Red Sox Nation VP expresses his passion for the Yankees

Editor's Note: This is a guest column written by "Regular" Rob Crawford, who is vice president of Red Sox Nation (Jerry Remy is the president). I will write a feature in the next week about "I'm a Member of Red Sox Nation," the catchy song that Crawford co-wrote and recorded. This year, in addition to daily posts, Sox and Pinstripes will feature Q&As with and articles about Red Sox and Yankees media personalities, prospects, current and former players and other personalities who are part of this storied rivalry.

I’m Rob Crawford, the Vice President of Red Sox Nation, and I love the New York Yankees. Are you a Red Sox fan who’s shocked by this statement? Guess what, you love them, too. I’ll prove it.

Close your eyes for a moment and imagine a world without the Yankees. Imagine there’s no rivalry between the Boston and New York baseball teams; in fact, there’s no legitimate “rivalry” between the Red Sox and any other team. Goose Gossage was never a nemesis and David Ortiz never hit those dramatic walk-off homers. Mariano Rivera played for the Reds so we hardly knew him, and George Steinbrenner owned the Phillies so his name merely rings a bell. 1978 never happened, but neither did 2004. Oh, and there’s no “Sox and Pinstripes” blog.

Do you find this vision enticing? Nah. Like me, you appreciate the way things have turned out so far (the painful times made the jubilant times more jubilant), and you’re dying of anticipation as you think ahead to future seasons of the greatest rivalry in all of sports. You’ll never root for the Yanks, but you’ll be happiest when they’re a top-notch team that buys whatever superstar they want…. then loses to the Red Sox in games that really count. And you’ll give Derek Jeter a standing-O in his last at-bat at Fenway Park because, like me, you deeply appreciate what he has contributed to your enjoyment of The Game – as a Yankee.

I like to think that, before I was born in August of 1968, God let me choose the circumstances of my life: “Well, being a rabid baseball fan seems like a lot of fun,” I told Him, “So I think I’d like to live sometime during the 19^th, 20^th, or 21^st Century, on Earth.”

“All right,” said God, “but please be more specific. When and where, exactly, would you like to be born?”

I thought about it and replied, “I hear that sports rivalries are charged with emotion and excitement, so please put me in a city whose team has a fierce rivalry with another team – the fiercest in all of baseball – and let me be born at a time in history that will allow me to experience that rivalry at its peak, OK?”

“Consider it done,” said God. “But one more thing – would you like to become a fan of the team that wins more championships than any other during the 20^th Century? Or would you like to become a fan of the team that wins the first World Series in 1903, but later on experiences a championship drought virtually unparalleled in professional sports?”

“Hmmm.” I pondered my options. “Just make me a fan of the team that gives its fans the lowest lows and the highest highs. I want to experience the greatest possible range of emotions as a baseball fan during this lifetime.”

“No problem,” said God as he cracked a knowing smile.

Thanks to Jeff Louderback for inviting me to write this guest post. What he actually asked me to do was explain what Red Sox Nation is, what my role is in it, and why fans should care. But I got carried away. Forgive me.

Red Sox Nation exists independent of the Boston Red Sox organization, and anyone on the planet who is a fan of the team is a member of Red Sox Nation. That said, there’s also an official, fee-based Red Sox fan club called “Red Sox Nation,” which currently consists of about 40,000 members, all of whom receive various fan benefits depending on their level of membership. I like to think I’m Vice President of the larger, global following, even though only about 13,000 people actually voted for me (which was enough to place second) and probably only 0.01% of Red Sox fans have ever heard of me.

In my opinion, the Red Sox conducted their election for President of Red Sox Nation last summer for two main reasons: 1) To generate interest in the team’s fan club, which is a revenue generator for them, and 2) To identify a pair of “fan representatives” who could enhance communication between the fans and the team to improve the overall fan experience. Sure, it was a marketing gimmick, but I have to tell you, the Red Sox are taking this seriously (which makes it a lot more fun for me). They clearly have high hopes that Jerry Remy, as President of Red Sox Nation, and I, as Vice President, will add value to the team and the fans.

What’s my role? Well, first of all, I do not work for the Red Sox – in fact, I have another job that’s more than full-time, plus a family that includes five children under age 9. This is a volunteer role, albeit a fantastic one with perks that any fan would love. (For example, I was their guest at Spring Training last week, and they’re bringing me along to Japan next week…. wow.)

My main role is to be an advocate for the fans and to celebrate and champion the fan experience. As someone who grew up near Fenway and is now raising young children here, it’s important to me to preserve all that is great about being a Red Sox fan and also to continue to refine the experience. I’ve solicited advice for how to improve the fan experience through the Red Sox Nation 2007 message board (over 100 people responded to my request for ideas) and have received hundreds of thoughtful e-mails, too (see address below). The Red Sox, so far, have been very interested in the feedback I’ve given them and have been incredibly responsive and encouraging to me. I also enjoy writing (I used to be an English teacher), so my blog at www.imamemberofredsoxnation.mlblogs.com has been a good way for me to introduce myself to the fans of Red Sox Nation. Check it out. I try to keep my stuff original.

The Red Sox have always meant a lot to me and my family, so I consider it a huge honor to have the chance to amplify the joy of being a Red Sox fan and to do whatever I can to enhance the fans’ experience, especially for kids. To get involved, you can join Red Sox Nation at www.redsoxnation.com and enjoy the benefits of that affiliation, or you can simply send me an email with any ideas related to the “Red Sox fan experience” at RegularRob@RedSoxNation.com. I will read and respond to every email and compile the feedback I receive to deliver to the people who ARE employed by the Red Sox.

Enjoy the season. Enjoy the rivalry. It’s been an epic tale. And we’re still in the middle of it. God bless the Red Sox. And God bless the Yankees.

-- Rob Crawford

Comments

[cj]

Well done posting and look forward to a real fan and not a paid professional (remy) as part of this nonsense of R$N (as opposed to RSN which does not require payment.

Good points about yankees (MFY), but talent level is like water and would reach a level. The teams would still load their teams based on the competition in their division.

For me, my dislike for the MFY is based on 2 items:
- Craig Nettles sucker punching Bill Lee from behind and twisting his pitching arm from the socket;
- Their fans.