Fenway Park's 'Bag Guy' Revealed
BOSTON (CBS) – It's funny to think a simple paper bag can make someone famous.
That's the case for Jon O'Hara, a 25-year-old lifelong Red Sox fan from New Hampshire.
Thursday night he became famous for putting a simple Market Basket brown paper bag over his head at the Red Sox game, as the team dropped their sixth straight at Fenway.
He was front and center behind home plate to start the game, and became one of the top trending topics on Twitter in the Boston area.
For O'Hara, it was all to make a statement.
"I did it pretty much for two things," O'Hara told WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens.
"If I don't recognize that team anymore I don't want them to recognize me. That's one statement behind it. The other is it's an embarrassment now to be a fan of this team. I still wear my Red Sox hats and Red Sox jacket wherever I go, but I get remarks 'how can you wear that hat.' That's not the baseball we're used to up here. We pay for a winning team. Our ticket prices pay for a winning team and that's not happening now."
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Carl Stevens talks with 'The Bag Guy'
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While he is upset with the dismal 12-19 start to the season, most of O'Hara's anger is aimed at the Red Sox ownership.
"We have owners that really do not care and are not in touch with reality," he said.
"We have John Henry over this sitting with a smile on his face last night; he doesn't realize what's really happening. He doesn't realize the pitcher on the mound (Josh Beckett) is horrible. He doesn't realize that Ben Cherington, Bobby Valentine aren't going to get it done."
It's a dark time for Red Sox fans, and O'Hara even went as far as saying he is ashamed to say he is one.
"I am," he said.
"As a matter of fact, I lived in Texas the last two years. I still followed the Red Sox with MLB-TV, but I was a Ranger season ticket holder for the last two years. I paid $5 for a seat for every game, got to go to the World Series and everything. That was amazing. Those guys do it right. I'm a diehard Red Sox fan, but after two years down there, it's hard not to lean and say it would be much easier to be a Rangers fan. Not just because they're winning, but because their ownership does it right."
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O'Hara remained behind the plate for two innings, until the owners of the seats showed up.
He made his way behind the Sox dugout, hoping Beckett would see him as he was booed off the field, but O'Hara doesn't think that happened.
The bag remained on his head until the sixth inning, when it was a fellow fan – not the Red Sox – that asked him to remove it.
"I had it on until the sixth inning when someone behind me yelled out 'how long are you going to have that bag on your head.' I said the whole game hopefully, and he said 'can you take it off? I paid $100 for the seat and can't see first base.' I turned around and said 'I paid $4' and took the bag off."
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"They were all actually nice about it," O'Hara said of the Red Sox staff. "The ushers were all laughing really hard. On the way out, they were shaking my hand and were like 'we hope to see you again.'"
So, will he see Bag Guy again at Fenway?
"I probably won't for one reason. I was lucky to go to last night's game. My son is due any day, so I'll probably be taking games off to raise him," said O'Hara.
So this season may be out, but what about a few years down the road?
Will Bag Guy and Bag Guy Jr. make an appearance?
"I think that might be in the making. Hopefully the team isn't going to be that bad so he doesn't have to go through what I'm going through," he said.
"But that might be funny, a little 2-year old with a bag on his head."
You can follow Carl on Twitter @carlwbz
