BOSTON--Boston Red Sox fans
are known as the most intense baseball fans in the country. On every street corner and in
every bar in Boston, the Sox are the hottest topic from March to October.
Now that the team has sold out every single game at Fenway park for
the first time in franchise history, Sox players and coaches are finally
telling Boston residents to get a life.
“The fans here are great, in a way,”said Sox centerfielder
Johnny Damon. “It’s pretty cool to come to the ballpark
and have it full every night. But it can be tiresome, too. When I first
came here from Oakland, people told me the fans here were rabid, but
I didn’t expect this much. It’s all they talk about, even
during the offseason. They live and die with us. Jesus, we’re
just a stupid baseball team. Maybe it’s time for these people
to get their priorities straight.”
“And what’s up with the 81 straight sell-outs?” he
continued. “81 straight? Don’t these people have anything
better to spend their money on?”
Sox fans are so committed that some have confessed to ruining their
marriages or neglecting their children in order to follow the team more
closely. Owner John Henry has heard his share of stories from obsessed
Bostonians.
“Every Boston fan has a story,” Henry told the Boston
Globe. “And they’re usually pretty pathetic. One guy
told me he decided against buying his wife an engagement ring after
he got a chance to get season tickets to the Sox. I laughed while he
was telling me, but inside I was thinking ‘Grow the fuck up.’
Another guy told me he was really concerned that his son might grow
up a Yankee fan because his wife is from New York. He said he stays
up at night worrying about it. If I were him, I’d be more concerned
that the kid will grow up to be an emotionally crippled manchild like
his father. Of course I didn’t say that out loud. I thanked him
for his support and tried to sell him a hat.”
Most members of Red Sox Nation are proud of their unflagging support
for the home team. In fact, obsessing over the Sox has turned into a
game of one-upsmanship, with fans comparing stories about their disturbing
levels of commitment.
“I once quit my job to attend a Red Sox preseason game in Florida,”
said John McCall, 27, of Brookline, MA. “Yea, I have a wife and
two babies, but this was a once in a lifetime shot to get a look at
some of the team’s young prospects. This is going to be our year,
and I’m not about to miss a minute of it, even if it means my
family is going to starve to death. I am such a die hard fan.”
Another fan, Jason Zimmerman, claimed that he was the world’s
biggest Red Sox booster, and he had the story to prove it.
“I had to blow a guy to get tickets to last weekend’s series
against the Yankees,” said the 24-year-old Boston College student.
“He was a scalper and I just didn’t have enough money to
buy the ticket. I was going to walk away but then I remembered that
Pedro was pitching and there was just no way I was going to miss it.
So I figured ‘What the hell?’ It’s something I’ve
always wanted to do...watch Pedro pitch, that is, not blow a scalper.”
As it turned out, the players weren’t impressed at all. In fact,
some suggested that Zimmerman and the rest of Red Sox nation simply
get a life.
“Grow up, get a life, get a grip—how many different ways
can I say it?” asked first baseman Kevin Millar. “Go read
a book. Spend some time with your kids. Watch the news, for God’s
sake. Jesus, I’m on the team and even I don’t get this worked
up about it. It’s only a dumb little game. The Red Sox are just
a goddamn baseball team. These people are pathetic. It’s like
having a needy girlfriend who won’t leave you alone, and she’s
always asking where you’re going and who you’re going with,
and she gets mad at the stupidest little things, and she’s totally
clingy, and you just wanna say ‘Get a life, bitch!’”
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