If there’s one thing I know about Fenway, besides being one of the best historic ballparks in the world, it has some of the most obscene fans ever. Well, Phillies fans are pretty bad, but I don’t think they trained their kids to chant “ARod Sucks... Jeter Swallows.” That may be the most offensive thing you can chant at a ballpark, a park with children present to see a good game between 2 division rivals and history in the making.
I was at Fenway in 2004 and witnessed this exact little spectacle and I will tell you, while the kid had no idea what he was saying, the fans thought it was hilarious and the dad felt like a rock star for 3 minutes, high-fiving fellow Sox fans while his parrot kid was screaming obscenities to the players on the field. You wonder why I call them the evil Red Sox, it’s because that red just makes their fans see red. Next thing you know it’s an all-out assault and it’s sad.
In 2007, I was at Yankee Stadium with a friend for yet another Yankees-Red Sox match up. We were in the nosebleeds in right field. Now, if you read WHAT IS A YANKEE GROUPIE? PART 2, I probably fall into “The Possum” category. I'm the guy who’d love to be obnoxious, but the reality is, I have kids, I’m 40 and I just want to see a good game. As I was trying to get through the aisle, I spilled a little beer on a Red Sox fan who tried to back up and let me in get by, but he just slid his legs over and I needed to shuffle past him. Needless to say, beer spilled. He thought purposly, although it wasn’t, but I was glad he thought so. “What the hell are you doing?” he said. “Trying to get by you, thanks for moving,” I snapped back. “You spilled beer on me.” And he stood up and we were face to face. I looked him dead in the eye and said softly “You don’t want to do this here. This is our house, not yours.” Quickly, he shut up and sat back down.
Throughout the game, the Yankees played good ball. At that point the people who sat next to this sad Red Sox fan left and I need to push more buttons…so I sat right next to him. The dude rolled his eyes. The balls on this guy, right? We Yankee fans come into Yankee stadium and we’re threatened? No Way. God forbid I tell him he’s in the wrong house. I slowly became “The Frat Boy” mentality and made sure the world knew there was a Red Sox fan in my section. Luckily, it worked. A few chants and middle fingers later that Sox fan got a taste of his own medicine, he left.
The Yankees Red Sox Series to me is always great and always will be. Starting with Babe Ruth, it may be some of the most fun you can have at a ballpark. Through the years, the curse was so great for any Yankees fan and when it “ended” in 2004, I still want to believe. 
Why? Because for the years leading up to the Sox winning, the curse was a fun little element of the game. These days, the games are still competitive, but I don’t feel like it’s the same. The evil Red Sox are winning more for some reason and I don’t like it one bit.
So, what can we do as the New York Yankees? Win. The Yankees are the greatest team in franchise history; we have the wins, the rings and the greatest fans in the world. The Red Sox have some wins and some fans that were so old they croaked after they finally won in 2004 and then they have the latch-ons; These are Red Sox fans that weren’t Red Sox fans before they won, but they hate the Yankees so they bought a Sox hat. Passion wins every time though, that’s the difference. True fans have passion, Yankee fans have passion. Latch-on Red Sox fans can't name the lineup. What I mean is this; you can wear your stupid red cap all you want, the truth of the matter is, the Yankees are tradition, we have determination and we belong on top… that’s not just a stupid rant ladies and gentlemen, that’s the truth…
- Grady Little leaving Pedro Martinez in too long, was supposed to happen.
- Aaron Boone’s home run was supposed to happen
- Babe Ruth becoming a huge hitting sensation with the Yankees was supposed to happen
- Bill Buckner letting that ground ball go under his legs was supposed to happen.
- Roger Clemens and Wade Boggs never winning with the Sox and then winning with the Yankees… was supposed to happen.
It’s destiny, nothing less. Let’s Go Yankees!
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For Christmas 1978, my grandparents got me a book titled "Day By Day In New York Yankees History," by Nathan Salant, carrying up to what was then the most recently completed season. When discussing that September's Boston Massacre series, Salant mentioned -- this was in 1978, remember -- that Sox fans in the Fenway bleachers were looking out at Reggie Jackson in right field and chanting, "Reggie sucks!" Salant said, "One of the more printable mouthings, I might add." This was nearly a year before "Disco Sucks Night" ruined a Chicago White Sox doubleheader and, effectively, took the stigma off the word "sucks" (but still told the truth about disco music).
ReplyDeleteSox fans make New York Ranger fans (many of whom are also Yankee Fans) sound like, ironically, old-time New England schoolmasters by comparison.