The Pats vs. The Nation

On the way the The Gulag this morning I was listening to WEEI and they were asking people what team was more popular, The Patriots or The Red Sox. There were alot of calls for both teams and John Dennis was making a good case for the Pats:

• In last Friday's pre-season game not only were there 60,000+ people standing out in the hard, windy rain for a game that didn't mean anything, these people were still there long after the starters (Tom Brady, Ty Law, etc.) were not only out of the game, but probably already in their luxury SUVs driving home. Not only that, the game that didn't count beat The Sox game that did by a huge margin in the TV ratings.
• While the Red Sox have sold out 144 straight games, the Pats have not only sold out all their games in the last 7 years, there is a waiting list of 60,000 for season tickets. In other words, if every single person that has a ticket just didn't want to go to games anymore, they can still fill up the place with people that do.
• Tickets for Pats games are extreamly hard to come by without paying $300-500 on EBay while even though Fenway "sells out", you can grab a pair of duckets pretty easily either first thing the day of the game or from a scalper at a reasonable price if you wait until the first or second inning.

Now while these are very good facts for The Patriots, I still think this is still "Red Sox Nation", and not just because I'm obviously a bigger baseball fan than football fan. I think this way for one reason: The Red Sox still command attention from fans and the media even when the season is over and Fenway is dark and empty.

• When The Pats were on a huge winning streak on their way to a second championship last winter, all anyone talked about was the trade for Curt Schilling, the signing of Keith Foulke and the attempt to get A-Rod.
• Red Sox functions like Hot Stove talks and fan festivals, are very well attended.
• Even when WEEI devotes pretty much all there shows on Mondays during football season ("Patriots Monday"), the callers still get a few Sox calls in there.
• When The Pats won the Super Bowl last February, one week later the fans and media started to focus on Spring Training. The only time The Pats made the news between then and the start of Traingin Camp was when they traded for Cory Dillon.
• When The Pats win, there are a couple of overturned cars. If The Sox ever win, the commonwealth of Massachusetts will have to apply for federal disaster funds. Anyone that ever wanted a new baseball stadium will get their wish as the place would get destroyed.

Mike Barnicle once said that this is not a baseball town but a Red Sox town. I agree with that statement (especially after seeing those studid people who have awesome seats behind the plate rather call their Mom on a cell phones and say "Look at Me" rather than watch the game), but while Patriots fans on the most part are more focused on all things football, they will never have the passion of The Nation.