After a decade of being on the wait list for season tickets, Jeff wavered back and forth about spending the money when the opportunity finally presented itself this year. He took a gamble, and we found ourselves sitting in section 3 of the empty grandstands during some very cold April and May games. Fenway Park’s sold out game record streak ended – the stands were half full, and it wasn’t because of the weather.
We didn’t recognize most of the names on the roster, but they played a good game. Little by little personalities emerged, they helped lift our city up during some dark times, and they kept winning. But it seemed like no one really paid attention until August. Was it because of how the team ended the previous season? Or was is because of what Boston experienced in April? Or a mixture of both? Late in the summer, the stands became full again; fans cheering our team on.
Boston has celebrated eight sports championships since 2002. The 2002 Patriots Super Bowl Parade was the only one I ever attended – I started working in TV news that week and I assisted directed TV coverage for the rest of them. I worked the night when the Red Sox won in 2004, and I was out of town when they won in 2007. It felt incredibly special to be in town and off the clock this year for everything.
On Thursday, Jeff received an email invitation for season ticket holders to gather at Fenway Park for the rolling rally kick off celebration. Little did we know how much fun it would end up being! The rest of this post features photos both of us took.