Bostons Fenway Park has become as valued as any star player in those cities and as much an attraction as the teams themselves. Borer, a sociologist and lifelong New Englander, explores the history of Fenway and its place in Bostons culture through research and interviews with players, stadium personnel, fans, and team owners. . . . [H]e explains Fenways place in the culture as an example of identity continuity. Fenway is an emotional anchor for fans in the sense that it encompasses a part of an individuals past and present.
While many writers have likened Americas particular devotion to baseball to religious devotion, Borer gives texture and substance to the metaphor through curious and moving stories of Red Sox fans treatment of Fenway as sacred turf.
Borer assesses the attraction of Fenway Park through his own expert lens. The results . . . will prove invaluable not only to Red Sox and more general baseball scholars but also to students of urban life, the organization of limited inner-city space, social psychology and collective memory, how a baseball park can become a cultural shrine, and a cohorts shared valuesnot to mention Fenways contributions to our understanding of fandom
A must-have item for Red Sox fans who champion their old stadium.
Faithful to Fenway is a must-have item for the Red Sox fans who champion their old stadium despite its uncomfortable seats
Borers Faithful to Fenway: Believing in Boston, Baseball, and Americas Most Beloved Ballpark gives proper props to the Red Sox home since 1912
Along with his astute social scientific insight, Borer also includes plenty of first-person accounts of the ballpark from Red Sox greats like Carl Yastrzemski and Johnny Pesky and from regular Bostonians and out-of-town baseball fans. This ability to intermingle scholarly research with Americas beloved pastime has allowed Borer to write an astute academic treatise that has the appeal of a consumer sports pub.
Borer haunted Fenway Park for several season. He talked to players, executives, vendors, fans. Trot Nixon discussed the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry with him, and former Red Sox second basemen Mike Andrews described the sadness of being traded.
Gary Alan Fine,author of With the Boys: Little League Baseball and Pre-adolescent Culture:
Even Yankee fans will have much to consider from this book, published so soon after the Red Sox curse has ended. This is an important work of the sociology of sport and of urban sociology.
Nancy T. Ammerman,author of Everyday Religion: Observing Modern Religious Lives:
Even if you dont already love the Red Sox, youll love this account of the stories people tell about why Fenway matters.
Doris Kearns Goodwin:
Borer has captured the magic of Fenway Park.
Robert Trumpbour:
Borer's text is a solid achievement.
Doug Miller,for MLB.com:
A fascinating book!
