Keller @ Large: Something Has Changed With Red Sox Fans
BOSTON (CBS) - My first trip to Fenway Park this season, and it had to be Saturday's game?
Yes, and as a Red Sox fan who has witnessed many horrible implosions over the years, this was one of the all-time worst.
Listen to Jon's commentary:
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By now you know the details.
The Sox ran out to a 9-0 lead over the Yankees, 9-1 after six innings, and everything was beautiful.
But the Red Sox bullpen is, apparently, no match for the Yankee lineup.
Meatball after meatball thrown right down the middle of the plate were pulverized by Yankee hitters for seven runs in the seventh and seven more in the eighth.
Game over.
But what interested me was the reaction of the fans.
From where I was sitting, disbelief and a fair amount of booing was quickly followed by an air of resignation.
There was audible sarcasm during the traditional singing of "Sweet Caroline," with the word "choke" liberally inserted into the lyrics.
Maybe it was happening elsewhere in the park, but I did not observe the signs of anger and despair that a similar fold would have prompted in past years.
The body language of the Red Sox themselves is, for the most part, horrible.
As the game started to slip away, you could see the fear and tentativeness in the Sox hitters and fielders.
The less said about Bobby Valentine's demeanor, the better.
But for many fans, it looks to me like something has changed.
The bad old days are gone, dispelled by the success of '04 and '07.
A down year for the Sox – and this certainly has all the makings of one – no longer evokes bitterness and loathing, let alone the fear that gripped many of us for a long time that we might never see them win it all in our lifetimes.
It was a beautiful day at the ballpark on Saturday, and for two-thirds of the game, we had the Yankees on the run.
It seems that was enough to make even the revolting collapse that followed relatively palatable for some Sox fans.
I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but it's a real thing.
And given how bad the team looks, maybe it's a lucky thing.
You can listen to Keller At Large on WBZ News Radio every weekday at 7:55 a.m. and 12:25 p.m. You can also watch Jon on WBZ-TV News.
