasn't good for my sleep schedule. So, I stop paying attention when they're doing poorly because it can really hurt my day-to-day mood, which can really hurt my day-to-day functionality.
Agree with this so I voted number 6, although it doesn't really work for me. I'll root for BOS for the rest of my life but really it's my interest in particular teams that ebbs and wanes with how competitive they are.
And when I say "how competitive" they are, I don't necessarily mean on a season-to-season basis. I can understand that building winners is cyclical and certainly appreciate those efforts. But OTOH, if it looks like the franchise is adrift and not really having a plan for building a winner other "hope for the best," I lose interest.
Which is pretty much where I am now.
And where I expect to be for the next several seasons, unless BOS can get lucky and draft/develop some premium talent (since they apparently aren't going to buy it on the free agent market).
This is where I am. Being a fan since '98, a few mediocre or even bad seasons are not going to diminish my interest in the team. But I'm not renewing my pricy MLB.tv subscription if ownership appears uncommitted to putting a winning product on the field. I feel the opposite is true for the Celtics, so I got League Pass for the first time this year.
We know because you've said it a million times. As have others. We have a thread for rehashing the Mookie trade for the millionth time. We started that thread so people would stop posting about Mookie in every other thread on the board. Please use that thread and not the other threads on the board for Mookie trade hate. This is also for everyone who keeps posting about the trade in threads other than the trade thread.
To the first part, I do too. Still do. My team just means more to me. I also happen to enjoy rooting for guys like Triston Casas, Rafi Devers, Trevor Story,... you get the picture. So not sure why you think this is relevant here.
If you want to say that you value the players of the game who wow you more than the team you mostly follow, and expand on that, that's fine, but you never miss an opportunity to get in a one-line, drive-by jab.
As to the second, obviously, since you've said it that many times yourself. We get it. I promise.
The drop-in one liners just have to stop.
Teddy, if you want to follow the same standards as everyone else, and add substance and quit with the one line bullshit, that's one thing. I told you how you could properly frame how you feel above. If you want to try that, go for it, but you are not going to keep injecting this shit all over the board. Is that understood?
I just want to add that it's not personal, Teddy. We are really working on re-establishing standards and if new members see us letting one-liners go by, on any subject, the assumption will be that it's okay. We are really hammering home that we want folks to speak their minds, but opinions or emotions alone aren't enough to add any value, and leads to lousy discussion.
I would never buy another teams' cap, but the last 3 years I've watched more out of town games than Red Sox games and I've been to Fenway only once -- for a work thing.
I love baseball and the Red Sox will always be my team, but combining the barriers to follow the team (MLB.tv blackouts, NESN/YTTV not getting along, NESN 360 being painful at best) with consistent expected mediocrity has pushed me from being the rabid local fan I once was to one that keeps an eye on the local team but actually watches more of the rest of the MLB.
Worth adding, my Bruins fandom has taken a significant hit due to the change in viewing access as well. I used to watch every game for both teams, even if recorded. I'd avoid box scores and news stories if I had to. This type of experience fostered a deeper relationship with the team and the players where I was invested in how they played, even beyond outcomes. Since my TV access has been primarily reduced to stuttering, non-recordable NESN 360, that bond no longer exists. I'm still a fan, but I don't follow like I did and I'm not going to spend -- in terms of time and money -- on in-person experiences like I once would. Maybe for the playoffs, but that's more a bang-for-buck calculation than evaluation of winning. Losing just makes it easier to check out.
I love baseball and the Red Sox will always be my team, but combining the barriers to follow the team (MLB.tv blackouts, NESN/YTTV not getting along, NESN 360 being painful at best) with consistent expected mediocrity has pushed me from being the rabid local fan I once was to one that keeps an eye on the local team but actually watches more of the rest of the MLB.
Worth adding, my Bruins fandom has taken a significant hit due to the change in viewing access as well. I used to watch every game for both teams, even if recorded. I'd avoid box scores and news stories if I had to. This type of experience fostered a deeper relationship with the team and the players where I was invested in how they played, even beyond outcomes. Since my TV access has been primarily reduced to stuttering, non-recordable NESN 360, that bond no longer exists. I'm still a fan, but I don't follow like I did and I'm not going to spend -- in terms of time and money -- on in-person experiences like I once would. Maybe for the playoffs, but that's more a bang-for-buck calculation than evaluation of winning. Losing just makes it easier to check out.
I voted 5, but could easily be the category above as well. I would say I don't need a .600 winning percentage in order to root for the team, but the important part is SHOWING improvement and taking steps to develop the NEXT great team. Some of my favorite Boston teams were Celtics seasons where we didn't have the horses (pre and post-Big 3), but I had total trust in Danny Ainge to keep the wheels turning and the organization ended up delivering in the long run.
Like many others here, I’m somewhere between 4 and 5. I voted 5, but it’s not quite right. There was a time in my life when the things my favorite team did or failed to do made me angry, but I’m past that. But 4 isn’t right either. I like to think of myself as a committed fan, but the Red Sox do compete with other things for my attention. That attention shifts to other things more readily in August and September if the Sox are out of the race.
Mine mostly evolve around my life's circumstances. I followed them in law school, moved to New York and it was harder to follow them. My interest re-ignited as my son played - and has remained pretty constant. I pay attention - but when Football season starts I stop watching unless they are in the hunt.
Baseball is MUCH less popular among my son's generation, a product of much lower Little League participation among other things.
Neither here nor there really, but it occurs to me that I remember a lot of detail about my first visits to Fenway. Some of the memories are pretty specific.
Yet I have no idea who won those games. I guess that probably means something. Not sure what.
Yet I have no idea who won those games. I guess that probably means something. Not sure what.
It’s kind of simple to me as I am primarily a simple man. When the Sox win and are competitive, it’s exciting. If it’s hopeless, the entire region moves on to something else and it’s not nearly as exciting. It’s not a band wagon thing either as I will check the scores of the games i miss, but it is tough to be compelled to invest three hours nightly when the team is already down three runs by the time you turn on the game.
On its own, I couldn't care less about how much they spend. I want them to play competitive baseball, and I want to believe those in charge of the team have made defensible decisions in pursuit of that goal.
If they stop playing competitive baseball in August (or earlier!), then my attention, and my leisure dollar, will drift elsewhere.
If they stop playing competitive baseball in August (or earlier!), then my attention, and my leisure dollar, will drift elsewhere.
I feel like that happens with most baseball games unless it was memorable game. I remember going to a Pedro shutout in Shea and the game where Manny stole a HR in the 8th in 2015. But I can remember other games where I couldn't remember like the last time they had doubleheader for Shea and the Old Yankee stadium (where you could go to both stadiums in the same day) but I couldn't tell you who the Mets or Yankees played or if they won. I feel the Red Sox have lost a majority of bashes I have attended.
This is pretty much my answer. I watch and/or listen to at least 120 games a year, usually dicking around in my garage doing some project or other, knocking back a few beers, and often complaining and cracking jokes in game threads.
I have no problem at all remembering what 1978 felt like. or 1986. or 2003. I loved them then - a clownshow organization with some absolute dumbfuck pieces of shit running things - so why the fuck wouldn't I love them now?
I love the Boston Red Sox. It's in my blood. I love Boston Red Sox baseball cards. I love vintage Boston Red Sox glassware, and magazines, and pennants, and bobbleheads and any other goddamned thing that has the logo on it. I love signed pictures and balls of guys who've played for the Boston Red Sox. I love the sound of a ball off the bat, and a nicely turned double play. I love Yaz running around waving goodbye and Ted getting swamped at the 1999 All-Star game and a million other moments that have nothing to do with winning records or justifying how I spend my time or money.
So yeah, I'm never gonna stop that because Mookie is gone (even though I wish he wasn't), or because I think the GM somehow knows less than I do, or because the ownership group wants to engage in late stage capitalism like the rest of the uber-wealthy assholes on the planet. That shit - at the end of the day - has very little to do with why I care in the first place. And when I catch myself starting to feel like a lot of others seem to as they vent about management, I tell myself to STFU and remember why I cared so much in the first place. It sure as shit wasn't because I thought we were gonna win every year.
If a season ever ends and I don't tear up reading this, I'll reconsider, but until then, let's fucking go.
I'll never forget my first, 10th birthday, 5/7/77.
I remember all the action, I mean how many people in history got to see Steve Dillard go yard? Bucky Dent before Bucky Dent, but I digress, and too soon. Never mind Boomer's triple.
One thing I can say for sure, though, for a newly 10 year old me, the park was by far the star of the show that day. So yeah....
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After all these years, I barely remember what happened during most of the playoff games I've been to.I'll never forget my first, 10th birthday, 5/7/77.
I remember all the action, I mean how many people in history got to see Steve Dillard go yard? Bucky Dent before Bucky Dent, but I digress, and too soon. Never mind Boomer's triple.
One thing I can say for sure, though, for a newly 10 year old me, the park was by far the star of the show that day. So yeah....
Generally, if seeing your team win is a requirement of enjoying going to a game, then baseball is not the sport for you. Even the very best teams ever are going to lose 1/3 of the time.
I wish I knew the date of my first game. It was 1975. Coincidentally, I've been going through my dad's stuff and I found the Denny Doyle autograph that we got that night. It was the encounter that is the story behind my username. It's on the back of the will call ticket envelope. I'm really glad I found it. I thought it had been lost.
It is the stuff like this that makes me remember why the wins and losses are not so important. But it's also stuff like this that makes me a little bit angry at Henry and Company, because it's starting to feel like they are leveraging these feelings of good will and taking advantage of us like we'll always be there. Maybe they are right.
I'm reposting these because I agree with large sections of both of them.
1) I'll always follow the Red Sox, especially early in the season.
As others said, they're the soundtrack of summer, what you hear wafting out of cars in parking lots and in the background at cookouts. Casually following the Red Sox -- on TV, at Fenway, on the radio when I'm driving somewhere -- in April/May/June is part of our birthright in New England, and the nice thing about a 162-game season is that unless the team is REALLY putrid with so many Wild Cards it's almost impossible to be out of it before the All Star break. My degree of interest changes based upon their performance from late July on.
2) I'll always be grateful to FSG, Henry, and the rest of the ownership group.
I don't think it can be said enough. Four -- FOUR! -- World Series championships is a laughable embarrassment of riches. "More than repaid my fandom" doesn't even quite say it. They've brought me a number of the most joyous moments of my life. They've permanently changed the image of the franchise. They ended the curse... and then won THREE MORE times, hoisting THREE MORE World Series trophies. They could fill Jersey Street with statues of the 2004-2018 heroes. It doesn't happen without these owners.
And beyond that, I'll add that they stepped up and preserved Fenway Park -- they even made it a version of Fenway that had never existed before, better and cleaner and filled with seats in interesting new places, while still reflective of the history of the franchise. The Yankees lost something irreplaceable in my view when they tore down the old Toilet. Fenway Park is a baseball palace and for me a big part of what makes this franchise so special.
3) It's frustrating to follow a team that feels like it isn't trying its hardest to win right now, for reasons that aren't totally clear.
The days when Theo tried to win 95 games every season seem long ago. We can argue about the wisdom of their decisions. Perhaps you think the goal is to get back to those days, but in a sustained way. That's fair. But it seemed pretty sustainable back in the 2000s and late 2010s.
Anyway, my fandom has been tempered, both by the satisfaction of winning in the past and the dissatisfaction of not trying to win in the present. It will never return to 2003/2004 levels, but unless the team bottoms out completely, it won't change dramatically.