Student Snippets A Window Into The Daily Life & Thoughts of SLIS Students

World Series Champs!

Posted November 1, 2013 by Emily Boyd

Photo of Emily Boyd

In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last few days: THE RED SOX WON THE WORLD SERIES!!!!!

One of the best things about living in Boston is the sports culture. People here are passionate about sports, and our teams are among the best (the best if you ask me!). Of all the Boston teams the Red Sox are my favorite, in fact, during the 2007 playoffs I camped out overnight outside of Fenway Park in order to get tickets!  Needless to say, when the Sox won on Wednesday evening I was beyond thrilled. With everything the city has gone through this year it felt really wonderful to see everyone come together to celebrate a big win.

In honor of my favorite sports event of the year here are some fun facts and historical tidbits about the Red Sox and historic Fenway Park:

  • The first World Series took place in 1903 in Boston at a long gone ballpark on Huntington Avenue, today part of (my alma mater) Northeastern University’s campus.
  • Opened in 1912, Fenway Park is the oldest Major League Baseball Stadium still in use.
  • The Red Sox did not win the World Series between 1918 and 2004… 86 years!
  • Red Sox fans are very superstitious and believe the team went so long without a World Series win due to the untimely sale of Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees in 1919. This superstition is often referred to as “The Curse of the Bambino” and dozens of articles and books have been written analyzing this phenomenon.
  • Fenway Park is small (by modern sport facilities standards) with only 37,493 seats. It is among seven major league stadiums with less than 40,000 seats.
  • Counting this current series, Fenway Park has hosted the World Series eleven times.
  • At the start of the season, odds of the Red Sox winning the World Series were 28-1 due to last year’s disastrous season. They went from worst to first over the course of this season.
  • The last time the Red Sox played the Cardinals in the World Series was in 2004 and the Sox came out on top as well.

There you have it, eight fun facts about baseball, one for each of the Red Sox eight World Series Wins! Probably more than you ever wanted to know about baseball, but if you’re thinking about moving to Boston prepare to be immersed in local sports culture.

Located just minutes away from Fenway Park, Simmons students have easy access to both the ball field and the restaurants and sports bars in the surrounding area. I plan to take advantage this weekend by celebrating and watching the parade with lots of Boston fans.

Boston Strong! Go Sox!

Boston