Red Sox fandom in the post-"curse" era

Agreed. I'm just saying -- as a Twins fan -- that I'd gladly pay more for tickets, even if it meant going to fewer games, if I knew the money was going to be reinvested into the team, rather than into Carl Pohlad's gold house fund. I can watch most of the games on television.

There is a tipping point, though, where higher ticket rates price out the average fan, and Boston has to be careful with that, especially since building a new stadium with more seats really isn't -- and shouldn't -- be an option.

 

Wicked, I understand the pricing-out argument and I understand the resentment. I'd be kind of pissed, too, although the benefits to the on-field product are obvious.

Double Down, you said it perfectly: The only person that fan has to justify their love of team to is himself. If BBJones wants to support winners only, that's his business. If a guy like me has multiple loyalties because he's traversed the continent over the years, that's my call.

 

It isn't just a pricing-out argument. It's also a demand argument. And of course, since the demand is there, the Sox can jack up the prices more. They feed into themselves.

 

Fans getting priced out is not a Boston or sports-only problem. The Sox' venue is small; their market is big. Supply and demand set prices. If every seat sells out, the prices are too low. Concerts/shows/movies are the same way. The prices continue to soar because people continue to pay the prices. When they stop, so will the soaring.

And Writing Irish, I feel no need to break out my debit card to go watch crappy baseball/football/whatever. I might go see an out-of-town star player in that case. But all the games are on TV. I'll follow my favorite teams when they're bad. They just won't get my money.

 

Fair enough, BBJones. As I said, fans should feel free to be fans in the way that they see fit. The fan-team relationship isn't the same type of partnership as a marriage or an international strategic alliance treaty.

 

That's interesting to hear you say that, Zeke. Even as a Sox fan who absolutely loved his two trips to Fenway (as a fan), I've come around on the argument that we cannot hold onto that ballpark forever. At some point, building a new stadium is going to have to be an option. I don't know where it would go, or if it would be a modern Fenway (with a replica of the Monster) but the idea doesn't offend me as much as it does some. The team and its history are what's important, not the park. I don't really want to see a 60,000-seat beast with rows and rows of luxury boxes, but 45,000 seats without obstructed views, a little bit of leg room and some reasonably priced tickets set aside for fans without the deepest pockets would be fine with me.

 

If we can't say the Red Sox are the new Yankees, can we at least say the Sawx are Yankees Lite?

 

DD, the issue is that there's nowhere to put it. Last time they tried to go down that road, the landowners on the other side of the park (the people they wanted to buy out) went ape.

Besides, I think this group is too over leveraged to pull it off. There will be no public financing of a stadium in Boston.

 

Well, that's apparently becoming a more prevalent idea, but I just can't wrap my head around the Red Sox playing anywhere but Fenway.

It wasn't that long ago that everyone was lauding the recent renovations; what of that? Any chance at all to add more seats to the existing park?


I'm admittedly not that knowledgable, and I've only seen one game there.

 

They're adding seats everywhere they can, and they're renovating another part of the park during the offseason (forget exactly where it is).

 

Yankees Lite: Just as irksome to non-fans, but with a cute stadium.

 

Yankees Lite: 73 percent fewer World Series titles, but with just as much money, arrogance and condscending attitude.