That's probably true. The same bandwagon jumping asshats that took over Fenway Park are probably all Bruins fans now and they couldn't pick Phil Esposito out of a lineup. I went to college with these people who wore Adam Vinateri jerseys around proudly. He's a ****ing kicker! Being a Red Sox fan basically got ruined for me after 2004 because I get lumped in with these know nothing ****** bags. At this point I barely even follow them, and when I go to a game (free tickets) its only to go to my favorite bar in Boston and get a Spikes hotdog.
Thank God I was never a Patriots fan because I would be pretty angry if football got ruined for me too. Luckily I root for the Giants so I've had the pleasure of watching the Patriots get trolled hard twice now.
I was born and raised as a Yankees/Giants fan thanks to my father (who grew up in an era where neither sport featured teams west of the Mississippi I don't think), so marrying into a family split almost equally between Pats/Sox fans and Yankees/Giants fans has been... interesting, to say the least. Half live in MA and half in CT.
The Giants first beat the Pats when my wife and I were still dating, so I kept quiet out of general civility. The second time was something else entirely.
But nothing is the same now as when even I was a kid. I didn't "like" the Red Sox, but nothing nearly on par with what you see between the fanbases now, and I respected them. What's not to love about Dwight Evans? Watching him fire a cannon shot to third to nail a runner was something every sports fan should love.
But it's been overrun with so much insanity (well, maybe not so much since that fateful decision to hire Bobby Valentine, which I loved) that it's impossible to even cope and maintain adult behavior. I find it impossible to even have civilized conversation with the bandwaggoners.
And I don't *want* to hate Boston sports teams, that's the thing. But the asshats you refer to make that almost impossible if all you're even trying to do is enjoy the game and the sport.
Trivial update: Last week my wife and I visited some of her family in FLA. We were near Ft. Myers, where the Red Sox train. When we were leaving to come back to Raleigh our gate was next to a gate departing for Boston. I swear that I heard multiple Dropkick Murphys ringtones. It was sort of hilarious.
