Red Sox / Fenway Park, Boston

I am very pleased to see that the Red Sox FINALLY won a World Series!! I actually had the privledge of seeing a New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox game at Fenway park on Easter Sunday, 2001. It was a great experience, and I highly recommend you see them when in Boston.

Equipment: Glove, Camera, and $$$.

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Go to Fenway Park! If it is baseball season, there is no better place to be than Boston and no better place to watch a game than at Fenway. This park is not only a unique and intimate sports venue but a historic gem in the story of America's pastime. Built in 1912, it maintains much of the character from that time and allows fans of the sport to feel a part of the overall experience - even if you are not a Sox fan you will become a Fenway fan. The fans at Fenway are knowledgable, passionate and enjoy the game as much as anyone.
The surrounding area (beginning with Kenmore Square) is so connected to the park itself, it has the feel of a themepark and you can enjoy the Sox from a number of souvenier shops, bars and restaurants as well as the curbside of Yawkey Way. Eat the street food, people watch and soak up the amazing pre-game ambiance - then get inside and see the Sox!
Regardless of the score you need to stay until the end. Enjoy the seventh-inning stretch and get another chance to stand and sing an inning later as "Sweet Caroline" is piped into the sold-out park where everyone knows the words (and just in case, they are on the big screen). Hopefully the Sox will win so you can flow out of the stadium and onto the street with the exhuberant crowd all thinking and talking about the team's chances of making it to October.

I have been to Fenway for three games - there is not bad seat, although there are "obstructed view" seats where you will have to keep moving to see the action around an I-beam or two. That's part of the Fenway aura. This stadium has seen it's share or baseball gods: The Babe, Jimmy Foxx, Cy Young, Yaz, Lynn, Fisk, Clemens, Pedro, ManRam...the list goes on and on. And those are just the Sox players... Today's heros include Youk (my favorite), Papi, Pedroia, Pap, Lester... and many more - evevryone has their favorites but as long as the Sox are triumphant, nothing else matters.

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The Boston Red Sox have probably the most devoted fans in baseball. This is somewhat amazing when you consider that until they won the World Series in 2004, they had not won the championship for 86 years. That is true fanaticism. Possibly for the fact that they play in the oldest, smallest and most distinct stadium in baseball, Fenway Park, is a large part of the reason for passionate following. Tickets here are the most expensive in baseball but team sells out virtually every game. They have be bought on line or ordered by phone and only a few are available on gameday. These are sold at 5pm and there is usually a long line up for them.
One of the reasons that I timed my trip to Boston for the weekend of July 13, 2007 was that my local baseball team, the Toronto Blue Jays, were playing the Red Sox in Boston. I wanted to see a game. I realized that I had little chance have getting a ticket at cost so I bought one from a scalper. The ticket was on the 3rd base line and slightly obstructed. The fans are incredibly noisy and obsessive. They do not put up with you cheering for the other team, so try not to.
The stadium is quite atmospheric and there is a party like feel to attending the game. This is a true family affair. It is famous for a novelty of design, that being the Green Giant, a high wall in left field that "makes up" for the shallowness of the outfield. One street outside, Yawkey Way, is blocked off and is full of concessions and beer swelling fans. There are many sports pubs and restaurants nearby. Fenway Park itself is the loudest place I have ever watched a baseball game. There are a few problems with see a game here. The fans can get rawdy and even obnoxious. There are few washrooms in the concession area and the food was of poor quality and sold and ridiculous prices. My biggest problem was that I could barely fit into the seat and I am not that large. Still overall seeing the Red Sox is a must-see for visitors to Boston and is something you should consider even if you do not like baseball.

Fenway stadium is something to see for how old it is, how tiny the field and bleachers seem, and just for history's sake. The better attraction for me is the boston crowd, completely freaking out, every single game. If you have a chance to see them play the Yankees its extremely rowdy and of course fun.

If you are bringing kids, I would not suggest being way out in the nose bleed seats. If you are one of the loud ones you have definitely found your crowd.

If you can't get in or the tickets are too expensive for a good game, but you still want to see the Red Sox frenzy in action, head down to the Fenway area. All the bars outside the stadium will be packed with "wicked drunk" fans.

Equipment: Money is the equipment. its not cheap. beers are $6.50, hotdogs around the same.

What they won't tell you before you get there is that you cannot bring any bags into the stadium. There are no lockers so make sure you leave everthing in the car before you head to the gates. Its a real bumer when you ahve to walk 1 mile back to the car to do it.

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There are no many classic stadiums left in the country, and this one is worth seeing. Everyone knows the history of Fenway and any sports fan will love it here. I have been to a handful of stadiums, and this one is so small it makes every seat priceless. Any ticket will leave you happy.

Equipment: Arrive early and you'll have no problems getting any souvenirs you could want. The shops just outside of the stadium have more than you could ever want.

I would suggest not trying to drive into town. Subways are definitely the easiest.

I am not kidding when I say Beantown is fanatical about the Red Sox. I don't really follow baseball that closely, unless it's the Giants, and even there, my enthusiasm has dwindled since the Giants gave up JT Snow. But back to the Red Sox -- I can't really tell you much about them. Are they any good?

Of course, now that JT Snow plays for the Red Sox, I guess I'd better start following them...

In Boston, it is not a good idea to let it be known that you don't follow the Red Sox. In fact, don't even let it be known that you have plans to do anything in the evening other than go to/watch a Red Sox game. Boston is a place where there are only two kinds of people (despite its reputation for diversity) -- Red Sox fans and everyone else. However, Bostonians think that the Red Sox fans account for 99% of the population of the entire world, and everyone else comprises the 1% and are just plain idiots, particularly if they are Yankees fans.

We made big points with our bellhop when we said we hoped we got a good view of Fenway Park from our hotel room. After that, we got fantastic service - every wish was granted.

My very fist professional baseball game that I went to see was at Fenway Park. My friend Tim took me as part of my going away gift. This is a great place to watch a game due to it's Giant Green Wall, aka the Green Monster. One of the best games to go see here are games versus the NY yankees. Be prepared if you are a Yankee fan in Red Sox territory, these Red Sox fans are brutal. You may get lynched if you wear your Yankee garb.

During the 8th inning of every Red Sox home game, Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline is sung along with by every fan at Fenway. The tradition began when a member of the production staff, Amy Tobey, started playing the song if she felt the time was going to win. It has become so popular with Red Sox fans that it was even featured in the movie Fever Pitch with Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore.

Where it began
I can't begin to knowin'
But then I know it's growin' strong

Was in the spring
And spring became a summer
Who'd have believed you'd come along

Hands, touchin' hands
Reachin' out
Touchin' me
Touchin' you

Sweet Caroline
Good times never seemed so good
I've been inclined
To believe they never would
But now I

Look at the night
And it don't seem so lonely
We fill it up with only two
And when I hurt
Hurtin' runs off my shoulders
How can I hurt when holdin' you

Warm, touchin' warm
Reachin' out
Touchin' me
Touchin' you

Sweet Caroline
Good times never seemed so good
I've been inclined
To believe they never would
Oh,Lord, no

Sweet Caroline
Good times never seemed so good
Sweet Caroline
I believed they never could
Sweet Caroline