Boycotting the Fenway Sports Group Is Bad Fan Behavior, but So Is Using 2004 as an Excuse

This past offseason, as the Red Sox failed to land superstar talent, Red Sox Nation divided into two groups with so much disdain for each other, that you might think they were fans of entirely different, even rival clubs. These groups were the doomers and the optimists. The doomers were furious with the Fenway Sports Group (FSG) and its foreman, John Henry. They believed that ownership had no interest in winning, but solely cared about selling tickets and getting TV viewership on NESN, which FSG owns a majority of. The doomers thought that because ownership didn’t care about winning, the team would be a substandard, cellar-dwelling team until FSG sold. To retaliate, they would cancel NESN subscriptions, boycott Fenway, and constantly Tweet demanding John Henry sell the team. It made the Red Sox seem like the A’s.

Then, there’s the optimists. The optimists believed that the team was good enough to have a successful season. They recognized the potential talent the Red Sox had and were praying that new pitching coach Andrew Bailey could revitalize a low-talent staff. When faced with arguments of shocking statements and minimal care for winning on behalf of FSG, the optimists were quick to bring up the near-godly act by FSG of bringing the Red Sox a World Series victory in 2004, ending the 86-year Curse of the Bambino. They believed that after the immense joy and emotion derived from ‘04, FSG could do no wrong and that the good karma from that season was enough to carry them through their entire tenure as owners. In terms of season outlook, I stood more with the optimists, though I never believed in FSG immunity.

To be clear, neither group is fully in the right in terms of their feelings towards FSG.

Doomers, you guys will claim to be die-hard Sox fans, but not six years after a World Series you’re willing to give up on watching the team altogether. It would be one thing to boycott NESN over price gouging, but deciding not to watch because the season doesn't have a great outlook is the behavior of a fairweather fan or a bandwagon.

Optimists, you aren’t safe either. The idea that one season, no matter how important, can make FSG untouchable angels forever is a purely emotional opinion that lacks accountability. It likens appreciation to excusal from responsibility.

Now that the Red Sox have played 82 games and sit just 1.5 games out of a wild card spot, it begs the question: how many of those doomers are holding strong in their Fenway boycott? This team looks promising despite injuries and with each passing day, it seems more and more likely Boston will be buyers at the deadline. Under Bailey, the pitching staff went from bottom-10 to top-10 after losing Chris Sale and adding no major pieces. Rafael Devers is having a career season and he joins Jarren Duran and Connor Wong as absurd presumptive All-Star Game snubs.

This Red Sox team is by all means good despite injuries to Story, Casas, Giolito, and O’Neill, but it’s still as important as ever to hold dispassionate ownership accountable, despite how happy they made you in the Bush administration.

Red Sox majority owner, John Henry, responds to critical questions at Spring Training