A guest post by Josh Baldwin, a technology blogger and sports enthusiast
A lifelong, diehard Yankees fan, I recently took my first trip to Fenway Park to watch my Yankees play the Red Sox. This was not simply watching a highlight game on Direct TV or tuning into the Yankees’ YES network – it was the real thing, at last. I do not live in a state with a professional baseball team, but grew up in a family of New Yorkers and have always found ways to get to Yankee Stadium a couple of times a year; so, naturally I am more used to a gigantic, glitzy stadium than a smaller, simpler one. That said, my first impression of Fenway was that it had a certain charm… to me, not quite a charm that equaled that held by old Yankee Stadium, but still something in that league.
Long before game time, I was walking around, exploring the ballpark in an aisle about twelve rows up behind the Yankee dugout. Two Red Sox fans in front of me were walking along talking about how Dustin Pedroia was becoming the Red Sox version of Jeter… the kind of passionate leader and consistent performer with an x-factor that fans will always be in love with. Meanwhile, Derek Jeter himself walked over to the side of the dugout, tossing balls to elated kids and smiling widely. The Boston fans in front of me stopped in their tracks, one excitedly asking the other “Was that Jeter?” I smiled behind him… “Yeah, it was,” I replied. “Be in awe.” He had no response… it was as if we’d silently agreed that the fact that Jeter’s presence had delighted even him meant that Pedroia, while promising, has a long way to go to achieve the same level of reverence among the fans.
This was merely the beginning of what I considered an underwhelming first visit to Fenway Park. From everything I’ve ever heard and experienced in the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry, Boston fans ought to have been screaming themselves hoarse at me for pointing out Jeter’s greatness… no children of Red Sox fans should have been giddy to be tossed balls by Jeter. I wore my Yankees clothing and loudly supported my team all weekend, and I was barely even heckled. When the Yankees won, I received no anger or taunts about the Sox owning the season series. When the Yankees lost, no one rubbed it in my face…. All of this while the two biggest rivals in professional sports battle for first place.
Clearly, I am biased toward New York, and I will be the first to admit it… but I don’t write this to put down Fenway Park or Boston fans specifically… more to illustrate that, as much as it pains me to say it, the rivalry is losing its luster. New Yankee Stadium is far tamer than its predecessor – that much I already knew. But it appears that Fenway has lost its spark as well. I can only hope that the coming postseason brings drama and reignites the flame that so recently burned between us.
so to be a passionate fan you have to yell at fans in opposing gear and can’t be thrilled when an all time great player tosses you a ball? perhaps they should start spitting on the wives of opposing pitchers?
I think in general it makes a huge difference where you are sitting. If you’re in the first few rows at Fenway in Yankees gear chances are you’re surrounded by some snooty bastards who don’t know what a balk is. I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t haggle you. Head out to the bleachers? That’s a different story. This rivalry has not lost any spark whatsoever, don’t you worry. If the season series hasn’t shown you that, the playoffs will.
you have lost all rights to say anything bad about any fans mister it happens in every city.
how so? it does happen in every city, but i dont think that the amount opposing fans are heckled or how wild the stadium is, in anyway defines how big of fans they are nor does it show the non-existence of a rivalry.
I also dont think that if i went to a yankee game in all red sox gear and was not harassed it would make my experience underwhelming
Haha good point.
Did your seats face the field or did you have a beam in front of you?
No his view was blocked by the Banana Republic.
No banana republic, a lot of trophies, but no banana republic. You are gonna have to get your khakis somewhere else.
How about The Gap?
I am sure it had nothing to do with the Red Sox being up 10-2 in the season series. It’d be nice if a 200Million dollar payroll could put out something better than the Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon – has been ragamuffins.
Yes the guys with a better era then a majority of your staff are raga muffins. Some may call them jokes and they would be wrong.
you are so ridiculous with this. the fact that you think Garcia and Colon are reliable options going into the playoffs is literally the stupidest thing you have ever said. If they were on any other team you would agree with me
An interesting point. J-bone, what’s your rebuttle to this one?
My response:
“If Colon and Garcia finish the year in your rotation you will finish 3rd, maybe 4th”
-Matthew Williams May 16th, 2011.
Good one.
and boom goes the dynamite….
j-bone, your comment didnt really address the current argument brought by Wiliams. but it was funny and it certainly does make his comments calling you stupid less credible.
my point is why should i listen to the boy when he was dead wrong about the same players in may
valid point, you win. williams was wrong.
Garcia and Colon are the creations of a mad chemist. Damn I wish we had that guy working for us. Actually, looking at David Ortiz, maybe we do.
Recognizing the greatness of Derek Jeter or Mariano Rivera shows knowledge. How can anyone be a baseball fan and not appreciate those guys? Since when is respect a bad thing? When Jim Rice played his final games in Yankee Stadium, was he heckled? Is David Ortiz disrespected in New York? The lustre of the rivalry has been dilluted by overexposure. Too many regular season games in division. Too many national broadcasts. Too much commercialism. The type of fan that goes to the game has been changed by the price of the tickets. I think if you wear your Yankee jersey into a working class bar in Dorchester or Southie you’ll get the attention you’re looking for.
No doubt about that.
fans not being dicks doesnt mean the rivalry is bad. jeter and mo have earned respect…howigit tries to put papi in the same category but hes wrong not that.
i think the writer would have really appreciated being thrown up on at a phillies game
I didn’t try to put Ortiz in the same category, although I think he should be. He’s a put a team on his back in the post season more than Mo or Jeter ever did, although they’ve done it for longer.
google david ortiz world series mvp and let me know what comes up.
I did, and nothing regarding steroid use pops up. It does for you because Google tracks your past history and searches. In the unbiased results there is nothing. Nada. Zilch. And the Ortiz issue will be brought light once the report that he failed is no longer under investigation by MLB. Once it’s no longer investigation, Ortiz will be told what he failed for and the information will be made public. Which he has said all along. It’s a court case homie.
umm, that has nothing to do with that. I meant both mo and jeter have world series mvp’s, as in put their team on their back in the most important series of the year. something ortiz has not done
In the World Series alone both players have a .321 career average. Ortiz’s OBP is 57 points higher, and he has one less RBI than Jeter does in 30 less games. I’m taking Ortiz.
“He’s a put a team on his back in the post season more than Mo or Jeter ever did”
yet he has never done it more then another player on his team.
He most certainly has – I doubt you’ll find a single player on the 2004 Red Sox that wouldn’t give that honor to Ortiz. No player has ever had more walk-offs in a single post season.
then why did manny get the mvp?
Ortiz hit .308 with a .471 OBP, 1 HR and 4 RBIs in the 4 World Series games. Manny was .412 with a .500 OBP, 1 HR and 4 RBIs. Pretty comparable, except they would never have been there in the first place without David’s relentless performance.
Howigit – strange to jump to steroids when jbone asks how many world series MVPs he has. The howigit doth protest too much?
That’s not what he asked.
i said papi is not in the same category as jeter and mo. you said he was. jbone said google ortiz world series mvp. you responded ortiz is not on steroids.
Yes, but me an J-bone were in the midst of an argument regarding Papi and steroid use. He asked me to Google that, and I assumed it was because he saw some result regarding Papi and steroid use. To sum it all up, no Papi does not have a WS MVP. But he has a Division series and ALCS MVP, and played a larger role in winning a World Series than Mo or Jeter ever did.