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.