5 Tips To Survive Your First Red Sox Game
Boston is the perfect place for foodies, history nerds, sightseers, and avid sports fans. Whether it’s your first or fifth time in the city, seeing a Red Sox game is a must-do. There’s nothing better than spending a beautiful night at Fenway Park enjoying a great baseball game. Here are my top five tips to survive your first Red Sox game!
1. Know The Stadium Before You Go
There are some key parts of the stadium you should definitely be aware of before you arrive! You’re definitely going to want to know the area where your seats may be located.
The bleachers are home to the “Bleacher Creatures” and are arguably the best seats in the house. They give a perfect outfield view of the entire stadium and are the prime spot to sit if you want to catch a home run!
The grandstands wrap around almost the whole stadium along the first and third baselines. These seats are perfect to catch foul balls or escape the occasional rain shower under the upper decks!
The Sam Adams Deck is a rooftop bar directly down the first baseline in the outfield. These seats give you an almost bird’s eye view of the entire park, plus it’s a great place to sit and eat some delicious food!
The Coca-Cola Corner is home to the highest seats in the ballpark! You get a full panoramic view of the beautiful stadium and it’s definitely a great place to experience a Red Sox game from above!
Lastly, the infamous Green Monster towers over everyone out in left field. The Monster is the first thing most people think of when they think of the Red Sox or Fenway park. Tickets are super expensive but definitely worth the price tag. If you ever get the chance to sit on the Monster consider yourself one of the lucky few!
2. Dress For The Weather
The beautiful thing about baseball season is that it takes place over the span of three different seasons. The Red Sox begin playing baseball in April and carry on through September, and sometimes October if they are in the playoffs. It’s important to know exactly what to wear for each season so you’re comfortable and having fun!
In the spring you’ll definitely want to wear long pants! Whether it be jeans or leggings, you’ll need some leg coverage as nights can get pretty chilly. Along with that, you’ll need a sweatshirt to wear once the sun goes down. It can get pretty breezy if you’re sitting out in the bleachers so having an outer layer is a must have!
Summer time is when you can finally break out the shorts and tank tops for the games. The sun can get super hot, even in the late afternoon. You’ll definitely want to break out the sunscreen for summer Red Sox games. Don’t be afraid to wear sandals or flip flops as you won’t be walking around much, but be wary of tan lines!
In the fall you’re going to want to bundle up, especially late September into October. I would definitely recommend wearing a pair of gloves and a knit hat to keep you warm, along with a sweatshirt and an extra pair of socks!
3. Arrive Hungry
Fenway Park is known for it’s amazing selection of food! Whether you love a classic soft pretzel or a lobster roll, you can all and more at Red Sox games.
A Fenway favorite is the classic Fenway Frank. This fan favorite is available both inside the park during the game, and hours before the game starts outside any gate entrance! Add ketchup, mustard, relish, or eat it plain, but no matter what it is a must-have!
Another go to snack for Red Sox fans is Del’s Frozen Lemonade! This is the perfect treat for a hot summer day. The sweetness of the sugar and sourness of the lemon is exactly what you need to get you through to the ninth inning!
The most important part of dinner at the ballpark is definitely dessert. Fenway vendors have an assortment of sweet treats including cotton candy, fried dough, and of course ice cream! Make sure you grab your ice cream in the infamous helmet bowl so you have a souvenir to take home with you!
4. Know The Music
Every ballpark has its special quirks and traditions, especially Fenway Park. There are two songs that you need to know every word of if you are going to a Red Sox game.
The first song is Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond. Before the bottom of the eight inning during every game, the fans at Fenway sing the classic song as loud as they can. The “so goods” and “bum bum bums” make everyone smile, especially when Boston is winning!
The other song you must know is Dirty Water by The Standells. This song only plays when the Red Sox’s win, but it makes it all the more fun to sing. Theres nothing better than screaming “Boston, you’re my home” with hundreds of happy Sox fans.
5. Stay All Game
Baseball games consist of nine innings where each team is able to bat once per inning. Some games may only last a couple of hours, but there is potential for them to last quite some time.
Sometimes it’s really hard to sit through super long games, but the number one rule in all sports is to never leave the game! No matter how bad your favorite team is losing, it is protocol that you stay until after the final out.
Baseball is unpredictable and you never know if your team might come back in the bottom of the ninth inning so leaving early is always a bad idea. No matter how cold it is or how tired you are, you have to stick it out! Plus, you paid for the tickets, so you might as well get your moneys worth.
What are your top five tips for experiencing your first Red Sox game? Let us know in the comments below!
Featured image source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/292734044513124159/
Meagan is a current sophomore at Emerson College studying Sports Communications, Esports, and Marketing. She loves all things sports, TV shows, movies, and video games. She is also a dancer, cheerleader, and extremely involved around campus.