You don't need to be a baseball fan to know: Fenway Park is sacred land in Boston. The very idea of the Red Sox playing somewhere other than Fenway is blasphemy to Red Sox Nation.
Tomorrow afternoon, the Red Sox play their home opener against the Tampa Bay Rays, kicking off their 100th season in America's most beloved ballpark. To commemorate the big anniversary, Republican Senator Scott Brown posted a new radio ad this morning, congratulating the Sox on this huge milestone. He states:
There's been a lot of talk over the years about replacing the park, but that would have been a mistake."
Now here's the part of the story that Scott Brown leaves out of his ad: it was State Senator Scott Brown who lead the push in 2001 to move the Red Sox out of Fenway -- 30 miles south to Foxboro, MA.
The Sun Chronicle reported:
Brown plans to send a letter to Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots football team and the New England Revolution soccer team, on Monday asking him to meet with Red Sox owners to discuss the possibility of the team moving to Foxboro.
"Boston is not accommodating the Red Sox,'' Brown said. "Look how long they've been looking for a home in Boston and every time they come up with something, it's shot down. We have the land and we've already provided infrastructure money for the new Foxboro Stadium.''
The Red Sox scoffed at Scott Brown. Vice President Jim Healy said, "The Red Sox belong in Boston where we have played for the last century."
Columnist Mark Farinella wrote, "Brown's suggested alternatives for the Red Sox sounded as if they came from a man who doesn't know if a baseball is puffed or stuffed."
Scott Brown certainly is an independent voice for Massachusetts -- because he's all alone in his support of moving the Sox from Fenway.