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| (Associated Press Photo) |
In today's
Boston Globe, the estimable Eric Wilbur tackles a thorny issue in this otherwise magical Red Sox season—
how come nobody cares? Tonight's '
One Dollar Beard Night' promotion seems more the product of a AA Schlock-Meister than the wondrous mind of
Dr. Charles ("The Mad Dentist") Steinberg. Wilbur correctly points out that it could be a lot worse—the streaking Indians draw a pitiful average of 19,435 fans, compared with 34,823 at Fenway. And yet, Boston's number is
down 2,744 from last year's
Valentinian Nightmare. How can that be? We're all in love with
Team ZZ Bop, aren't we? Apparently not. Wilbur postulates that hard core fans may have been turned off by recent mediocrity—along with commemorative bricks, the unctuous “At Fenway” music video debacle, and the endless renditions of “Sweet Caroline". Also, younger fans just aren't into baseball anymore and tickets are still ridiculously overpriced. The result may be an 'Imperfect Storm' of ennui. Go figure.
