Red Sox Nation
In October, 1986, Boston Globe feature writer Nathan Cobb was writing an article about how the State of Connecticut is divided between Boston Red Sox and the New York Mets fans. In the article, Cobb described the southwestern Connecticut border war between Sox and Mets fans during that notorious ‘86 World Series, in which the state was split in the fashion of a tribal rift that birthed a nation. Both sets of fans were baseball-crazed that year, and Mets tickets were hunted every bit as much as Red Sox tickets were. Funnily enough, Cobb himself doesn’t recall using the phrase, but is happy to take credit for it!
“I wrote more than 2,000 feature stories for the Globe between 1969 and 2001, recals Cobb, “and what I remember most about that time is looking for parking spaces. I wish I could say I also remember coining “Red Sox Nation,” but I don’t. A lot of prose has gone under the bridge.”
No doubt Cobb witnessed Boston fans hunting down tickets to Fenway as well as tickets to other baseball parks, in their quest of the time to reverse the curse and win the World Series. Sox fans are known to travel and to buy Baltimore Orioles tickets, and Cleveland Indians tickets, to see their heroes play away from home. And of course the Red Sox nation would be decked out in Red Sox jerseys among other memorabilia. The expression has grown in magnitude to the point that not just all Red Sox fans use it, but indeed baseball fans, sports commentators, and bumper-sticker manufacturers across the USA are now fluent in its usage.
Sox fans are renowned for their devotion to baseball, and whenever Red Sox tickets go on sale, they throng to buy them, seemingly with a greater fervor than do their enemies when they buy Yankees tickets. When the Red Sox offered “Official Citizenship” in Red Sox Nation in 2005, they charged a fee of $9.95 in exchange for a membership card bearing the words “Official Red Sox Nation Citizen.” It is not believed that Cobb ever received royalties for coining this monumental term, and being a good Sox fan, he says he doesn’t want any. Bless him, huh?
Two years later, in the summer of 2007, Red Sox fans were offered the chance to register as candidates to run for President of Red Sox Nation, in time for the 2008 season. A slew of candidates was reduced to 25, and an online “primary” was took place that August resulting in 10 final contenders. In September ’07, NBC’s Tim Russert moderated a “political” debate between the six final candidates at Boston University. Former Red Sox player Jerry Remy won the race, and threw out the first ball of the Red Sox’ playoff series. A fitting role for President of Red Sox Nation!