Sunday, May 25, 2003
Fatal Attractions
For the past couple years, the Red Sox have been near the top or have led the AL in team pitching. This year they are at the top of the AL in hitting with a .292 batting average, which, as Hohler points out in this morning's Globe, "would rank third best in team history to the '50 Sox and the '38 club that hit .300."
I'm willing to go with the offense for awhile, as all the great pitching hasn't put the Red Sox over the top in the end.
The mood is good. So good that I can let this pass:
Red Sox fans are the baseball world's psycho ex-girlfriend. The one that demands you stop calling her, then calls to cry because you haven't phoned. (Miller, The Black Table).
The piece actually isn't so much of a slur against Sox fans as it against what the author perceives as non New England natives adopting the team as their own.[Hat tip to Steve from Riley Dog for the link.]
Adopting an underdog is as American as apple pie, but not when that dog is a shih tzu that perpetually bites the hindquarters of a rottweiler every time you go for a walk (and by adopting the Red Sox team, you're supporting the group that supports it).
That's pretty funny. Though I'm not sure how much truth there is to the notion of America adopting the Red Sox as their team. Drop into Anytown, USA in any region outside of New England and chances are you'll see far more people donning Yankees caps than Red Sox ones. At least that's been my experience. (Though that my change if J-Lo continues to be seen sporting the B-cap. Americans like to get behind their celebrities.)
