Red Sox Nation

Red Sox Nation refers to the fans of the Boston Red Sox. The phrase "Red Sox Nation" was first coined by "Boston Globe" feature writer Nathan Cobb in an October 20, 1986, article about split allegiances among fans in Connecticut during the 1986 World Series between the Red Sox and the New York Mets. The phrase was popularized by the 1996 book "At Fenway: Dispatches From Red Sox Nation" () by "Globe" columnist Dan Shaughnessy.

Red Sox fandom

Red Sox fans were once described by baseball commentator, Hall of Famer and former Red Sox player Dennis Eckersley as the "ultimate manic-depressive fanbase." [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/31/arts/television/31sox.html?ref=arts Sox Appeal - Baseball Dating Show - TV - New York Times] ] For all the excitement over the quality of play by the Red Sox, there is often a twinge of pessimism about the team, as the team's failures are typically blown out of proportion. "Boston Globe" columnist Charlie Pierce, among others, has attributed the self-perpetuating fatalism of the Nation to the intellectual legacy of the Puritans who settled Boston and instilled in the region's inhabitants a deep-seated Calvinist determinism. [ [http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2005/08/28/the_tragedy_of_04/?page=full Boston Red Sox - The tragedy of '04 - The Boston Globe ] ]

"Official" Red Sox Nation

In 2005 the Boston Red Sox began offering official citizenship in Red Sox Nation. For a small fee, fans received a membership card with the words "Official Red Sox Nation Citizen" and access to additional Red Sox merchandise offers and newsletters. [ [http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/bos/fan_forum/redsox_nation_details.jsp The Official Site of The Boston Red Sox: Fan Forum: Red Sox Nation Details ] ] Red Sox Nation is now offering membership for a new nation, which consists of three levels of membership: "Fan Pack" for $14.95; "Ultimate Fan Pack" for $109.95; and "Monster Pack" for $249.95. Included in the Monster Pack is a season subscription to MLB.tv and the guaranteed opportunity to buy two Green Monster seat tickets. [MLB.com, "Fan Forum: Red Sox Nation [http://mlb.mlb.com/bos/fan_forum/redsox_nation.jsp] ] The two more expensive offers have sold out quickly.

President

In the summer of 2007, the Red Sox fan site on MLB.com offered "official" citizens of RSN the chance to register as candidates to become the first president of Red Sox Nation, for the 2008 season. A broad field of self-proclaimed candidates was whittled down (internally, by operators of the website) to 25, then an open-to-all online "primary" was held in August that resulted in 10 final candidates. For most of September, the ten were provided with weblogs on the website to mount their campaigns. On September 27, Tim Russert of NBC moderated a debate among six of the candidates in a hall at Boston University (three were no-shows, and Doris Kearns Goodwin withdrew from the race). The final election, also open to the public at the same website, was held from September 28 through October 2, 2007. The winner was Jerry Remy, a former Red Sox player and current broadcast color commentator. [MLB.com, "Red Sox Nation President" [http://outfield.mlb.com/bos/fan_forum/redsox_nation_president.jsp] ] The following day, Remy threw out the first pitch in the opening game of the Red Sox' playoff series.

Governors

Following Jerry Remy's election as President of Red Sox Nation, he and his vice president "Regular Rob" Crawford developed a "Red Sox Nation Five-Point Plan" to guide their first year in office. The first point of the plan called for the creation of Governors to represent members of Red Sox Nation in their home states. [ [http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20080406&content_id=2497990&vkey=pr_bos&fext=.jsp&c_id=bos Red Sox Nation president and vice president announce five-point plan] ] Beginning with the six New England states, nominations were accepted through redsox.com, and from these nominations the President and Vice President appointed representatives for each state. The inaugural class, which was announced on July 8, 2008, is as follows: [ [http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20080708&content_id=3091383&vkey=pr_bos&fext=.jsp&c_id=bos Red Sox announce the selection of the first six Governors of Red Sox Nation] ]

*Massachusetts: Jared Carrabis of Saugus
*Connecticut: Karen Kupiec of Hamden
*Maine: Rachel O. Yacouby of Brunswick
*New Hampshire: Janice Page of Henniker
*Rhode Island: Charles T. (Ted) Schmidt, Jr. of Saunderstown
*Vermont: Glen Jardine of Lyndonville

Governors are responsible for organizing viewing parties for Red Sox Nation members in their states, as well as collecting feedback from their constituency. For their efforts, the Governors will enjoy the following benefits:

*Unlimited Fenway Park Tour Pass for two,
*Two tickets to a select 2008 Red Sox regular season game,
*A Certificate of Governorship signed by the President/CEO of the Red Sox,
*Periodic "Governors Only" conference calls with the Vice President of Red Sox Nation and a select Red Sox executive,
*A Red Sox Nation shirt,
*A 2009 Red Sox Nation Fan Pack Citizenship,
*A subscription to MLB.tv,
*Personalized "Red Sox Nation Governor" business cards, and
*A photograph of the Fenway Park centerfield videoboard with their name on it.

Beyond New England

Red Sox Nation is spread across the entire country because many New England natives re-locate to other parts of the country and many New England college students return home after developing a passion for the Red Sox. These fans can typically be found supporting their team at Red Sox games outside of Fenway Park. They keep up with the team by watching the games on satellite television, as well as through various Web sites. Members of the Nation are even known to call sports-talk radio stations in Boston long distance during the season and remain on hold, merely to be able to talk about their beloved Sox. Fans in California have created a Red Sox Nation West.

In 2005 and 2007, the Red Sox had the highest road attendance of all MLB teams. Part of this is apparently due to the large contingent of New England-based fans who fly to Red Sox away games in other ballparks. But the major reason is that the away attendance of other teams (most notably the Yankees) is skewed downward by the fact that the seating capacity of Fenway Park is only 35,000, while most stadiums hold 20,000 more people. This phenomenon among Red Sox fans has been exacerbated by Red Sox Nation references in popular culture, e.g., films such as "Fever Pitch" and J. Crew catalog covers during the summer of 2007. Some sports analysts attribute the culture of Red Sox Nation to be bandwagoning in the wake of their recent World Series victories in 2004 and 2007.

Famous fans

*Ben Affleck [ [http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,628090,00.html Affleck Jokes As He Helps Boston Red Sox - Ben Affleck : People.com ] ] [ [http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2006/07/31/bad_news_bearers/ Boston Red Sox - Bad-news bearers - The Boston Globe ] ]
*Steve Carell [ [http://www.outincenterfield.com/blog/2007/11/pigs_fly_manny_speaks_on_a_tal.html CENTER FIELD :: Pigs Fly: Manny Speaks! On A Talk Show!] ]
*John Cena [cite web|url= http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2003/06/01/101111.html|first=Tim|last=Baines|title=Cena's a star with rap attack| accessdate=2007-08-23|publisher=SLAM! Sports]
*Kenny Chesney
*Michael Chiklis [ [http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2007/10/29/fans_of_rockies_roll_on/ Boston Red Sox - Fans of Rockies roll on - The Boston Globe ] ] [ [http://www.celebritywonder.com/html/michaelchiklis.html Michael Chiklis Picture, Profile, Gossip, and News at CelebrityWonder.com ] ]
*Lenny Clarke [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0381115/ The Curse of the Bambino (2003) (TV) ] ]
*Dane Cook [ [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/richard_deitsch/09/13/cook.qa/index.html The actor-comic on his passion for the Red Sox] ]
*Rob Corddry [ [http://men.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=702542 Rob Corddry: Paintball Wizard] ]
*Matt Damon [ [http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2007/06/05/matt-damon-red-sox-fan-taunts-david-letterman-yankee-fan/ Matt Damon (Red Sox Fan) Taunts David Letterman (Yankee Fan) - FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog ] ] [ [http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2007/11/27/loyalty_not_an_act_for_this_red_sox_fan/ Loyalty not an act for this Red Sox fan] ]
*Dropkick Murphys [http://www.dropkickmurphys.com/news/tessie.html] [ [http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/2007-11-03-dropkick-murphys_N.htm Scorsese, Red Sox put Dropkick Murphys on center stage - USATODAY.com ] ]
*Eliza Dushku [ [http://www.boston.com/travel/articles/2006/12/17/star_turn/ Star turn - The Boston Globe ] ]
*The Farrelly Brothers [ [http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060821&content_id=1621533&vkey=news_bos&fext=.jsp&c_id=bos The Official Site of The Boston Red Sox: News: Boston Red Sox News ] ]
*Jake Gyllenhaal [cite episode | title= | series=The Daily Show with Jon Stewart | serieslink=The Daily Show | airdate=2007-10-17 | number= [http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=118708&title=jake-gyllenhaal 12133] ]
*John Kerry [ [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,136870,00.html/] ]
*Stephen King [ [http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2004/12/19/why_the_red_sox_finally_won_the_world_series/ Boston Red Sox - Why the Red Sox finally won the World Series - The Boston Globe ] ] [Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season ISBN 0743267524]
*John Krasinski [ [http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/bostonpride/page3 The 61 New Best Things About Boston ] ]
*Denis Leary [ [http://www.amazon.com/Boston-Red-2004-World-Collectors/dp/B0009IXRLW Amazon.com: The Boston Red Sox 2004 World Series Collector's Edition: Movies & TV: Curt Schilling,Manny Ramirez ] ] [ [http://www.redsoxconnection.com/mastercard.html Red Sox MasterCard Commercial Featuring Denis Leary ] ]

*Jeffrey Lyons
*Will McDonough
*Maria Menounos [ [http://www.mariamenounosonline.com/news.htm Maria Menounos Online News ] ]
*Seth Meyers [ [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_Meyers] ]
*Rob Morrison
*Conan O'Brien [ [http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071103&content_id=2291819&vkey=news_bos&fext=.jsp&c_id=bos The Official Site of The Boston Red Sox: News: Boston Red Sox News ] ]
*Mike O'Malley [ [http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/mlb_postseason/teams/Boston+Red+Sox/mlb.t.2 MLB Postseason Blog - Boston Red Sox - MLB - Yahoo! Sports ] ]
*Rachael Ray [ [http://www.rachaelraymag.com/about-rachael/rachaels-answers/rachaels-answers---august-september-2006/article.html August-September 2006 - Rachael's Answers - Every Day with Rachael Ray - Favorite spices, perfume and junk food ] ]
*Bill Simmons [ [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Now_I_Can_Die_in_Peace] ]
*Keith Tkachuk [ [http://www.stlouisgametime.com/?p=142 St. Louis Game Time » Blog Archive » Keith Tkachuk interview on 590 AM KFNS ] ]
*Steven Tyler [ [http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/gallery/04_08_08_opening_day_scenes/ Boston Red Sox - Red Sox Opening Day: Scenes from Fenway Park - Boston.com ] ]
*Mark Wahlberg [ [http://www.eonline.com/movies/reelgirl/detail/index.jsp?uuid=e8caed20-6253-40e0-a745-fc91390d3085/ Reel Girl - Hollywood's Bestest Red Sox Fans ] ]
*Reese Witherspoon [ [http://www.boston.com/ae/celebrity/articles/2008/01/03/stars_are_sox_supporters/ Stars are Sox supporters - The Boston Globe ] ]
*Steven Wright
*Timothy Hutton [ [http://www.boston.com/news/globe/living/articles/2003/10] ] /10/more_than_just_a_face_in_the_yankees_crowd?mode=PF

References

External links

* [http://www.redsox.com Official Boston Red Sox Website]
* [http://www.redsoxnation.com "Official" Red Sox Nation Website]
* [http://www.theremyreport.com/ The Remy Report] Jerry Remy's Sox Page
* [http://www.boston.com/sports/columnists/shaughnessy/ Dan Shaughnessy's Sports Column in the Boston Globe]
* [http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/bos/fan_forum/pop/rsn_president_candidates.jsp 2007 Red Sox Nation Presidential Candidates]
* [http://jerryremy.mlblogs.com/ Jerry Remy's MLBlog]
* [http://www.talksox.com/ Red Sox Nation Forum]
* [http://www.fenwaywest.com/ The Western Home to Red Sox Nation]