The Boston Red Sox don’t need an introduction, but standard writing practice makes one necessary.  An historic team from an historic city, the Red Sox epitomize what a baseball club is all about for Brits.  They are one of the greatest sporting franchises in the world and that’s why Red Sox Nation stretches far beyond Massachusetts.

Great Britain is home to many members of the Nation, from the comedian Phill Jupitus, to the historian Simon Schama (okay, he’s lived in the States for years) and even the odd politician.  The celebrity status of some of their fans may help to create a slightly false impression, but as far as I’m aware the Red Sox are the best-supported baseball team among Brits.

One of the most significant reasons why the Red Sox have appealed to Brits over the years has been their underdog status.  Nothing will get a Brit on board more quickly than a team that gives them a chance to feel that the world is against them.  The eighty-six year World Series winning drought, punctuated by heart-breaking, ‘curse’-fuelled near-misses, made them easy to root for.  Throw in the fact that their arch rivals are the very symbol of big-spending success (not something that makes you popular in Britain – Chelsea Football/Soccer club being a good example of this) and you have an almost perfect underdog.

This phenomenon reached its zenith during the 2004 World Series run.  I’m not specifically a Red Sox fan and I’m not a Yankee-hater like some, but even I was firmly behind Boston in the classic ALCS.  When Johnny Damon hit his grand slam in Game Seven, I jumped up so quickly from my seat that I cricked my neck, leaving me barely able to look left or right for several days afterwards.  However, experiencing that moment was more than worth the pain and inconvenience of not being able to cross the road without being able to look both ways (as the Green Cross Code man taught us to do) and nearly being bowled by a bus.  The explanations of my injury also led to a few strange conversations:

“What happened to your neck?”
“I hurt it by celebrating a home run while watching a baseball game on TV”
[Blank stare, shake of the head, turn and walk away quietly]

(And much as I want more Brits to get into baseball, I do enjoy moments like that.  The cult-like nature of baseball makes you feel like part of a select club.  Everyone else might struggle to understand why you care so much about the sport, but you are convinced that they are the mad ones etc)

The following World Series felt like an anticlimax to me, yet it prompted an outpouring of emotion that produced many good books to inspire more Brits to take an interest in baseball.  One such book was called ‘Roads to Redemption’, a very useful guide to MLB by British fan Craig W. Thomas (a little out of date now in places, but still worth picking up for the dictionary section alone).
 
The Red Sox then went on to win a second World Series in 2007 and they have cemented their position as one of the bigger-spending, successful teams around.  That’s great news for diehard Sox fans that have lived through many years of disappointment, but it has reduced their appeal to some Brits looking for a team to adopt as their own.  Their underdog status doesn’t really fit anymore.  Sometimes it’s more fun to pick a team that needs a bit more support, rather than a team that already has an abundance of fans.

Yet for some Brits, that’s not such a big deal and there’s no doubt that there are still many reasons to root for the Red Sox.

If you want a team steeped in baseball history and one that will give you a good chance of celebrating success most years in the near future, then Boston are as good a choice as any.  The city and ballpark that they call home are high on the list of places British baseball fans should visit.  And their popularity may in fact be seen as a good thing for a Brit wanting to be a part of something.  If you see someone in Britain wearing a Boston cap, there’s a decent likelihood that they will know who the team’s captain is and you can talk to them about the sport.  Try that with someone wearing a Yankee cap and you’ll almost certainly be met by a quizzical look (‘Derek who?’).

So that’s the Red Sox.  Although they are not the underdog kings any more, they remain a favourite team of British baseball fans and that is unlikely to change any time soon.