The End of the 2010 Red Sox Season

As the 2010 Red Sox season comes to an end I would like to share with everyone my point of view on a teams "popularity". What most people fail to realize is that popularity and winning are both cyclical. A dynasty is both.

However, a quote unquote "dynasty" is not what the average fan is looking for. We love the "Cinderella" the "underdog". Most people believe that a winning team, a consistently winning team that is, will garnish higher attendance at the ball park and more fan interest. Both the NY Yankees and Atlanta Braves have proven otherwise. The Atlanta Braves for all the post seasons they have made now no longer can even sell out a home playoff game. The Yankees, while being a hot World Series ticket in 2009 was actually a ticket that sold for FACE value in 2003 vs Florida. You see the Yankees were coming to the end of their "dynasty" and fans were, well, sick and tired of all the winning. They might not admit it, but the secondary market never lies. Fans were expecting the Yankees to win, so why shell out hundreds of dollars to see it live when you can watch it at home for free, I mean you already know the result. Well, sort of since the Yankees actually lost that series to Florida and the red hot Josh Becket in 6 games.

The Boston Red Sox 2004 World Series bleacher tickets were selling for $1500. In 2007 the same ticket cost $650. Fans get bored with winning faster then they get bored with losing. The fans in Boston keep screaming for a World Series, can I ask WHY? There are 30 teams in Major League Baseball and only 2 make it to the dance and only 1 can win that coveted World Series trophy. Does that mean its not worth paying for a ticket if you either expect your team to win or lose? Does the experience of being at a Sunday Red Sox Yankees game at Fenway mean so much less if the game isnt for all the marbles? To those fans out there that say yes, I say go ask your 6 year old if he cares. Ask him if the experience of seeing Big Papi hit a home run vs the Yanks is diminished in his eyes because the team is not chasing October.

To the real fans out there I say, if the weather is nice this weekend take your kid to Fenway. I know the Sox are eliminated and the Yankees have clinched the playoffs but your kids will not care. Tickets are 75% cheaper then ever and in this economy stretching a dollar and showing your kids a good time is more important then ever. Their memory will always be, being at a Sox Yankees game with their dad, not of the standings.