Attack of the Pink Hats

Let me first take a minute to introduce myself. I am a born and raised Bostonian, an avid Red Sox fan, oh and I’m marrying B-Dogg. Since Brian is out of commission with a bad back, I thought I would give him a break and write a little about one of my biggest frustrations as a Red Sox fan: bandwagon fans, and the infamous “pink hats.” With the exception of one of my friends who for unknown reasons loves the color pink and is a big Red Sox fan (you know who you are… and I know you’re reading), I am fed up with this massive female fan base that has recently become “obsessed” Red Sox fans since about 2004…. maybe 2003.

Quite honestly it gives us women a bad reputation! Since when has it been cool to be a Red Sox fan? Since they started winning. I bet some of these women think Johnny Damon is still in center field with his Jesus beard and we are still cowboying it up! And do I need to go on about the lack of normal fan apparel? Thank you Alyssa Milano for making the women’s garb even more glittery and sparkley.  Because of the disgusting pastel, cursive, and glittery women’s clothing I end up buying virtually all of my gear XL in the boy’s section. Yes, I do think it is great that the MLB is finally recognizing that there are women fans out there, and are creating apparel that women can wear… but it doesn’t help our cause when we just turn into a massive stereotype.

Especially over the last 10 years or so there has been an increased appreciation for the female fan…however not everyone has caught onto that. I don’t know how many times I have watched a game with men only to be asked if I like baseball because of Brian or because of my dad. True, I spent a lot of time watching games with my dad when I was living at home, and I still go to the majority of my games with him, but what kid didn’t watch sports with their parents when they were young? I just wish I didn’t need to justify being a big fan because of a man in my life. Maybe it’s a generational thing? I’m still not 100% sure.

The best example of a female role model is Amalie Benjamin. Not only is Amalie a local, but she has really made a name for herself as part of the Boston Globe and a regular on the NESN Red Sox pregame shows. She seems to hold her own with the boys, and is really getting respect as a reporter. Hopefully within time it won’t be such a surprise to see a female sports reporter who knows her stuff, but rather part of the status quo.

Excuse my feminist rant, but give some appreciation for the women out there!

-soxychick