Red Sox Nation
Red Sox Nation refers to the fans of the Boston Red Sox. The phrase "Red Sox Nation" was first coined by Boston Globe feature writer Nathan Cobb in an October 20, 1986, article about split allegiances among fans in Connecticut during the 1986 World Series between the Red Sox and the New York Mets.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Red Sox fandom
Red Sox fans were once described by Dennis Eckersley as the "ultimate manic-depressive fanbase."[2] For all the excitement over the quality of play by the Red Sox, there is often a twinge of pessimism about the team, as the team's failures are typically blown out of proportion. Boston Globe columnist Charlie Pierce, among others, has attributed the self-perpetuating fatalism of the Nation to the intellectual legacy of the Puritans who settled Boston and instilled in the region's inhabitants a deep-seated Calvinist determinism.[3]
The Nation has received mixed reaction from the rest of the country. In 2010, Forbes magazine rated Red Sox Nation as the best fans in American sports, citing points such as road attendance and overall devotion to the team.[4] In 2011, GQ magazine ranked Red Sox fans the 6th worst in the United States - and 2nd worst in Major League Baseball behind only the Philadelphia Phillies - labeling them "insufferable hypocrites" for their "whining about the Yankees' salary-driven Evil Empire" while the Red Sox maintain a significant payroll advantage over nearly every team in MLB, including a $90 million advantage over their 2007 World Series challengers, the Colorado Rockies.[5]
[edit] "Official" Red Sox Nation
In 2004 the Boston Red Sox began offering official citizenship in Red Sox Nation. For a small fee, fans received a membership card with the words "Official Red Sox Nation Citizen" and access to additional Red Sox merchandise offers and newsletters.[6]
[edit] President
In the summer of 2007, the Red Sox fan site on MLB.com offered "official" citizens of RSN the chance to register as candidates to become the first president of Red Sox Nation, for the 2008 season. A broad field of self-proclaimed candidates was whittled down (internally, by operators of the website) to 25, then an open-to-all online "primary" was held in August that resulted in 10 final candidates. For most of September, the ten were provided with weblogs on the website to mount their campaigns. On September 27, Tim Russert of NBC moderated a debate among six of the candidates in a hall at Boston University (three were no-shows, and Doris Kearns Goodwin withdrew from the race). The final election, also open to the public at the same website, was held from September 28 through October 2, 2007. The winner was Jerry Remy, a former Red Sox player and current broadcast color commentator.[7] The following day, Remy threw out the first pitch in the opening game of the Red Sox' playoff series.
[edit] Governors
Following Jerry Remy's election as president of Red Sox Nation, he and his vice president "Regular Rob" Crawford developed a "Red Sox Nation Five-Point Plan" to guide their first year in office. The first point of the plan called for the creation of governors to represent members of Red Sox Nation in their home states.[8] Beginning with the six New England states, nominations were accepted through redsox.com, and from these nominations the president and vice president appointed representatives for each state.[9]
Governors are responsible for organizing viewing parties for Red Sox Nation members in their states, as well as collecting feedback from their constituency. For their efforts, the governors enjoy the following benefits:
- Unlimited Fenway Park tour pass for two
- Two tickets to a select 2008 Red Sox regular season game
- A certificate of governorship signed by the president/CEO of the Red Sox
- Periodic "governors only" conference calls with the vice president of Red Sox Nation and a select Red Sox executive
- A Red Sox Nation shirt
- A 2009 Red Sox Nation fan pack citizenship
- A subscription to MLB.tv
- Personalized "Red Sox Nation governor" business cards
- A photograph of the Fenway Park center field videoboard with their name on it.
[edit] The Idiots
Refers to the name given to the 2004 World Series that came back from an 0-3 deficit in the ALCS against the New York Yankees. Players like Kevin Millar, Mike Timlin, and Johnny Damon were at the helm of this collection.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Cobb, Nathan (October 20, 1986). "Baseball Border War; In Milford Conn., Geography Brings Sox and Mets Fans". Boston Globe: p. 8.
- ^ Shattuck, Kathryn (July 31, 2007). "Reality TV Melds Baseball and That Other Pastime". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/31/arts/television/31sox.html?ref=arts&pagewanted=print.
- ^ Stossel, Scott (August 28, 2005). "The tragedy of '04". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2005/08/28/the_tragedy_of_04?mode=PF.
- ^ Burke, Monte (August 2, 2010). "America's best sports fans". Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/2010/08/02/best-fans-teams-lifestyle-sports-fandom.html.
- ^ "The Worst Sports Fans in America". http://www.gq.com/sports/lists/201104/worst-sports-fans-in-america#slide=10.
- ^ The Official Site of The Boston Red Sox: Fan Forum: Red Sox Nation Details
- ^ MLB.com, "Red Sox Nation President"
- ^ Red Sox Nation president and vice president announce five-point plan
- ^ Red Sox announce the selection of the first six Governors of Red Sox Nation
