Travel Tips

I am not a sports fan.

As a Boston resident, that one statement could quite possibly be the strangest thing ever uttered from my lips, but it's true, and Bostonians take their love for the Red Sox to a whole new level.

It's in their blood, it drives them...Red Sox fans are a whole new animal.

I was lucky to be living in an apartment across the street from Fenway Park in 2004 when the unthinkable happened: The Red Sox won the World Series.

Not only did Boston win the World Series but we spanked the Yankees hard on the way to victory.

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The rivalry between Red Sox fans and Yankees fans is a harsh one. If it came down to blood, I would have no question in my mind that they would fight to the death.

Riot police were called in to patrol the streets when it became a possibility that we would be beating the Yankees and securing a spot for the World Series. It's a good thing they were there.

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Being the college town that it is, the kids poured into the streets and all hell broke loose. Pack mentality? Fun in destruction? What should have been a complete celebration was marked by quite a few ruffians taking the streets.

Billboards were climbed, signs were lit on fire, cars were overturned and smashed, a poor girl was accidentally killed by riot police...it was a time to burn the city down it seemed.

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Needless to say, security was tighter when the Red Sox won the World Series. Everyone took to the streets to celebrate, but it was to celebrate, not to cause destruction.

We walked the streets taking in the moment.

Boston was in a whole new state of mind - no longer the underdogs.

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While not being a fan, the 2 years I lived in the Fenway neighborhood made the love for the Sox rub off on me a bit. It's hard to live in Boston and not have it rub off on you. I cried while watching Game 7 in 2003, tied into extra innings, just one hit away from the World Series when the Yankees pounded a home run and all hope was lost.

All of Boston stopped breathing, then collectively went into mourning for the next week. The city was quiet and subdued, eyes were red and bleary, everyone talked with a lump in their throat.

No matter who you were in Boston, you were watching that game, and right there was the moment I felt the crush that had been taking over fans for 86 years.

I can't imagine a hard core fan having to deal with that every year...I'd be on anti-depressants.

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It was an amazing time to live in that neighborhood.

While I would never, EVER live there again (way too many fans/club-goers/noise/mess) I appreciate the time I spent there.

I was able to witness an event firsthand that changed Boston forever.

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Yeah, I'm not a sports fan...but Go Sox.

Good on you...