Boston Fans—Annoying or Envious?

The Mariners won again last night by the skin of their teeth, shocking a Boston "Nation" whose presence has been hard to ignore throughout the series. The lowly Mariners are inconveniently getting in the way of a mighty "Nation" that strolled into the Emerald City expecting a sweep, and is now left licking its wounds after losing two straight to one of the most embarrassing teams in recent memory.

It’s hard to know what to make of all the Boston fans at Safeco Field. Two schools of thought on the subject:

A. Boston is a big, old city with bloodlines going back generations, and a lot of former residents have moved out here and continue to support the winning franchise.

B. The front-runners are out in force. Every generation has the bandwagon geeks who want to jump on something successful. Most of these folks wouldn’t be caught dead in Red Sox gear in Safeco Field before the curse was broken a few years back and now the obnoxious "Nation" won’t go away.

Anyone who lived through the '90s can remember how everyone was suddenly a Chicago Bulls/Dallas Cowboys fan. In the '80s, there was the typical influx in 49ers fans—which seemed to correspond with winning—and now we have the unbearable Red Sox "Nation."

We have to guess that, at less family-friendly parks—Oakland for instance—the Red Sox Nation is probably a little less vocal, given the harder nature of the home crowd. As someone who got into a few shouting matches as a Seahawks fan in San Francisco, we can say with the benefit of experience that out-of-town fans deserve to be ridiculed regardless of their organization’s all-around superior product. And, it is the moral obligation of Mariners fans everywhere to make the Red Sox Nation feel every bit like the obnoxious, intruding visitors they are.

It’s not like we’re going to see them in the post-season anytime soon, so we might as well give them a little hell and let them know the Mariners' fans don’t always roll over as easily as the team.

Photograph courtesy of monohex from the Seattlest Flickr Pool

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By John in News on May 29, 2008 2:00 PM

Comments [rss]

mdwiffle

@ elasticsyntax:

This is type of attitude you see from the typical Red Sox fan - ARROGANCE. Who ever would have thought that the Yankees and their fans would be so much better than Red Sox fans?

Middleman

At the risk of beating a dead horse here, I've lived next to Fenway Park for the last 4 years. There has been a considerable downturn in the quality of the 'living next to Fenway' (ie, putting up with the fans) experience since the 04 Series win.

Those coming for the games have gotten douchier, properties have become gentrified, restaraunts and bars strive for some kind of baseball-adult-Chuckie Cheese aesthetic.

Tickets are so expensive so games are almost solely attended by the upper class who break out their finest active wear because man, they're active tonight walking from the lot where they could afford to drop $80 to park their Mercedes.

There's nothing lovable about the Sox anymore after seeing the moneymaking machinations up close.

Except for Papelbon. It's hard to not like the guy.

buddhabrad

Watch any Cubs away game, and you see the same thing.

Some teams are just more lovable than others.

elasticsyntax

1) Boston fans travel. We can't get in to Fenway, so it is the only way to see out team.

2) Boston fans are the least "bandwagon" in the league. 86 years without a ring, and we still cheered and packed Fenway. (Mariners fans stopped showing up only a few years after 2001.)

3) It's not becoming to gloat when your team is still in last place.

4) Rooting for your favorite team is not "bullshit."

5) Only cheering for the home team when the scoreboard tells you to is bullshit.

6) You just had 3 really great pitching duels (a rarity in Seattle)...so please stop bitching.

Eco Geek

Hmm, strikingly relevant sentiments from Jim Caple at ESPN:

Red">http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=caple/080529&sportCat=mlb">Red Sox Nation must be stopped!

To be honest, you are probably a better fan if you stay away from Safeco until the M's get better. Us dumbass Sox fans more or less filled Fenway for 80-odd years, which the owners took to the bank without ever feeling the pressure to field a championship worthy team. Luckily new owners changed the direction of the franchise.

bconnolly

I just assume they're all bandwagon douchebags (though there was a true Bostonian on the shuttle back downtown after the game I went to).

And I'm glad I got to go to that game. Most satisfying baseball game I've ever been to for two reasons

1) Got to see a clinch hit in the bottom of the 9th from a team with laughably terrible offense

2) Got to yell and scream at all the bandwagon losers to get the fuck out of SafeCo with their BoSox Nation bullshit. I wasn't even that drunk either.

ruffhauser

Eco - Good points, and as a former denizen of the "Rust Belt" I know what it's like to see your hometown folks scattered to the winds.

I was very proud to see the caravans of "Buckeye Nation" when tOSU came out here last September to kick the Huskies butts all around Montlake.

Oakland, Tampa and Baltimore are still pretty soft touches for baseball, Oakland especially. Tampa needs to have a good team at some point to see what their made of and Baltimore, who used to be the class of the American League, has been down for so long it seems their fans have been placed in carbon freeze.

Eco Geek

As a New England native and die hard Red Sox fan, I can assure you that it is not only in "soft" Seattle that "the Nation" comes out in force. I actually pay an annual fee to be able to stream live video of Sox games all season, and you hear "Lets Go Red Sox" chants at many away games, notably Tampa Bay, Baltimore, and yes, Oakland.

Sure there are some bandwagon fans, but the numbers don't lie. Last year the Sox were the #1 road draw in the MLB (last person to move out of New England, please turn out the lights).

bilco

I was a last night's game - a truly lovely spectacle. And, my man Yuni had the only relevant hit in the entire game!

I was amazed by the relatively low turn-out (only 30,500 fans), and the low-key nature of the Boston fans in my area (section 146). I remember - when was it, oh, that's right, last year - when the Sox would pack the stadium with their obnoxious fans.

Perhaps the ailing M's have discouraged even the Baked Bean crowd.