Page 165 - Introduction to Electronic Commerce and Social Commerce

154 • Sport, Media and Society

On Game Day

On game day on 4 July 2007, the packed trolleys were full of people travelling to
Fenway Park. Fenway is one of the few ballparks in the United States that are still
primarily accessed by public transport. The morning newspapers highlighted the Red
Sox’ loss the previous night and reported on the injury list and pitching line-up for
the game that day. Lugo was in a slump and out of the starting line-up, as was the
injured Crisp. Around two-thirds of the passengers were attired in clothing bear-
ing Red Sox logos. The sea of bodies alighting at Kenmore station was not uni-
form, however, as the T-shirts and jerseys they wore were in a range of styles. Both
men and women were wearing shirts with players’ names on the back such as Ortiz,
Ramirez, Schilling, Youkilis, Daisuke and Papelbon. The consistent displays of Red

Sox merchandise, logos and news worked together as a strategy defining the sites and
sounds of the space as belonging to the Red Sox experience.

Kenmore station was imprinted with signifiers relating to the Red Sox interwoven
with advertisements or indicating the direction of the ballpark. Miller Lite billboard
advertisements covered the walls of the exit to the street with the strapline ‘Season
after Season Greatness is in Reach’, linking the beer with baseball. A sign comprising
the Red Sox traditional emblem (two red socks with white heels and toes) alongside
an arrow indicated the exit. A poster featuring a cartoon of a grinning Red Sox fan
with hat, jersey, ball and bat advised travellers to buy their return ticket before leav-
ing the station to save time after the game. The presence of posters and signs fi xed
on the walls of the station extended the boundaries of the Red Sox enterprise to the
modes of transport bringing fans to their celebrated destination, the ‘nirvana of ball-
parks’, Fenway Park.
Upon exiting the station, passengers were offered the metro GAMEDAY, an of-
ficial publication of the Boston Red Sox that contained team news, a scorecard, a

K card (to wave when the pitcher strikes out a batter) and advertisements. The walk
from the station to the ballpark was crowded with people heading towards the sta-
dium. Restaurants, cafés and bars decorated with Red Sox paraphernalia were full
of people eating and drinking. An array of vendors punctuated the journey, selling
programmes (with free Yoooouk! bumper stickers after the player Youkilis) and
newspapers (The Boston Globe, featuring an image of World Series star David Ortiz)
and distributing K cards sponsored by the local radio station, alongside individuals
selling tickets, buskers and religious evangelists. Neon signs announced names of
pubs like ‘Game On’; banners for the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the

‘official hospital of the Boston Red Sox’, adorned lamp posts; and billboards with
images of players from Hispanic, Japanese and US origins welcomed fans to Fenway
Park and the ‘Red Sox Nation’.
Immediately surrounding the stadium were an array of souvenir stands and stores
as well as food concessions. The surroundings were crammed with businesses, mer-
chandise and advertisements featuring the Red Sox label juxtaposed with their own