Have the Red Sox become the Evil Empire?

Wed., Oct. 24 2007 at 9:03 AM

Categories: Sports

They've paid $140 million and then some for their team. When they travel to other parks since they erased the curse of the Bambino in 2004, bandwagon fans make up anywhere from a third to half of the crowd. Even when their team isn't playing, you can find Sox fans in any Major League ballpark in the country (and Toronto) sporting their Sox gear like Hells Angels sporting their colors. Red Sox fans will chant "Yankees Suck," at a Cubs-Cardinals game in St. Louis. I, for one, am getting pretty sick of the Bloody Sox, and I don't think I'm alone. In the comments section below, tell us your why you think the Red Sox and their fans have become the least tolerable in sports.
-- Sean Cronin

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Boston Red Sox, Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees

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I am 38 years old and have lived in Boston my entire life. As much as I love the city, I have often wished I lived elsewhere due to the insane amount of attention devoted to this baseball team. I was a also a sportswriter for one of the major Boston papers for the better part of nine years, and I covered my share of games at Fenway. I honestly do not have a problem with the organization or its methods of winning pennants by way of checkbook. However, I wish this city and the folks who live here would once in a while check in with reality and see that there is an entire world out there outside of Fenway Park. The obsession with this team is borderlining creepy. You have to labor through the first ten minutes of a newscast to even hear a word about what's going on over in Iraq. Rudy Guliani comes to town to campaign and makes headlines. Why? Because he was wearing a Red Sox cap. There's a thing called perspective, and Bostonians needs to get familiar with it.
How are we an "empire" if we've won just one World Series in 86 years? Doesn't an empire usually reign for an extended period of time? Can't we all just get along?
I'd like to point out that every game at Fenway since May 2003 has been sold out... We fans paid for the winning team by showing support and loyalty...
One More and Done: Money alone doesn't make a winning ball club, just look the New York Mets who come in third in highest payroll and had the one of the greatest collapses in baseball history this year, as opposed to teams like the Rockies and Diamondbacks who has successful years with average to low budgets.
I'm not back tracking on anything. You missed the point because you have no idea what you are talking about. The Yankees and the red sox both get all these young players because they are signing them for huge contracts into minor league deals. This is something that teams like the Devil Rays and Royals can't do because revenue sharing is not enough to make it possible for small market teams to pay players that might never see the majors. And the "FACT" is the Red Sox have more hired guns on there team than any other team in this post season. The whole starting rotation is bought, all the power is bought, and all the fans are in denial and still dreaming of the David vs. Goliath days. And about the red sox superior use of their money. How about J.D. Drew and Gagne... Brilliant pick ups!
Lets think about this for a second. BOTH the Yankees and the Red Sox spend huge sums of money on players. The Sox have chosen to spend there money on pitching where it should be spent. It seems the Yankees have forgotten how they won 4 out of 5 World Series titles. BUT they both spend tons more than everyone else. Spending big money to sign DiceK, Becket, Schilling.. that is the defination of "buying" a World Series. Any team that posts $51 mil to talk to a pitcher can be accused of buying a championship. Yep... sounds like the Red Sox have become the New Yankees.
I like these boards! Everyone gets crazy on them... funny stuff.
Frank, I was talking more about the post-season. And believe me, we don't accept Clemens as a "red sock" anymore. And now you're backtracking on the Yankees spending "huge sums of money" on players no one else can afford "thanks to Boras?" I'm facing the facts, but thank you for reminding me to do so sir.
Hey Brendan maybe you should check out A-Rod's numbers this year... soon to be his second MVP years as a Yank... and as far as Roger goes, he's a red sock anyway. And FYI Robinson Cano Melky Cabrera Derek Jeter Joba Chamberlain Mariano Rivera Jorge Posada Andy Pettite Phil Hughes are all home grown... so let's face the facts
I don't care much for baseball, even though my father is a Yankees fanatic. When I was in college in 2004 I met a Red Sox boy, but he couldn't commit until his team clobbered mine. Turned out his Boston affiliation wasn't the only thing wrong with him. I broke up with him two months later. Sucker.
I think last night's game was evidence that the Sox have "bought" nothing. Eight out of nine batters had an RBI. Pedroia, the rookie, had a lead-off homerun. And Youk, another farm kid, had what, four? five hits? The bottom line is the Sox, unlike the Yanks, have clearly spent their money wisely. There aren't any divas like Clemens or A-Rod who don't live up to their salaries. I will admit that the media is East Coast biased, but I mean that's where they're all stationed. It does suck, I know (and I'm from the Northeast). But I do have to disagree that the Sox get the same attention as the Yanks. They get so much attention that someone outside of the country tuning into American TV via satellite would think that NY is America. That's another reason I think it's great that you Rockies are in the WS. You 100% deserve the attention.
Everyone is forgetting what native Red Sox fans problem with the Yankees really is. It is the big city little city complex that people in New England have with New Yorkers. New York is the mecca of culture and sports, and the focus of world attention. Boston = bitter littler brother So spend 140 million on players like Manny, maybe you will win, but you will never be respected by true baseball fans. And as far as growing your own players go. The yankees and the red sox are both benefitting from spending huge sums of moneys on early draft picks that should go way before their pick, but no other team can afford (thanks to agents like boras). Let's go Rockies!
Because ESPN (aka Eastern Sports Network) sucks! If someone on the Boston team sneezes it's a leading story. Their east coast bias is sickening.
"Have the Red Sox become the Evil Empire?" No, but thanks for asking. Next question?
I love how you idiots are saying that the Sox are a "bought" team. They wouldnt have won the Cleveland series if it wasn't for home grown talent, Pedroia,Papelbon, and YoouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuK.
Mike D clearly knows nothing about baseball. The Red Sox won 5 of their World Series in the 15 year period from 1903 (the first World Series) to 1918, when there was a total of 16 teams. There are now 30 teams. Do those 1st 5 wins really count? How about we say, "The Red Sox stink in the 'modern era' because they were perennial losers, and the league finally capitulated in 2004 to allow them to win." go back to school.
This is a little ridiculous. I'm from Boston and living there now, and nobody here is saying a single negative thing about the Rockies. More than that, I heard not one person badmouthing the Indians either. After the ALCS, everyone spoke to would talk about how great the Indians were in this series and everyone really respected them. We love the Rockies Cinderella story. Sure, there are jokes about the NL, but it's all in fun and none of it is specific to the Rox. I know everyone in Boston is excited for the challenge. We think you've got a great team. Obviously we want our team to win, but I mean c'mon, it is a competition after all. It's kind of immature to generalize so much. Every single team will have it's share of bandwagon fans, or the stupid drunk college kids (emphasis on KIDS here -- cut them some slack), but these groups don't represent the whole. You have to understand, the Red Sox aren't just a team here. Baseball is almost a philosophy in Boston. Red Sox fandom goes back generations and generations. You're born into it. As for the curse, I think ours differed from the Cubs in the sense that it was almost a punishment for trading the Babe. And lastly, I simply don't get how the fans can be blamed for the Sox payroll. Much of the team consists of veterans, they simply have to be paid more as they've made their bones. The same will most certainly happen to the Rox as the years go on -- especially after this year. And if I'm not mistaken, was it not the work of Pedroia and Ellsbury -- rookies -- who helped us win the other night? Yes. It was. So relax. We don't hate you. We really admire you. So what if we're goofy about it? Would you prefer we cut our hair like the Yanks and take ourselves way too seriously, or should we just have fun playing this GAME?
"I don't get the arrogance...over the past 100 years many teams have eclipsed the Red Sox achievements." "the Florida Marlins have as many championships as they do in the past 99 years." The Red Sox Have 9 championships in their illustrious history. You guys are showing how little you actually know about baseball. Just enjoy the games and stop acting like asses.
As a native Coloradan who has also been a Red Sox fan since I knew what baseball is, I'm also a Rockies fan. I was overjoyed when we finally got a team in '93, and went to several games a year before moving away in '96. Obviously, I think that its great that my 2 favorite teams are in the Series, but I have to stick with my heart and back my beloved Sox who I will follow regardless of where I live and how will the local team may be playing. I've seen them play only once in Fenway (do you know how hard, and expensive, it is to get tickets at Fenway, even for regular season games?), but make it a point to go if I happen to be in the same city where they are playing, be it Oakland, Dallas, Baltimore or Denver. To address the question: "Have the Red Sox become the Evil Empire?" I would say yes and no. The Red Sox obviously concluded that to compete with the Yankees year in and year out, they would have to spend more like the Yankees. They have definitely become much more of a "bought" club. However, I don't think that the Sox (or the majority of their fans) have the same level of entitlement as the Yankees. Many Sox fans are psychotic in thier devotion to the team, and should probably get a life, but at least the game is still fun in Boston, unlike New York. Sox fans have endured decades of good teams who weren't quite good enough in October, so we haven't suffered like the poor Cubbies fans whose team is usually out of it by the end of August. Still, I think that the Sox history, tradition and personality has attracted fans all around the country who may never have a chance to visit Boston. Most true Boston fans would have remained just as loyal had 2004 ended the same way 2003, 1986, 1978 and 1975. Frankly, I would take the typical Sox fan over all the new "Rockies" fans, currently running to WalMart to buy cheap hats and purple t-shirts; "fans" which on Sep. 1, didn't even know the name of the Rockies left fielder. By the way Rockies fans, real baseball fans don't do the wave, appreciate a sacrifice fly and know the difference between an infield hit and an error. We'll see how many of the Rockies "great" fans are still in the stands if the Rockies fail to re-sign Holliday, Tulo, Francis, et al when they become free agents and once again sink to mediocrity. I can guarantee you that all of the seats in Fenway will remain full, every game, even if the team only wins 70 games.
1) Because the Boston team, fans, and press completely and utterly failed the "win with class" test last time they were in a World Series. 2) Because seeing more Red Sox caps than Brewers caps for sale in a Northern Wisconsin Wal-Mart annoys me. (And I'm not a Brewers fan.) 3) Because whenever the Sox win a game, it's SportsCenter's lead story (well, maybe behind the Yankees game), but whenever something happens to a team in flyover country, ESPN barely covers it.
Two words: Man Ram? Yeah. Go Rockies!
It's the hypocrisy of Sox fans that strikes me most. Whine and whine and whine and whine about the Yankees and their spending ways and then turn around and do the same stinkin' thing. Their entire persona is based on a lie. Now, they have the same sense of entitlement as Yankee fans but without any skins on the wall to back it up when the Florida Marlins have as many championships as they do in the past 99 years. The idiots who wear their Sox gear when they aren't even one of the two teams playing deserve whatever gets thrown/shouted at them.
A family friend lives out in Colorado. WHen the Sox played the Rockies this year, I told him not to be surprised if they made the playoffs sometime in the next 2 years. His response? "Whatever. Baseball in Denver is a joke. The Rockies are perpetually horrific. No one pays attention to it." Now he's ranting about how the Rockies are tremendous and the swarms of fans are going crazy for the world series. Bandwagon?
I think Red Sox fan have somewhat been humbled by the years of frustration. Now that they have won a series already that monkey is off their back. They are a great team that seems to have a lot of fun while playing. Heres to what will hopefully be a great series. Go ROCKIES
As Westword's lone on-staff representative of Red Sox Nation, I take exception to Mr. Cronin's misplaced antagonism -- and I am glad many of the people commenting here do, too. Rooting for a baseball team doesn't mean you have to trash your opponents. Yes, Red Sox fans trash the Yankees, but that's because there's a historic rivalry between the franchises -- and the Yankees are evil. Just because the Rockies fans don't have a true rival doesn't mean they should try to create one based on the team they are playing at any given time. Most of the Red Sox fans I know aren't bad-mouthing the Rockies right now -- they're thrilled by the idea of a World Series between a young, underdog squad on an impossible run versus a Sox team that is riding high after an ALCS triumph that was temptingly similar to the impossible-dream comeback of 2004. And the idea that much of Red Sox Nation came together after 2004 is a downright joke. The Red Sox have ALWAYS been known for massive hordes of irrational devotees, even through decades and decades of defeat. Such devotion should be inspirational in Denver, a city that is just now beginning to understand the appeal of he game, not a source of derision. It was the Red Sox fans' unparalleled fidelity that made what happened in 2004 so poignant, not just for folks who'd been rooting for the Red Sox their entire lives, but also for people all around the world who normally couldn't care less about baseball. To now call the Red Sox the "Evil Empire," after surely rooting for them a scant three years ago, smacks of tabloid love-hate sensationalism. What do you think of Britney Spears, Mr. Cronin? Did you used to sing karaoke to "Baby One More Time" but now are reveling in her public shaming? And last but not least, I don't think anyone involved with the Colorado Rockies right now should be using the word "bandwagon." Let's go Red Sox.
This seems like just bitter vitriol. I have a buddy of mine, Rockies fan but lives in Boston, and he tells me that they're not running any stories remotely like this, and that Boston fans are actually just excited to get to play our hotter-than-Bakersfield in August Rockies. Drumming up this sort of misdirected hatred makes us seem like we have a loser mentality. Let's go into this series with a little more confidence than this. No need to try to artificially create bad-blood where there isn't any. Good players on both teams, should be a good series.
Bandwagon fans happen to every team after they become a winner. It isn't limited to the Red Sox. The term "bandwagon" existed before the 2004 championship. In Boston, when people chant "Yankees Suck" the real fans who have been with the team for decades (and the intelligent younger fans) boo those people and tell them to shut up. I know this for a fact, as I go to plent of games as a Boston native. When fans in OTHER stadiums wear Red Sox gear and chant "Yankees Suck" they're just idiots in Red Sox gear... not fans of the Sox, or baseball in general for that matter. The Yankees and their fans are arrogant. Look at their web site-- the quote at the top says "Where players become legends." There's no reason for Red Sox fans to be arrogant. Happy that their team is winning for once in 86 years shouldn't be confused with this.
Any self respecting Red Sox fan doesn't consider themselves "Red Sox Nation" It is a corporate tagline concocted to get more money from the bandwagon fans. I pretty sure Colorado is familiar with bandwagon fans, considering there was only about a dozen or so fans before this season. FUSC
Because they are no longer the Boston Red Sox. They are "The Yankees of Massachusetts, only without the championships."
They�re not original at all. They take everyone one else�s little things and think its all them. For example: 1. the curse- the cubs were cursed first. Then boston comes along and is like �oh we suck so were just gonna steal the idea of the cubs being cursed and say were cursed too.� 2. the yankee spending spree philosophy- the Yankees have had the highest paid team year in and year out. Then the red sox come along and take the Yankees idea and blow a ton of money and throw together a team of proven veterans 3. the fan base- sorry red sox nation, raider nation was first. Find your own name.
Two words. Bill Simmons.
"3. Because over half of the Red Sox fans that I know have not even been to Boston in the last 25 years." Are you from anywhere NEAR Boston? If not, that would most likely explain that issue right there...best matchup I could have asked for, love the Rockies, Go Sox!
Boston and New York have been 1 and 2 in road attendance since 1975. It didn't start after the 2004 World Series. This blog sucks!
We don't need to build hatred up against the Red Sox. They're not hardly as arrogant or self-entitled as Yankees fans are. They seem to be an honest team, increasingly full of young players that have come up through their system. There's no need to make us Rockies fans as bad as Connecticut Yankee fans with an irrational dislike of the Red Sox. Let's just see a good, well-played series.
1. Because "Manny being Manny" is possibly the worst/stupidest/most annoying catch phrase in the history of baseball. 2. Having one player who is sort of a goof-ball is entertaining. Having a whole team that engages in goof-ball antics every damn game is overkill. 3. Because over half of the Red Sox fans that I know have not even been to Boston in the last 25 years.
I don't get the arrogance...over the past 100 years many teams have eclipsed the Red Sox achievements.