Some will argue that Red Sox fans used to be like Cubs fans until their team finally broke their own "curse" and swept the much more talented Cardinals out of the World Series in 2004. That may be true, but that team that got swept was my team and now Red Sox Fans are nearly impossible to tell from actual baseball fans who happen to rank Boston as their favorite team. This whole phenomenon was further complicated by the proliferation of the New England Patriots in the past decade and, yes, a return to prominence by a certain green-clad basketball team as well.
What makes the Red Sox even more loathsome than their counterparts in the other major professional leagues? Well, just take a look at these two knuckleheads. Boston also comes in ranked very low here because I grew up a Yankees fan at first. I definitely get why people don't like the Yankees, because they are part of the national media hype machine along with Boston, but I can't really help being at least somewhat partial to the Yanks.
Favorite current Red Sox player: Victor Martinez. I guess I don't know a whole lot about Victor aside from the fact that he was a very good offensive catcher for Cleveland before he fell to the dark side. I actually don't mind David Ortiz a whole lot, but the PEDs thing keeps him out. And Adrian Beltre has that weird head thing...
Least favorite current Red Sox player: Jonathan Papelbon. It's that terrible stare. He's just dreadful. I can only take so much solace in the fact that he struggled a bit this season because in order to watch his meltdowns I'd actually have to watch him.
Favorite Red Sox player of all-time: Mike Greenwell. I have something I call the Mike Greenwell Theory of Red Sox fans. If you actually say nice things, let alone remember Mike Greenwell, you're an alright Red Sox fan in my book. I was convinced the guy was going to take home buckets full of trophies at one point.
Least favorite Red Sox player of all-time: Manny Ramirez. Too easy, I know. Wade Boggs probably would have won if he had ended up a Boston lifer.The Boston Red Sox come in at #29 in my reverse-ranking of favorite teams as of the moment I picked them on October 4th, 2010. All of these cards are very much up for trade, so please contact me if you're interested.
"This whole phenomenon was further complicated by the proliferation of the New England Patriots in the past decade and, yes, a return to prominence by a certain green-clad basketball team as well."
ReplyDeletewhich is exactly why I'm a Browns fan now. You can only take so many people jumping on your team's bandwagon.
Red Sox fans are like Yankees fans but without all of the success. Also, I blame them for the whole "______ Nation" way of referring to a team's fanbase. Thanks to them, we get Beaver Nation when talking about Oregon State...
ReplyDeleteFor all the reasons you mention, there isn't a sports franchise I detest more than the Red Sox. So irksome, so insufferable. Give me the Yankess & all their Darth Vader evil over The Sox & their Nation anyday.
ReplyDeleteI'll trade with you. (again) I don't ahve a lot of Cardinals but I probably have a few. I really want that Fisk SP. I'll send some stuff your way ans you decide what all to send back. As always my want list can be found here
ReplyDeletehttps://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AsSTHdRrSVUUdHZEMG1ZTktXUHR0SHIxZWYzOEFMVVE&hl=en#gid=27
Kevin makes a great point. Unfortunately, we've seen this turn into "Cardinal Nation" recently as well. I won't use the term.
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