Sox Fans Are Too Comfortable At Yankee Stadium

Got out of my mom’s basement last night and took the blog to Yankee Stadium for Yankees/Red Sox and noticed a disturbing trend:

Red Sox fans are waaaaay too comfortable at our park.

Now let me make this clear: I’m not advocating physical violence (with the possible exception of that guy) against Sox fans when they come to the Stadium.

But a little good-natured harassment goes a long way in establishing a proper home field advantage….and last night, I wasn’t feeling that in the Bronx.

Everywhere I looked there were Sox fans decked out in red and blue.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t there a time when wearing Sox colors in Yankee Stadium pretty much guaranteed a beer dumped on your head?

That was CERTAINLY the case during my one trip to Fenway.

As a day camp counselor I brought a group of 12 year olds to a Red Sox-ANGELS game, and it wasn’t long before our kids were sniffed out as Yankee fans.

Long story short, good thing I was wearing a hooded sweatshirt because it helped shield me from the beer and pizza being rained down on us.

That taught me a lesson: You don’t show up at Fenway wearing Yankee colors without expecting a hard time….and that’s the way it should be.

I thought that was still the case at Yankee Stadium. Unfortunately, that’s not the way it appeared last night.

Sox fans were everywhere and they pranced around the Stadium without fear of reprisal.

Maybe that’s a function of a few things: real fans being priced out of the new park, the Red Sox having more fans than in the past and/or more aggressive security in place.

Whatever the case may be, the current comfort level of the average Red Sox fan at Yankee Stadium is unacceptable and must be addressed (especially if they meet in the ALCS).

This isn’t a macho thing. I don’t care if Yankee Stadium does or does not have a reputation as the least hospitable place for visiting fans (that’s more of a Philly thing).

What I care about is my team having the home field advantage it deserves…and that starts with more Yankee fans filling the seats in our stadium and putting the few Red Sox fans who manage to get a ticket in their proper place.

(And if that happens to be head-first in a swirling Stadium toilet, so be it….)

Matt Estreich for The Huddle

(Photo courtesy of the Boston Globe)