as a New Englander, I must correct the record...

Um, we actually lost the Superbowl. Gee, time really does heal...now I can say that without getting physically ill. Now if only we had our quarterback back...sigh...

Lizziebeth, I'm with you. I will spend tonight in the back bedroom with a good book, trying not to hear any of my husband's inadvertent signals as to whether the game is going well for the Sox...(hand clapping, "YES!" all good signs...cursing...not so much).

My theory is that it's because I only became a sports fan late in life. I blame DH. There was a time when I first met him that I had to be dragged to a baseball game, and then asked to leave early because it was "boring," right after a triple play and a grand slam in the same inning (true story).

Today I am rabid. My theory is that DH has been playing subminal tapes to me at night for fifteen years...("You LOVE baseball...it makes you happy...you want to see all of the games on television all season long...")

But I HATE playoff games. Too stressful!

I vastly prefer to watch the game, any game, at home. I don't think I've ever enjoyed a Red Sox, Celtics or Pats game in person more than I do at home, on the couch, big tv, bunch of friends, etc... Then again, I am a grumpy misanthrope who hates crowds.

But then there are the really hard core fans for whom it means so much they just can't watch. I get that. Confession: I've watched games, or at least key at-bats, with the TV sound off and a towel over my head. I've turned off the TV and gone to fold laundry just to let my heart rate get back to normal. I'm never the one who can afford the $150 seats to the big games, so I do this in the privacy of my own home - but I can see that even those in the stands might need a break -- it's not so much "giving up on your team" as it is "taking steps to avoid a heart attack."

As for me, tonight's big Rays-Sox game -- I'll be on my sofa, TV sound off, protective towel at the ready, and smelling salts nearby.

djavier I guess what I'm saying is, sometimes the improbable is expected, especially when the Cardinals (or the Lions) are involved.

It was a great comeback, but it was not improbable. I agree with you -- it felt likely. You were sitting around waiting for it to happen.

Big Paulie Also, I alway thought riding home from a game we left early and listening to the last few innings on the radio was really neat. I felt so connected to the event, even as we drove away.

This, to me, was torture. Only happened a couple of times.

A few (nine) points for you bashers of the Red Sox fans at Fenway...

-TBS loves to show those pictures of the fans leaving-and I can't figure out why. Are we being manipulated?

-Ortiz may have received a few boos. Most of it is fans chanting "Yooooooooouk", who now bats RIGHT AFTER ORTIZ.

-TBS shows fans going out to Yawkey Way - which is NOT leaving Fenway! Yawkey Way, where TBS has a camera set up, is now part of the park on game day. The best food and shortest beer lines are out there. I head out there at least once a game.

-Fans leaving their seats at the half inning might just be going for beer. Beer sales are cut off (at the top of the 8th?).

-Fans have to leave their seats for beer as there are NO BEER VENDORS at Fenway. To this day, some people think I'm lying when I tell them this.

-Even for playoff games, I enjoy going around Fenway to get a different look. There are a few Standing Room areas that are great to use for a half inning or so - even when I have great seats.

-Have you noticed that these games are longer than most, and people must get to the bathrooms?

-Aisles at Fenway are narrow. They could be the most narrow aisles in all of MLB. As a result, just a few people leaving seats causes gridlock.

-I have the game on HiDef DVR. I cannot see many empty seats in the late innings.

I do join you in condemning those who left early.

One quick point to add to the "real fans don't leave early" discussion. But first: I don't really see anyone saying all of Boston is made up of bandwagon fans. It was simply hard not to notice that a lot of people heading for the exits - particularly after BJ Upton's double knocked in 2 to make it 7-0. Watching the game on TV, I thought it was over myself.

Now let's say I'm "Joe the Plumber" from Peabody (pee-bud-dee). I am watching this game at home in part because I can't afford the hundreds of dollars it would cost to go to the game. Maybe I'm a little resentful that someone who CAN afford to go to games isn't appreciative enough of that fact to keep his fanny in the seat for 60 more minutes.

Not that that was what King was saying. I think he was just saying the people who left early took a gamble - and they lost.

Well put. I don't mind fans taking pride in their loyalty, however. I certainly wasn't really one of those long suffering Sox fans -- although as I said, I'm much more of a football fan than baseball -- but I respect those who were. I watched the Patriots throughout my teenage years in the nineties with a mix of disgust and hope. There is something to be said for the continuously renewed optimism in the face of long odds. I'm more of a cynic myself, personally.

So, while I think being a fan of a shitty team is fine, and being a fan of a perpetually decent to good team is even better, I just don't like the idea of it being a competition between fans. Love who you love, hate who you hate (Yankees, Colts for example), but don't think for a second it makes you better than another fan of another team, and don't make generalizations about a city's fans as arrogant/bandwagon/fairweather. It just makes one sound stupid.

But since you're a Rays fan, I should probably mention: YOU SUCK!!! ;)