I usually don't feel comfortable publicly showing my interests or attitudes (except on this blog). Guess I'm kinda private that way. One exception has been that since I left Boston I have begun wearing a Red Sox hat (if you're a Sox fan you know there are a multitude of different kinds - mine is the one with the red crown and blue visor, with the blue "B" and a pair of crossed socks on the back). A few weekends ago I was up in Louisville with my friends, and as we were crossing a busy intersection a car rolled by and the passenger began hollering at me - I initially assumed he was drunk and tried to ignore him, but I noticed he was gesturing at my hat, and I realised from his big thumbs-up that I had run into another Red Sox fan. And today, as I was driving home, I came up behind an SUV here in E-Town and I noticed a big bumpersticker in the rear window that proclaimed:
"I Don't Brake For Yankees Fans" (and then my eye traveled down to the licence plate frame with the Red Sox logo). Baseball is not big here. If you ask local people what team they root for they might say the Reds or just shrug their shoulders. But here and there, all over the place, there is
Red Sox Nation. I first heard of
The Nation when I got back home from Japan - expat Boston fans who were spread out all over the country, but still came out to cheer for their Sox if they came into town (or at the local sports establishment to cheer if the Sox never came to town). I still get a little misty-eyed when I think of how much my grandmother cheered for her Sox, and how incredible it was, in the rain (fighting off a case of pneumonia, I might add), to cheer the home team after they won it all in 2004.
Yes, I love the Sox, and I hate the Yankees, and I love the NY/Boston rivalry. So, if you are a member of Red Sox Nation, or even if you are a Yankees fan, but appreciate the rivalry, let's hear from you!
I usually don't feel comfortable publicly showing my interests or attitudes (except on this blog). Guess I'm kinda private that way. One exception has been that since I left Boston I have begun wearing a Red Sox hat (if you're a Sox fan you know there are a multitude of different kinds - mine is the one with the red crown and blue visor, with the blue "B" and a pair of crossed socks on the back). A few weekends ago I was up in Louisville with my friends, and as we were crossing a busy intersection a car rolled by and the passenger began hollering at me - I initially assumed he was drunk and tried to ignore him, but I noticed he was gesturing at my hat, and I realised from his big thumbs-up that I had run into another Red Sox fan. And today, as I was driving home, I came up behind an SUV here in E-Town and I noticed a big bumpersticker in the rear window that proclaimed: "I Don't Brake For Yankees Fans" (and then my eye traveled down to the licence plate frame with the Red Sox logo). Baseball is not big here. If you ask local people what team they root for they might say the Reds or just shrug their shoulders. But here and there, all over the place, there is Red Sox Nation. I first heard of The Nation when I got back home from Japan - expat Boston fans who were spread out all over the country, but still came out to cheer for their Sox if they came into town (or at the local sports establishment to cheer if the Sox never came to town). I still get a little misty-eyed when I think of how much my grandmother cheered for her Sox, and how incredible it was, in the rain (fighting off a case of pneumonia, I might add), to cheer the home team after they won it all in 2004. 
Yes, I love the Sox, and I hate the Yankees, and I love the NY/Boston rivalry. So, if you are a member of Red Sox Nation, or even if you are a Yankees fan, but appreciate the rivalry, let's hear from you!
3 comments:
My friends say that if the Red Sox come to Cincinnati (for inter-league play) we'll go and catch a game (as it is only three hours from here). Hooray! That would great, especially considering it has been a long time since I've been able to see a ball game live.
I'm afraid the cultural gap between myself and the world of baseball is simply to far for me to bridge. But, I'm happy to see that there is a friendly loathing between The Socks and the Yanks (sic). I can feel a warm glow inside just thinking about Liverpool/Everton, Newcastle/Sunderland, Rangers/Celtic, Tottenham/Arsenal...
Of course in the UK there is nothing like a bit of broken glass or a Glasgow kiss to help keep the spirit of competition alive.
From what you and Young Mr. Cantle used to talk about concerning Britain, I can only imagine that your sports' rivalries are a bit more rough-and-tumble than anything we might have here in the States (remember all the pre-World Cup-hype in Japan about English Football Hooligans?). You guys are the masters (case in point: a "Galasgow Kiss" sounds like the kind of smack you wouldn't get back up from easily...).
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