I have already tweeted all about it, but now that I have had a couple days to think, I wanted to put a few words down on my experience at Fenway Park last week and what I believe the future holds for Liverpool F.C..
Fenway Park, became Anfield West for the day.
I have lived in the United States for 20 years now and have never been to a baseball game, even though I spent a summer in Chicago just a block from Wrigley Field. And so, last week I entered a ball park for the first time, though “ball park” is an understatement as Fenway Park is one of the greatest cathedrals of baseball. I, however, was not there to see the Red Sox play, but rather my beloved Liverpool F.C. Reds face off against A.S. Roma.
The news media has tried to paint a picture that Red Sox fans are not happy with the owners’ “focus” on L.F.C.. However, after speaking with many Bostonians, I have found that this is far from the truth. Even the mechanic who fixed my car just outside Boston joked, “If Liverpool weren’t here, I wouldn’t be working on your car!” An employee at the car rental nearby not only agreed, but personally felt that, though he was not a a football (in his words “soccer”) fan, L.F.C. had not taken away from the Red Sox. In fact, he has noticed a growing interest in Football (Soccer) in the Boston area, particularly L.F.C., since the new ownership.
The atmosphere was electric inside Fenway.
Boston is a great city. Like Liverpool, it is a port city with a great working class tradition. The Boston Red Sox are everything when it comes to sports for Boston and the surrounding suburbs. Yes, they have the New England Patriots in nearby Foxboro, and the famed basketball wizards, The Boston Celtics; however, the Sox are by far the favourite sports team of the die hard Bostonian.
And like Liverpool, there is a sporting-shrine: Fenway Park is to Boston what Anfield is to Liverpool. The similarities end there, however, as the area around Fenway is totally different from the area around Anfield. Across the stadium (referring to it as a Park sounds odd), there are bars, shops, restaurants and plenty of other nightlife such as the “House of Blues”.
Granted, many baseball games are played at night, and so nightlife is naturally vibrant around the stadium, especially in the summer when there are several games a week. Nonetheless, the area around Fenway can stand on its own feet even when games are not being played. It still remains a vibrant part of town with plenty of action.
The area around Anfield, in contrast, is much different during the “off hours” when L.F.C. are not playing. Most of the shops and pubs are closed, and if it wasn’t for the Bootroom Cafe, you wouldn’t find a nearby place to grab a bite to eat. Fortunately, there are many who are trying to make a difference in the whole area around the stadium.
Enter “Spirit of Shankly“, who, together with the Everton Supporters Group “Keeping Everton In Our City”, launched Football Quarter a couple of years ago to regenerate the area around Anfield and Stanley Park. The current owners (FSG) haven’t committed to Football Quarter yet, as they are waiting to figure out exactly what the stadium’s future holds.
Reds in the “House of Blues”
Then there are the facilities within the stadium, Anfield and many stadias in the UK and Europe are lacking in. As far as Fenway Park is concerned, the place is very clean, namely the WC facilities were incredibly clean (cleanest I had ever seen in any public arena). And of course, the food selection was incredible; no stale hotdog here! There were all kinds of foods and beverage choices, including healthy options. For people who are Coeliac like me and can’t have any wheat products, there was gluten-free pizza and they even served gluten-free beer.
The Liverpool F.C. tour’s primary objective was to bring the club to the fans here on this side of the pond. However, attracting new fans is always a nice added bonus. I have met some Red Sox fans who believe in FSG so much that they have started supporting Liverpool. A man sitting next to me at Fenway asked me politely, “Would you mind answering a few questions? I have never been to a soccer game before and I am a Sox season ticket holder.” Of course, I obliged, and during the course of the game I explained the rules and the goings on. By the end of the game we had won him over. Yep, another L.F.C. supporter was just born, even though he was in his 50s. The International fanbase is what makes Liverpool a BIG CLUB. When it comes to revenue the domestic and local market is limited. After all, there are only so many tickets to be sold. Our international supporters buy merchandise and increase the demand on their cable companies to show Liverpool games on TV, thus bringing revenue to the club. Growing the international fanbase is key for L.F.C., particularly in the USA, where the sport is experiencing record growth, and in Asia, as more and more games are being broadcast live there.
F.S.G. do great charity work as well, the Bostonians I have spoken with love what FSG have done in the community. After Henry and Werner bought the Red Sox, they set up The Red Sox Foundation. They support many programmes, such “The Jimmy Fund” which supports the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Research breakthroughs at Dan-Farber have not only benefited Bostonians, but also people from all over the world who suffer from this horrible disease.
F.S.G. have used the Red Sox Foundation as the model for the Liverpool FC. Foundation. Yeah, we all cringed when we saw “Mighty Red” (The L.F.C. mascot). However, it was later explained to me that the prime purpose of this mascot was for the Community Outreach programmes. So, I am all in for that, and welcome Mighty Red into our growing Liverpool FC global family!
If the owners plan to do with Liverpool F.C. as they did with the Boston Red Sox and Fenway, then they have my vote.
Yes, I was mad at them like crazy when they fired King Kenny. However, I still have faith that they can deliver. They genuinely have a vested interested in Liverpool F.C. they don’t want to simply make a quick buck from the club like Hicks Gillett did. F.S.G. are in it for the long term, and wanting to grow the fan base proves that. They want to help out the local communities and they want to win trophies. Who can’t support that!
So, let us look at the bigger picture. Yes there is more to life than football.
Y.N.W.A.
-Antoine
4 Responses to “From Fenway with Love”
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Thanks Antoine, good observation and presentation. We all pray for the bright future for our beloved team and club. At my age i have been waiting in vain!
I hope BR will turn things around this time and FSG will support his mission. YNWA
antoine i am from MALTA and i follow most of your articles irealy do enjoy reading them .but this one is very good.I hope that if BR FSG PLAYERS FANS AND every one involved in this football club pull in the same direction success will follow sooner rather then later
It’s good to read a positive article about FSG for once. They seem to have good intentions YNWA.
Hi antoine my brother emigrated to USA from Liverpool England and now has family (wife 2 kids) and now run a susesfull football acadamy (liverpool football suporters club) in oxford rd sutton boston check it out.YNWA