The Nation's Next Generation

I was born just about a mile away from Fenway on a day the Red Sox had a runaway victory over the Detroit Tigers. My granddad came to visit me in the hospital that day. He was born in the Bronx, and he is a Yankees fan. He's always respected me being a Red Sox fan. His best friend when he was growing up was a Giants fan, so he understands that not everybody has the Yankees at the top of their favorite-team list.

Are people born a fan of a baseball team? I think that's an easy question: Yes. You can become a Red Sox fan later, but if you become one only because they're winning, then you're not a believer. Last year, kids were excited because the Red Sox had the chance to play the Yankees in the playoffs, but when they lost, some people stopped being fans. Instead of saying, "We'll get 'em next year!" they said, "There isn't going to be a next year."

What makes a true Red Sox fan? Well, they definitely have to be a true chowdahead, a true Bostonian, and have to watch at least 40 out of the 162 games in the season, even if the Sox are losing. If necessary, they have to watch all of the playoff and World Series games, too.

I was 7 when I went to Fenway for the first time. It was so much bigger than it was on TV. It was this huge, beautiful place with nice green grass and thousands of stadium seats. I sat practically on the first-base line, and I got cotton candy. It's better to see the game in person, because everything is up close and in your face. Even if you haven't been to Fenway, you can still be a Red Sox fan, though. If you believe, that makes you a fan. I have always been a strong believer in the Red Sox. It didn't matter if they were coming close to being in the Series or if they were just playing a normal game.

Last spring, my fifth-grade class at Horace Mann School in Newton got to go to a Sox vs. A's game. The Sox lost. Some of the people in my class thought it was more of a social event. They didn't really watch the game. Not everybody who is born in Boston is a true Red Sox fan. Before the game, I was watching batting practice. I asked, "Mr. Damon, could I have your autograph, please?" and he gave it to me. During practice, Johnny Damon hit a ball so hard his bat cracked. He came up to me and said, "Will you have this, please?" I was stunned. I didn't know what to do. I thought he said, "Will you hold this, please?" I froze. Then my dad called out, "Thank you, Mr. Damon." Johnny Damon! The three-homer guy during the Series! I held the bat during the playoffs. Then the Red Sox lost to the Yankees, so I decided it might be best if I didn't hold it anymore. It is still a lucky bat, though.

I do admit that the World Series couldn't have been as exciting for people my age as it was for the older ones. Still, it was thrilling to be part of this history. During the playoffs, I watched the afternoon games at my after-school program. Even some of the kindergartners watched, and they pretty much understood what was happening. I watched every single game of the World Series. For Game 2, I slept over at my friend Marilyn's house. We were screaming and jumping up and down when they won. We made her dog, Mini, hide under the covers. I watched Game 4 with my parents. My big brother called from Georgia. He was driving and couldn't get the game on his car radio, so he kept calling to check on the score and to see if anything big had happened.

One of my friends didn't watch the whole game. She said, "I didn't have to watch the game, because I knew they were going to win." That's where she was wrong. You have to watch the game if you believe. So I guess I can say I believed. Now I ask, did you?

Molly Doris-Pierce is on the staff of the Daytime, the newspaper of Day Middle School in Newton.