Survey says: Red Sox fever is rampant
Red Sox fans may be even more rabid than feared, according to a new survey from Bank of America Corp. A team tattoo? Bring it on. Letting junior play hooky to catch the Fenway home opener? No problem.
According the survey, 35 percent of locals would blow off an important business meeting to attend the first baseball game of the season at Fenway Park; by comparison, only 20 percent of baseball fans nationwide share such a cavalier disregard for job obligations, and only 23 percent of Yankee fans would cancel a business meeting for a chance take in the first home game at Yankee Stadium, the bank said.
What's more, 59 percent of Sox fans would allow their child to skip school for an opening day game, and nearly 20 percent of Sox fans would consider sporting a Sox-themed tattoo, the survey found.
In New York, 50 percent of Yankee fans said the first home game of the season was an acceptable excuse for skipping school.
The bank commissioned the survey, which contacted about 1,400 fans nationwide, including 300 in the Boston area, in part to highlight a program called MLB Banking, which allows baseball fans across the country to show their loyalty by opting for team-specifc credit and debit cards and checking accounts, the bank said.
Red Sox-themed credit cards have been available from the bank for a few years, but now the bank is also making available a bundled product offering so customers can get team-themed credit cards, debit cards, and personal checks for the Major League Baseball team of their choosing. The availability of team-themed debit cards is new, and for the first time, the bank is offering this product suite for all 30 Major League Baseball teams.
Bank of America launched similar programs with NASCAR and the National Football League last year, noted bank spokesman Joe Goode, and those programs, sometimes referred to as affinity banking programs, have big appeal for consumers.
Based on last year's results, affinity banking is trending toward contributing 10 percent of year-to-year deposit growth for Bank of America, Goode said.
Customers who sign up for the MLB Banking program can qualify for special rewards and be eligible to win prizes such as special on-field access during warm-ups before a game or tickets to the All-Star game.
Bank of America has sponsor relationships of some kind with 10 Major League clubs, and it is the official bank of the Red Sox, the New York Yankees, and the San Francisco Giants, among others, Goode said.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)
