America’s Team

USA Today recently did a story on the famed Red Sox Nation, a fairlynew phenomenon that started in 2003 when the Red Sox made the playoffs
for the first time since 1999 and was cemented in 2004 when the Bo-Sox
won the World Series for the first time since 1918. It chronicles how
the Red Sox Nation (the group of fans that follow the team from city to
city, as well as those fans that live across the country) have become
quite the intense attraction for the team on the road. The Red Sox have
the highest road attendance average of any team in baseball, averaging
31, 136 people a game. This is approximately 1,300 more than the
Yankees draw and around 2,000 more than Boston drew in 2005, when it
was defending its World Series title.

The Red Sox players have
been elevated to what many consider "rock star status" due to the
number of fans that stake out their hotels and follow the team around,
similar to band groupies. This is, however, not an entirely good thing
for the Bean town stars. Numerous stories have been chronicled about
off the field confrontations between members of the team and their
adoring public, both positive and negative.

"We’re told to leave
it all on the field," Boston first baseman Kevin Youkilis says. "But
with the fans around so much, it becomes a 24/7 thing. You can’t escape
it. The hardest time is at the hotel. Sometimes that takes away from
the whole experience."

According to the USA Today article,

The
Red Sox don’t reveal the hotels where they stay on the road, but it’s
hardly a secret among their fans, who share the information on blogs
and Internet message boards.

When the Sox
came to this area to play the Devil Rays this year, the team — seeking
a little privacy — switched hotels from the Renaissance Vinoy in
downtown St. Petersburg to the Don CeSar Beach Resort, 10 miles away.

"There
were people staking out the floors" of the Vinoy, says Red Sox
traveling secretary Jack McCormick, who handles the team’s travel
arrangements. "If they can’t control it, the players can’t even come
out of their rooms."

And yet, when the Red Sox went to the Don CeSar for the first time for a series in late July, hundreds of fans found them.

Red
Sox senior vice president of sales and marketing Sam Kennedy, a Boston
native, remarks about one Red Sox game from when he was working with
the San Diego Padres.

"I remember the first time (the Red Sox)
came to San Diego (in 2002) for interleague games, and I’m not
exaggerating when I say the stadium was half Red Sox fans," says
Kennedy.

This has prompted a new debate as to which team is
America’s team. Is it now the Red Sox? Or is it still the Yankees? And
while they have not been part of the debate, I do not think we can
leave the Braves out of the discussion. Does the emergence of this Red
Sox nation mean that they are now the most popular team in the country?
I do not think so. I believe that the Red Sox are a very trendy team; a
team whose bandwagon lots of people are jumping on. But I do not think
Red Sox nation is full of tride and true die hard fans.

The
Yankees have had fans all over the country for many many years. This is
certainly due to their being the most successful pro-sports franchise
in history with 26 World Series titles and if Boston wins several more
titles it would probably cement their support as well. However, if the
Red Sox don’t make the playoffs for a couple years, or go out in the
first round repeatedly, this Nation will shrink to just a region again.

The
numbers that were used in the USA Today article to support the claim
that the Red Sox are the most popular team in baseball are skewed
somewhat. Yankees beat writer Peter Abraham did some simple math, which
was supported by and expanded upon by a fellow blogger. Abraham claims
that the Red Sox road average of 38, 802, compared with the Yankees’
average of 37,906, is skewed because they play in tiny Fenway Park.
That is a difference of 896 people, which as Abraham remarks, "I’m not
quite sure 896 people means one team is more popular than the other in
the entire nation." Another interesting point is that when the Yankees
play on the road they fill 84 percent of the seats, the Red Sox only 82
percent.

The most intriguing point of the article is that what
the USA Today article fails to point out is that when the Red Sox play
in New York they are playing in front of 55,000 fans. When the Yankees
play in Boston, they are playing in front of just 36,000. The Red Sox
obviously benefit in the attendance draw numbers from that difference.

To expand upon Abraham’s article, a fellow blogger delved into the numbers, which can be found here.

The Red Sox

• The Red Sox are averaging 38,802 fans a game in 64 road games, which is 2,483,328 fans a game.
• The total attendance for the Yankees/Red Sox games played in New York was 329,704.
• The Red Sox’ total road attendance everywhere but Yankee Stadium was 2,153,624.
• In those 58 games, the total average attendance was 37,131.

The Yankees:

• The Yankees are averaging 37,906 in 62 road games, which is an average of 2,350,172 a game.
• The total attendance for the six Yankees/Red Sox games played at Fenway was 219,905.
• The Yankees’ total road attendance everywhere but Boston was 2,130,267.
• In those 56 road games, the Yankees average attendance was 38,040.

That
means the Yankees are averaging 909 more fans a game than the Red Sox
in games played outside the Bronx and Boston. That number is just as
negligible as the 896 more people the Red Sox are averaging overall.
Either way, both the Yankees and the Red Sox are huge draws on the
road, selling out stadium after stadium.

So who is truly
America’s team? I still think it is the Yankees. I think if you did a
national poll, you would find that there are more Yankees fans all over
the country than any other team. America loves winners and the Yankees
are winners. The Red Sox are not. One World Series in the last 80+
years is bad. It is almost as bad as one World Series total in 130+
years, ala the Phillies. If nothing else, the Yankees support has
swelled this decade after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade
Center in 2001. It became very chic to root for New York the city, and
the Yankees are New York City. It is my belief that the Red Sox
swelling of support will taper off in a few years. Sox fans are forced
to travel the country to see their team play as it is almost impossible
to get a ticket to see a game at Fenway and their fans are frantic
because of their recent success. Yankees fans are so used to winning,
being frenzied over their team is almost beneath them.

Since
Boston fans have to travel so much, it gives the appearance that there
are more Red Sox fans around the country than there really are. I think
rather than there being more Red Sox fans, it shows that the Red Sox
fans are dire hard more than anything else. Nevertheless, I believe
that now, more than ever, the Yankees are America’s team, for better or
for worse.