The Cost of the Fans

The Red Sox Lined up for the National Anthem -- Photo by Paul Rutherford/Getty Images

Boston sports is legendary. The history of success and GOATS that have come through and been a part of the Boston sports culture, even if they didn’t stay for a long time, is wild. It’s part of what makes being a Boston sports fan so much fun.  

The expectation in Boston is that you are consistently winning. Or at least at the top of the division and consistently making the playoffs if you're not the number one team. All of the fans have become accustomed to winning and the culture that comes with it. I am all for the winning culture. And I do believe when you get the opportunity to play a game for a living, that it then comes with certain expectations. If you can’t perform and you are making millions playing a game, then you should totally be traded or optioned down to Triple-A. If the Boston fan base thinks that there should be a change or that a player is not performing as they should, they let their feelings be known. 

As an invested fan I totally get and understand this. However, I do think there is a line. And the “Sell the Team" chants that have often and frequently been heard throughout the first several months of the Red Sox 2026 season cross that line. Honestly, it’s just disrespectful. During the game at any point that any slight mistake happens or things don’t go perfectly, whether that be offensively or defensively, the chants are almost guaranteed to break out. These mistakes include dropped balls, bad base running, strikeouts and errors made on the field.

The mistakes made by the Red Sox and the lack of consistency has been frustrating for sure. But it is so disrespectful to all of the players. On paper the team looks quite good and there isn’t necessarily a clear cut answer as to why the team has struggled so much. The reality is that there isn’t an easy answer that will immediately change things for the team. But the chants also imply that the players aren’t trying or that they are ill qualified or better yet that the peanut gallery would be better suited to play the game than the players on the field. The fans clearly need a bit more etiquette and class. Everyone is aware of the situation and chanting to sell the team isn’t helpful in any way.

It's also important to remember that the fans help create the atmosphere which usually provides the home team with an additional boost and increases the chances that they win or will be able to mount a comeback. However, looking at the Sox home record they do not have this advantage. Their home record is currently 12-22, which is the worst home record of any baseball team in both the American and National Leagues. They just won their first home series since the series win against the Brewers, which was April 6-8. The abysmal home record and lack of home series wins are likely affected by the home atmosphere in which the team plays. 

I want to know what the fans hope to achieve from this chant. It clearly makes it worse and a harder atmosphere for the players to compete in. Is the hope that we get a better owner? What would a new owner fix? Over the last 24 years since John Henry has owned the team we’ve been brought out of the dark ages and won four World Series! For all we know a new owner could easily make the situation worse.