Final Truck Day Thoughts

Shiny (because they were wet!), Happy People

One more entry about Truck Day and then I promise I’ll stop!

The past month has the been month o’ suck for me personally. Just a lot of things, some big and some small, that have made this new year, so far, a bit on the suckish side.

Tuesday morning I woke up singing.  The sky was grey and my street was slushy and I couldn’t have cared less.  I left my house probably an hour earlier than I had to and got to Kenmore Square a good half an hour earlier than I told my friend Kelly I would be.

So I stood in Kenmore getting rained on and began to text Kelly to let her know I had arrived.  When I looked up from my phone, there was a guy looking at me and smiling a huge, genuine smile.  I went to smile back, realizing that I was already smiling and it hit me that he was smiling at me because of how big my smile was.  I was so happy for Truck Day that I was smiling without even knowing it.  And based on his reaction, it must have been quite a smile.

Now that all will seem silly to many people.  I promise you, every person at Fenway on Tuesday who wasn’t media-related understood how silly getting excited about a truck actually is.  Every fan I spoke to or who spoke to me acknowledged that it was a little crazy to stand in the freezing rain to watch men load cardboard boxes on to a truck.  We all knew it was annoying the locals who didn’t care about Truck Day and only cared about getting down Van Ness Street who had to wait for us to get out of the street because the truck took up most of the street and the sidewalk designated for us to stand on was covered in snow.  We knew that people in other cities (or who just don’t like baseball) would be mocking us.  We were sort of mocking ourselves.

See, the people who show up for Truck Day don’t show up because the Red Sox send out press releases about it.  They don’t go because they local news builds it up like there are thousands of crazy fans hanging at Fenway having a party.  We go because we want (and sometimes NEED) to see proof that the cold, dark days of winter will soon be behind us.  We want or need to remember that in a few weeks we’ll be watching ball played on green grass under blue skies and in a couple of months the green grass, blue skies and baseball players will be back in Boston.

The happiest I have been in all of 2011, so far, was this past Tuesday. Regardless of how “stupid” or “commercial” some folks deem it…it made me happy.  It made other people happy too.  Isn’t that the point?

Day of the Truck

Heidi was happy! (Police officer was cold!)*

It was rainy.  It was chilly.  We got yelled at to “move away” by the folks doing actual work because the truck took up half of Van Ness Street and there were cars trying to make their way down (also, the people doing the actual work didn’t seem overjoyed at having people with cameras and kids gawking at them and getting in their way – can’t say I blame them).  We only saw Wally for about three minutes and that was just to give away jetBlue caps and the only other “celebrities” there were Heidi Watney and a brief cameo by Larry Lucchino.

Yet it was the most fun I’ve had all winter!

Every fan there yesterday was happy.  I’m not sure there were more than 50 Red Sox fans there by the time the truck rolled away, but the fans who were there were smiling and excited and eager to discuss baseball and the significance of watching the truck get loaded and on its way.

There was a tweet yesterday that the Globe’s Eric Wilbur retweeted and added commentary to:Wilbur followed his up by saying that he is “tired of the unending Sox marketing machine”.  Aside from the signage on the truck, the only other “marketing” yesterday was Wally tossing fans jetBlue caps (okay they toss soft baseballs with the jetBlue logo on them as well…big deal).  There was a small group of fans, including some children, who knew being there was silly but it was FUN.  That’s all.  No one tried to sell us anything.  No one asked us for money to stand there in the rain and watch them load baby toys (seriously) on to the truck.  We did it because it was FUN.

Truck day has gone on much longer than the current owners have been with the Red Sox.  Fans have always gone to Fenway Park to watch it leave, it’s just more publicized than it used to be.  If you have a problem with this, I’d venture you have a problem with the ownership in general (as Mr. Wilbur seems to) because there was nothing negative about yesterday.  Again.  IT WAS FUN.

I know fun might be a foreign concept to some who cover sports but, really, the stick needs to be taken out of some asses in the Boston sports media.

The people at Fenway yesterday were happy.  Hell, Heidi Watney was DANCING at one point.  People took pictures of a truck and discussed the upcoming season with fellow Sox fans.  Many who were there were also planning on being at some of the Spring Training games and this was their pregame warmup of sorts.  I will never understand why so many in this town need to crap on the things that most people just find enjoyable.

I was at Fenway Park yesterday being reminded that on Sunday baseball season is beginning.  No one made me go.  I didn’t have to pay for anything, I just stood there happily staring at “America’s Most Beloved Ballpark” and getting excited for the 2011 season.  How can that possibly be a bad thing?

*Visit my Flickr page for more photos from the day