"In the most agnostic state in the country, nothing inspires a renewal of faith quite like the start of baseball season. Say a prayer for Red Sox NHation." -- April 2013 cover story for New Hampshire Magazine by Darren Garnick, who drills deep into the Granite State core of Red Sox Country. (Includes the confessional, "Embracing the Enemy: How I Learned to Stop Hating the Yankees."

1. 51&
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Brightest
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TOP DOCS
107
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NHMAGAZINE.COM
BELIEVE, AGAIN?
In the most agnostic state in the country
nothing inspires a renewal of faith
quite like the start of baseball season.
Say a prayer for Red Sox NHation.
BY DARREN GARNICK
Findin
The Fu g
April F nny:
& Com ools
ed
Clubs y

2. contributors
“For the Royals”
When he was a child, writer and filmmaker Darren
Garnick used to spend countless hours sorting baseball cards on his bedroom rug — all the while cursing the
dreaded Yankees. Now, after a father-son trip to Yankee
Stadium, the diehard Sox fan has had a dramatic change
of heart. Find out why in the feature story he wrote,
Photo by Larry Sanders
“Believe Again?"
creative, wearable art
one -of-a -kind pieces
Fine Jewelr y
Stratham, NH 603-686-6802
www.barbarasmithmclaughlin.com
Photographer Jarrod McCabe, who shot the
photographs on pages 46 and 47 of the Red Sox feature,
is most widely known for his portraiture. In addition
to his photographic work he also crafts super-premium
single-barrel backwoods American slingshots and sends
fake postcards. To receive a fake postcard, e-mail your
name and address to info@jarrodmccabe.com with the
following subject line: I Love Fake Postcards.
Mark Corliss, who photographed this issue's
featured Top Doctors, is a commercial photographer from
Keene with more than 30 years experience providing highquality publicity, product and portrait photography to
New England businesses, colleges, publishers and healthcare institutions. Specialties include custom photo and
fine art printing. He's a graduate of The Doscher Country
School of Photography. More info at markcorliss.com.
Jack Kenny, who wrote this month’s “Last Laugh,”
1
‘Top
00
in
Salon
– ELL
rica’
Ame e
azin
E Ma
g
Writer of the monthly “Slice” feature, Hillary Davis
has also contributed business, lifestyle, food and travel
articles to Connecticut Magazine, the former Home Living
Connecticut and Connecticut Business Magazine. She
is also a food and travel blogger with an engaged foodie
social media following on Facebook and Twitter. Her blogs:
MarcheDimanche.typepad.com, HillaryDavisTravels.typepad.com, TheBestCookBooksList.typepad.com.
3 Years!
10 th
is a freelance writer who lives sparingly by his wits in
Manchester. He has, by his own account, been reporting
and writing commentary about people and events in New
Hampshire "since the Old Man of the Mountain was the
new kid on a molehill."
A n ni v e r s a r y
Courtney Hoppe, who writes the monthly “Evening Out,” is a lifestyle writer, marketing professional,
and a champion of modern New Hampshire living. She
resides in swanky downtown Manchester and can often
be spotted dining al fresco at one of the many hot spots
on Elm Street, wheeling her Mobile Patio to various
events around town, or taking her kitten (Roxie Hart) for
walks in her pink pet stroller.
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10 nhmagazine.com | April 2013
641-3050

3. Whodunit in Red Sox
Are any of these usual suspects to blame for the dramatic 2012 collapse of the
THE EX-GM?
Was it really
Theo's idea
(or maybe
John Henry's?)
to bring in all those
overpriced stars?
42 nhmagazine.com | April 2013
THE OWNER?
Did Mr. Henry's
heart and soul
(and wallet)
wander off to
Liverpool, England?

4. NHATION?
Red Sox season? Even after that dismal year, devoted NH fans dare to believe again.
B Y DA R R E N G A R N I C K
THE EXMANAGER?
Bobby V ...
Do we really need
to say more about
Bobby V?
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY SEQOUIA PORTER
THE SAVIOR
New Hampshire's
favorite son,
Ben Cherington ...
The NHATION
turns its lonely
eyes to you.
April 2013 | nhmagazine.com
43

5. Believe Again?
R E D SOX N H AT I O N
(NH-RED SOX CONNECTIONS)
RED SOX
NHATION
TIMELINE
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE WHOLEYS
1890
Amherst’s Frank Selee
starts his 16-year managing career with the Boston
Beaneaters, winning five
National League titles for
Boston. He and Carlton Fisk
are the only New Hampshire
natives in the Baseball Hall
of Fame. (Selee wasn’t a
Red Sock, but close enough.
The Beaneaters became the
Boston Braves.)
1912
IS THE ROMANCE GONE?
N
INE YEARS AGO, when no one could
Future Sox catcher
Birdie Tebbetts is born in
Burlington, Vt., but his family immediately moves to
Nashua, NH, to raise him.
1916
Babe Ruth and his victorious World Series Boston
teammates played an
exhibition game against a
team of locals — and lost.
NH newspapers trumpet
the Laconians as the new
Champions of the World.
44 nhmagazine.com | April 2013
imagine that every Red Sox fan on
the planet would soon get his or her
grubby fingerprints on not one, but two World
Series trophies, Nashua firefighter Mark Wholey
took his girlfriend Kelli on a tour of Fenway Park.
The home team was 2,000 miles away at
Coors Field, where they pounded the Colorado
Rockies 11-0. Mark and Kelli got to watch the
grounds crew instead. Unexpectedly, the tour
guide pulled the couple aside and asked them
if they were interested in walking out onto the
field. Once on the dirt, they were told that the
pitcher’s mound was fair game too.
Mark then dropped to one knee and pulled out
a ring while the scoreboard flashed “Kelli, Will
You Marry Me?” The rest
of the tourists cheered like
Manny and Big Papi had
just clubbed back-to-back
dingers. The proposal was
later immortalized in the
book “Faithful,” Stephen
King and Stewart O’Nan’s
chronicle of the 2004 season.
“I was so happy that the
park was empty and that we had those few
minutes to ourselves,” reflects Kelli. “I’ve seen
so many people get engaged during a game and
it’s much more of a high-pressure situation. Not
that I would have ever said ‘No’ if Mark had done
it the other way.”
Fast forward to 2013. Mark and Kelli just
celebrated their eighth wedding anniversary in
February and as parents of a 6-year-old boy and
3-year-old girl, they now need a babysitter so they
can attend this year’s Opening Day. Their beloved
Red Sox need their passion now more than ever.
How horrendous was 2012’s nosedive into the
AL East cellar? It can’t only be measured by their
pathetic 69-93 record, .426
winning percentage (worst
performance since 1965
when the team was 62-100)
or laughable 26 game deficit behind the hated New
York Yankees. It’s become a
matter of trust.
Perception is reality
and the image of Bobby

6. Believe Again?
R E D SOX N H AT I O N
(NH-RED SOX CONNECTIONS)
RED SOX
NHATION
TIMELINE
1936
Future Sox pitcher Stan
Williams (1972) is born
in Enfield.
1947
JARROD MCCABE
Future Sox catcher Carlton
Fisk is born in Bellows Falls,
Vt., but his family soon
moves to Charlestown, NH,
to raise him.
1948
Left: Mark Wholey proposing to his then-girlfriend
(and now wife of nine years) Kelli back in 2004 on
the pitcher's mound at their beloved Fenway Park.
Above: Ten-year-old Nick Norris isn't hopeful about
the team's chances this year (he predicts a third or
fourth place finish for the 2013 season), but he loves
the Sox all the same.
Valentine’s Red Sox was a team that stopped
trying and even stopped caring. That’s not a disgruntled fan’s view. It’s the current perspective
of the Red Sox marketing department. Print and
web ads for 2013 season tickets feature the determined faces of Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz
with the slogans “162 Chances to Restore the
Faith” and “What’s Broken Can Be Fixed.” Given
that contrition campaigns are rare — maybe
even nonexistent — in professional sports, the
ballclub is sending the message that it is not taking its die-hard fans for granted.
RAISING TOMORROW’S FAN BASE
F
OR LIFELONG ENTHUSIASTS like the
Wholeys, loyalty runs deeper than the
disappointment, ecstasy or apathy over
any one season. Beyond the surreal nostalgia
of being on that mound, they cherish Fenway
Park as an annual pilgrimage. “Win or lose,” Kelli
says, “there’s just something magical about being there. Yes, last year was annoying, but we’re
never giving up on them.”
At the Ernest P. Barka Elementary School in
Derry, there isn’t a student who doesn’t know
where Principal Dan LaFleur stands in this baseball crisis. An entire wall in his office is covered
with a photo mural of Game 1 of the 2004 World
Series with Curt Schilling pitching against Edgar
Renteria. As an added touch, he installed baseball stadium seats that he bought during a trip
to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.
All of these props set the stage for his weekly
“Student of the Week” ceremonies. One nominee
from each of his grade K-5 classrooms is celebrated for good grades or positive attitudes by
being photographed in front of Faux Fenway.
“Naturally, no one is forced to pose,” LaFleur says.
“We have some Yankees fans among us and we
always teach tolerance here and respect for a difference in opinion. Last year’s losing season also was a
teaching opportunity. To be a Red Sox fan, you have
to have perseverance. You can’t win all the time.”
Wally the Green Monster, the cuddly Red Sox
Nashua’s Birdie Tebbetts,
the feisty Red Sox All-Star
catcher, headlines a baseball barnstorming tour that
stops in Laconia.
1950
Tebbetts gets sold to
Cleveland after calling
his teammates “juvenile
delinquents and moronic
malcontents.”
1954
Future Sox pitcher
Rich Gale (1984) is born
in Littleton.
April 2013 | nhmagazine.com
45

7. Believe Again?
R E D SOX N H AT I O N
(NH-RED SOX CONNECTIONS)
RED SOX
NHATION
TIMELINE
1961
Future Sox outfielder
Kevin Romine (1985-91) is
born in Exeter.
1962
JARROD MCCABE (2)
Future Sox pitcher Rob
Woodward (1985-88) is
born in Hanover.
1969
Future Sox outfielder
Phil Plantier (1990-92) is
born in Manchester.
1975
Carlton Fisk does his
dramatic home run dance
to win Game 6 of the
1975 World Series.
1981
Fisk is exiled (willingly,
as a free agent) to the
Chicago White Sox.
46 nhmagazine.com | April 2013
Above and right: Principal Dan LaFleur has a
Fenway Park mural and ballpark seats in his
school office. To keep the Sox close to heart,
he sometimes wears a jersey beneath his suit.
Far right: President and CEO of the Red Sox,
Larry Lucchino, wrote LaFleur a lighthearted
rejection letter for the manager's job, which
eventually went to Terry Francona.
mascot, visited the Derry school two years
ago to promote literacy programs. LaFleur experienced his own “Field of Dreams” moment
this January, participating in Red Sox open
auditions for a new PA announcer to replace
the late Carl Beane. The principal’s recorded
tryout was later shared on his school’s PA
system during morning announcements.
“I have not come down off Cloud 9 yet,”
LaFleur says. “I could see the lit-up Citgo sign
and the field was dark. My eyes were closed and
I was picturing the ballpark as full and that this
was a playoff game in October.”
Over in Portsmouth, the principal has a kindred
spirit in 10-year-old Nick Norris, who has a Green
Monster wall in his bedroom with a changeable
scoreboard. Over the past few seasons, the fourth
grader has created his own “sports sections,” live
stat sheets of games in progress. Unfortunately
for his readers, night games seldom get covered
because of an 8:15 p.m. bedtime.
Norris is a fan of Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby
Ellsbury for the same reason: “They make
diving catches and I like seeing diving catches.”
He has dressed as both players over the past
two Halloweens.
The 10-year-old has mixed reviews about last
year’s high-profile front office moves. Thumbs up
for getting rid of pitcher Josh Beckett, who “was
not being a good teammate,” and thumbs down
for trading firstbaseman Adrian Gonzales, “probably the best hitter on the team.” His sobering
2013 prediction: third or fourth place.
( continued on page 49)

8. Believe Again?
R E D SOX N H AT I O N
April 2013 | nhmagazine.com
47

9. Believe Again?
R E D SOX N H AT I O N
Guarding Ted’s Legacy
A
S THE FORMER VOLUNTEER BODYGUARD
of Ted Williams, retired NH State Police veteran Dave McCarthy
loves to tell stories about how the Red Sox legend could instantly
turn anyone into an 8-year-old kid.
He was with the Splendid Splinter at Pease Air Force Base in
1992, when President George H. W. Bush almost tripped down
the stairs of Air Force One in excitement. He escorted Williams
when he was the Grand Marshall at the New Hampshire International Speedway in 1999, when NASCAR drivers giddily lined
up for his autograph — and a few days later when he was the
celebrated guest at Fenway Park for the All-Star Game and was
mobbed by the MLB’s biggest stars in a scene that made them all
seem like Little Leaguers.
“That was Ted,” says McCarthy, who ironically drove State
Police car #9 (Williams’ uniform number) when he was on
active duty. “He had that effect on people. And my friendship
with him has allowed me to live a dream. I don’t believe in being an old cop. By the time I hit 50, it was time to do something different.”
The former Tilton resident is now the executive director of
the Ted Williams Foundation and the Ted Williams Museum and
Hitters Hall of Fame in St. Petersburg, Florida. Since 2002, it has
been a role that has allowed him to become a professional fan
24/7 — arranging Spring Training and regular season charity
events with the Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, Philadelphia
Phillies, Minnesota Twins and Baltimore Orioles.
McCarthy also teams up with the Fisher Cats every year to
put on the New Hampshire Baseball Dinner to benefit Children’s
Hospital at Dartmouth (CHaD).
Founded by Nashua developers Sam Tamposi and Gerry Nash,
the Ted Williams Museum originally sat on land in their Citrus
Hills retirement community, which used Ted himself as celebrity
pitchman. However, unlike the rural lure of the Baseball Hall
48 nhmagazine.com | April 2013
Dave McCarthy
and Red Sox legend
Ted Williams at the
New Hampshire
International
Speedway in 1999.
The retired NH
trooper now runs
the Ted Williams
Museum in Florida.
of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, the destination proved to be too
isolated to draw large crowds. In 2006 the museum moved to
Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays.
“The Red Sox were trying to find a spot for me, but there’s
just not enough room for a museum at Fenway,” McCarthy
says. “The Rays had a ton of room and made us an offer we
couldn’t refuse.”
The museum honors all facets of Williams’ life, including his
service in World War II and the Korean War and his love for fishing and the outdoors. The Hitters Hall of Fame recognizes the
obvious legends but also strives to include “players who don’t get
the credit they deserve.”
Although he was banned from Major League Baseball and
Cooperstown enshrinement for gambling, Pete Rose was inducted here. Boston’s unsung heroes Dom DiMaggio, Fred Lynn
and Dwight Evans are honored here too, along with Sox Hall of
Famers Wade Boggs, Jim Rice, Carl Yastrzemski, Carlton Fisk
and Andre Dawson.
McCarthy first became involved with the Williams family when
he attended the 1986 World Series as New Hampshire Gov. John
Sununu’s driver and bodyguard. Williams’ son, John Henry, was
interested in law enforcement and struck up a conversation in
the Sox owners’ box.
After witnessing the aging and frail Williams being mobbed
at an autograph show, McCarthy offered to provide his hero
personal security for free — and arranged for fellow troopers to
join him.
“It’s not like there was ever a threat made on his life,” recalls
McCarthy. “We were afraid of him getting crushed by the people
who adored him.” – Darren Garnick
FOR MORE INFORMATION about the Ted Williams Museum
and Hitters Hall of Fame, visit tedwilliamsmuseum.com.
COURTESY DAVE MCCARTHY
Why a NH state trooper keeps cheering for the “Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived”

10. Believe Again?
R E D SOX N H AT I O N
(NH-RED SOX CONNECTIONS)
COURTESY THE TONY SWANN COLLECTION, CARLTONFISK.COM;
THE TRUSTEES OF THE BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY/LESLIE JONES COLLECTION
RED SOX
NHATION
TIMELINE
1998
Former Sox 1B/DH Mike
Easler takes over as manager of the Nashua Pride.
1999
Above left: High school photo of Hall of Fame
catcher Carlton “Pudge” Fisk after the
Charlestown Forts won the 1963
Interscholastic Basketball Tournament
Above right: Two-time All-Star catcher
George “Birdie” Tebbetts of Nashua
Left: Fisk's number 27 is retired at Fenway Park.
( continued from page 46)
NH SOX PRIDE
R
EBUILDING THE RED SOX DYNASTY —
or at least a perennial contender — now
rests squarely on the shoulders of New
Hampshire native Ben Cherington, the team’s
new general manager. The collapse began under
GM Theo Epstein’s watch in the fall of 2011, but
avalanched during his rookie year at the helm.
Cherington, who grew up in Meriden and was
a standout pitcher for Lebanon High School
(Class of ’92), isn’t trying to pass the buck.
“I’ve said it before, it’s a collective failure, but I
take more responsibility than anyone for it,” he
told MLB.com. “Last year, we were a long way
from living up to what we should be on the
field and off the field. It’s up to us to make the
Red Sox what they should be again.”
When reminiscing about the most
exciting highlights of Red Sox history,
New Hampshire fans quickly point to Hall
of Fame catcher Carlton “Pudge” Fisk’s
upbringing in tiny Charlestown. The man
most famous for his home run theatrics
waving the ball fair in Game 6 of the 1975
World Series actually had teenage ambitions
of playing for the Boston Celtics. Fisk led
the 1963 Charlestown High School Forts to a
25-0 championship basketball season.
Three decades earlier, Nashua’s George “Birdie”
Tebbetts was a two-time All-Star catcher for Boston from 1947-1950. Despite hitting .310 in his last
Sox season, he was sold to the Cleveland Indians
after publicly calling two teammates “juvenile
delinquents and moronic malcontents.” Apparently, peace in the clubhouse was valued higher
than stats that year.
Rounding out our state’s magnetism for Red
Sox backstops is Gary Allenson, a California native who was just named the new manager of the
New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the minor league
AA affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Nicknamed
“Muggsy” from his college days, Allenson was the
( continued on page 51)
Just before the MLB AllStar Game at Fenway Park,
Ted Williams is the Grand
Marshall of the NASCAR
races at the NH International Speedway in Loudon.
2000
Fisk is inducted into the
Baseball Hall of Fame,
choosing the Red Sox hat
over the White Sox one for
his HOF plaque.
2000
Former Sox 3B Butch
Hobson begins his eight
year reign as manager of
the Nashua Pride.
2001
Steroid King and former
Sox slugger Jose Canseco
begins his comeback
attempt with the
Newark Bears, opening
the season in Nashua.
April 2013 | nhmagazine.com
49

11. Believe Again?
R E D SOX N H AT I O N
(NH-RED SOX CONNECTIONS)
RED SOX
NHATION
TIMELINE
2007
Local actor Scott
Severance played one of
Jimmy Fallon's loyal
seatmates in the 2005
film "Fever Pitch."
The Nashua Pride make
marketing history with the
world’s first “Bobble Belly”
doll. It honors chubby exSox reliever Rich Garces,
trying to make a comeback
at Holman Stadium.
Below: To get the part,
Severance didn't need to
act depressed when he
thought of Bill Buckner.
He really was.
2007
Time to Make Another
Red Sox Movie?
Is a “Fever Pitch” sequel the key to ending the new Sox slump?
Former Sox pitcher Oil Can
Boyd headlines a baseball
barnstorming tour that
stops in Nashua. Ex-Sox
Bill Lee, Sam Horn and
Ken Ryan join him.
2008
Sox World Series icon Curt
Schilling campaigns for
John McCain in NH during
the Primary and general
election. It’s not enough.
Obama wins the state by
a 54-45 percent margin.
2008
Former Sox OF Rick Miller
takes over as manager
of the Pride.
50 nhmagazine.com | April 2013
I
T’S A DREAM SCENARIO FOR ANY ACTOR/RED SOX FAN. Derry’s Scott
Severance shares an Internet Movie Database (IMDb) page with Jason
Varitek, Johnny Damon, Trot Nixon, Jim Rice and Dennis Eckersley.
The film, of course, is 2005’s “Fever Pitch,” starring Jimmy Fallon as an
obsessed Red Sox fan whose sanity fluctuates with the highs and lows
of the team. While much of the romantic comedy revolves around Fallon’s crush on Drew Barrymore, Severance’s character puts baseball ahead of love.
He plays Artie, a divorced man who watches every game with his ex-wife because both parties refused to give up their shared season tickets. Severance gets
a lot of screen time because he sits one row in front of Fallon and Barrymore.
A lifelong Sox fan who grew up in Manchester and Pittsfield, the actor thinks
he won over the casting director when his eyes got watery reading a monologue
of Boston’s most heartbreaking moments (Bucky Dent’s homer, the ball going
through Bill Buckner’s legs, etc.) He wasn’t acting.
“The Red Sox winning the World Series almost ruined the movie. It was supposed to be about lovable losers. The Sox lose again, but boy gets girl and
lives happily ever after,” Severance recalls. “On the morning of the fourth
game against the Cardinals, the Farrelly brothers flew out to St. Louis for
that final scene of Jimmy and Drew kissing on the pitcher’s mound.”
Severance, who idolized the funky pitching motion and cigar-smoking
swagger of pitcher Luis Tiant as a kid, remains optimistic that the Sox can
compete for a Wild Card playoff spot this year.
“Our movie helped them break the curse in 2004. Maybe we need to
make a 'Fever Pitch 2,'” he jokes. – Darren Garnick
YOU CAN SEE SCOTT NEXT as a disgruntled motorist in Larry
David’s upcoming HBO movie, “Clear History,” starring John
Hamm, Kate Hudson and Michael Keaton.

12. Believe Again?
R E D SOX N H AT I O N
(NH-RED SOX CONNECTIONS)
RED SOX
From left clockwise:
New York mayor Rudy
Giuliani took heat
before the 2008 NH
primary for saying he
rooted for the Sox in
the 2007 World Series.
Then-senator Barack
Obama took Giuliani's
weak fan loyalty to task.
Former Sox pitcher
Curt Schilling stumped
for the Republicans in
the ’04 and ’08
presidential elections.
Ted Williams campaigned for president
George H.W. Bush (and
later did the same for
George W. Bush).
NHATION
TIMELINE
2009
Former Sox GM Dan
Duquette is co-owner of
the American Defenders of
New Hampshire, a militarythemed baseball team with
camouflage uniforms and
a mascot named “Ground
Zero.” Former Sox 1B Brian
Daubach is manager, but
patriotism fails to win over
fans and the team folds
after a year.
2011
( continued from page 49)
Sox backup catcher from 1979-1984, playing behind
Carlton Fisk and Rich Gedman.
“This year is going to be a reunion of sorts,” he
says. “I hope to have a bunch of Red Sox fantasy
camp players come bug me while I’m managing
in Manchester. Year after year, you get to know
some of these campers pretty well. I consider
them friends.”
Although they are the farm team for the rival
Blue Jays, Fisher Cats games also provide one
of the more convenient venues for fans to get a
sneak preview of future Red Sox whenever the
Portland Sea Dogs come to town. Over the past
few years, Manchester has hosted soon-to-be Sox
stars such as Jon Lester, Dustin Pedroia, Jonathan Papelbon, Jacoby Ellsbury, Clay Buchholz,
Jed Lowrie, Josh Reddick, Felix Doubront and
Will Middlebrooks.
In 2007 Manchester fans got a rise out of
Fisher Cats manager Bob Masse for giving Buchholz a standing ovation. Masse called the cheers
“absolutely disgraceful.”
“We’re not playing the Boston Red Sox. It’s
Manchester against Portland,” he told the Union
Leader. “There’s not a park in the world
that would have given him a standing
ovation for throwing six innings for one
run and 11 strikeouts. I guess I will never
understand how you can root for the
Fisher Cats when we don’t play Portland
and root for them when we do play them.”
For Fisher Cats general manager Rick Brenner,
the occasional dual allegiances aren’t so troubling.
“People may come here as a Red Sox fan, but
hopefully they leave here a Red Sox fan and a
Fisher Cats fan,” he says. “You can be the biggest
Boston fan in the world but still be happy when
some of these young players make it big on the
Blue Jays or another team. I liken it to rooting for
someone you went to high school with. Even if
they’re not your best friend, you’re still happy to
see them do well.”
COURTING THE SOX VOTE
T
HE REGIONAL OBSESSION with the
Red Sox is powerful enough to impact
the state’s true official sport — politics.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani took a lot
of guff before the 2008 New Hampshire Primary
for saying he was rooting for the Red Sox in the
2007 World Series.
Among the first critics to pounce on the Yankeeloving Giuliani was Barack Obama.
“Congratulations, by the way, Red Sox
( continued on page 53)
(
)
GIANT
SHOES
Meriden’s Ben Cherington
takes over as Red Sox
general manager,
filling the giant shoes
of Theo Epstein, who
bolted to the Cubs.
2012
Along with new manager
Bobby Valentine, Cherington gets off to a rocky
start — presiding over the
worst Red Sox season in
five decades.
2013
Former Sox catcher Gary
Allenson, who once backed
up Carlton Fisk, takes over
as manager of the NH
Fisher Cats.
–Compiled by Darren Garnick
April 2013 | nhmagazine.com
51

13. Believe Again?
R E D SOX N H AT I O N
Embracing The Enemy
Though author Darren
Garnick (pictured) was
brought up (brainwashed?)
to love the Sox and revile
the Yankees, he has since
learned to stop hating
the Bronx Bombers. He's
even come to terms with
"traitors," like Patriots
Quarterback Tom Brady,
who appear publicly
in Yankees caps.
D
URING OUR FIRST FATHER-SON GAME at Fenway
two years ago, my boy blurted out a disturbing question as we enjoyed a no-show season
ticket holder’s box seats. Ari, who is now 11, is
by no means a spoiled kid, but I felt like I was
at Canobie Lake Park being asked why we
weren’t at Disney World.
“Dad,” he said, gazing at the then-lackluster Baltimore
Orioles in the opposite dugout, “When do you think we
can see the Red Sox play the Yankees?”
Never,” I bluntly replied, softening the blow with a
lecture on the microeconomics of baseball tickets. Until
I scored some influential friends or won the lottery, our
destiny was to watch only the boring teams. Also, the Red Sox
were still bragging about their 10 zillionth consecutive sellout
record and I was philosophically opposed to negotiating with
terrorists/scalpers.
Even though I couldn’t deliver on the goods, I was thrilled that
Ari had expressed even a moderate interest in the Sox-Yanks
rivalry. He’s not a die-hard fan who memorizes baseball
cards like his dad, but he enjoys the ballpark atmosphere and any story line involving good vs. evil.
I get an adrenaline rush whenever I see that
classic photo of Jason Varitek punching A-Rod
in the face. I don’t even remember what their
fight was about, but it still makes me giddy.
While most 10-year-olds were doodling Darth
52 nhmagazine.com | April 2013
Vader back in 1978, I sketched a poster of cartoonish owner
George Steinbrenner and branded myself as an “Official Yankees
Hater.” That copycat drawing remained on my bedroom closet until
my teen years, when it was replaced with another New Yorker,
swimsuit model Christie Brinkley.
I have no idea if the “Uptown Girl” was or is a Yankees fan, but I
have since recoiled over photos of New England “traitors” Tom
Brady and Adam Sandler in Yankees hats. Like many New
Hampshirites, I brainwashed my two children to be Sox lovers before they could walk. My daughter Dahlia has a David
Ortiz jack-in-the-box.
My lifelong addiction was sparked by my Grandpa Bob,
a passionate but misguided fan who believed that Carl
Yastrzemski was the Messiah, while Jim Rice and Fred
Lynn were overpaid “prima donnas.” He once proudly
spearheaded a fundraising drive for the Jimmy Fund
and formally presented the donation to Mike Andrews, the
second baseman on the 1967 “Impossible Dream” team.
That photo now hangs in my office, reminding me of when
I would fall asleep on Grandpa’s couch and be woken
up when Butch Hobson or George “Boomer” Scott
would go deep.
But back to those despised Bronx Bombers.
Last summer, I discovered that it was possible
to buy affordable Sox-Yankees tickets — but only
if we were willing to venture into enemy territory.
Without telling Ari our ultimate destination, I
COURTESY OF PAUL PLAINE/BALLPARK PRINTS
How I Learned to Stop Hating the Yankees

14. Believe Again?
R E D SOX N H AT I O N
surprised him with a trip to the Roman Coliseum, aka Yankee
Stadium. Wanting to avoid being targeted by obnoxious New
Yorkers, we entered incognito without a trace of Red Sox gear.
I never imagined the scenes that unfolded next.
We watched dozens of out-of-the-closet Red Sox fans
boldly strut through the ballpark without the slightest bit of
harassment. Perhaps it was because “they” now felt sorry for
us. Oh, there were plenty of nasty anti-Boston shirts for sale
by street vendors and a few anti-Sox slurs muttered here and
there. But contrary to my talk radio indoctrination, I discovered most Yankee fans were not the offspring of Satan.
As Ari and I posed with the World’s Largest Yankees Hat
on the concourse and goofed around with regular-sized
NY hats in my iPhone photo booth, I suddenly realized that
I didn’t hate them anymore. After three generations of
resentment, it was time to finally let go.
In the spirit of reconciliation, I recently tried friending
Bucky Dent on Facebook. I still breathlessly await affirmation, but the mere act of reaching out to my childhood’s #1
Dreamkiller (if you have to ask why, you should move on to
the next article) is the ultimate regressive therapy.
Hating the Yankees is so 2004. It won’t make the Red Sox
any better. Never did. Never will. – Darren Garnick
A Baseball Family Tree
How Darren Garnick learned to love the Red Sox
1
2
4
(1) Darren's Grandpa Bob
rallied his fellow Boston
Herald drivers and presented
a check to the Jimmy Fund
to second baseman Mike Andrew's of the ’67 impossible
dream team.
(2) Grandpa Bob holds his
newborn grandson, Darren,
in his arms and gently whispered the words: "Williams,
Pesky, Fox, DiMaggio
(Dom, of course!).
3
(3) Toddler Darren watches
the Red Sox games on
TV at Grandpa Bob's. It is
here that he sees his first
Narragansett beer ad.
(4) Darren's 11-year-old son
Ari is the next generation of
fan. Father and son donned
Yankees caps to blend in with
the enemy at a Sox-Yankees
game in New York. It was
then that Darren began to let
go of his Yankees hatred.
Above: Will the Sox add another World Series win in the near future?
( continued from page 51)
Nation. I am a White Sox fan,” he said, addressing a fundraiser in
Boston. “You don’t want someone who pretends to be a Red Sox
fan as president of the United States, you want somebody who
is a principled sports fan, even when his team is losing he still
stands up for them.”
Other key events in Baseball Primary history include Ted Williams
campaigning for both George Bushes, Carlton Fisk endorsing George
W. Bush and Curt Schilling stumping for John McCain — even sharing the spotlight on a baseball card-style political brochure.
In 2008 Mont Vernon voter Zoe Fimbel, a McCain supporter,
was thrilled to meet the Man Behind the Bloody Sock at the
Peddler’s Daughter restaurant in downtown Nashua — but she
insists she also would have been in line for an autograph if Schilling were campaigning for Obama.
“I’m not sure if the players — or any famous celebrity — changes anybody’s vote,” she says. “But I think an athlete’s endorsement
could work both ways. It could backfire and alienate a lot of fans.
They have to be careful.”
Baseball fans do vote with their wallets, however. Nowhere is that
more evident than at Collector’s Heaven, the state’s largest baseball
card store and memorabilia shop in downtown Manchester.
“It’s been a depressing year,” says owner Mike Grady, who’s
been in business since 1979 and depends on baseball for 70 percent of revenue. “When people are not happy with the Red Sox,
they are going to stay away.”
“But I think things will turn around this season,” he adds. “The
ownership realizes they’ve made mistakes. And if you look at the
teams position by position, I’m confident that the Red Sox can
compete with anyone in the AL East. I really think the Sox are going
to surprise us.” N
H
April 2013 | nhmagazine.com
53

15. WW
RED SOX FAN
PHOTO CONTEST
PRIZE
Submit your best over-the-top fan photos to our online
Fan Photo Contest for a chance to win:
A grand prize of two tickets to a Red Sox home game!
Plus, everyone who submits is eligible for a FREE pack of baseball cards courtesy of Collector's Heaven. Just stop in at the
shop at 669 Elm St. in Manchester and mention that you entered the contest.
SUBMIT
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simply e-mail or text your photo to redsox@pongr.com.
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Photos must show your love for the Boston Red Sox.
Any obscene or offensive photos will be deleted and you will be automatically disqualified. New Hampshire Magazine staff reserves
the right to determine whether or not your photo meets that definition.
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The winning photo will be chosen by New Hampshire Magazine staff.
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