What It’s Like To Go To Fenway Park As An Padres Fan
“What’s up little man,” San Diego Padres starting pitcher Randy Vásquez said, hi-fiving my seven-year-old son, and then giving him a baseball as he watched along the bullpen bleachers. That early pre-game sentiment was the exact vibe of the the entire experience for an opposing fan at Fenway Park to take in a Red Sox game.
It was the first time in 13 year that the Padres made the cross country trip to play a unique interleague series against an AL East team. Sure, there is no bad blood history between the two franchises, but let’s face it, if you are decked out in the opposing team’s gear at an away game, you run the risk of being heckled, or worse.
The would have been especially true 15 to 20 years ago. You were brave if you went to a game at Fenway wearing a Yankee hat. The same holds true in the Bronx. If you wore Red Sox colors, you may come across some unruly fans.
This past weekend however, I couldn’t have been more delighted being a Padres fan on the road.
An Opposing Fan At Fenway Park – A Night To Remember
Having spent a lot of formative time in San Diego, I became a Padres fan in the early 2000s thanks in part to their stadium, Petco Park. For a very low cost (like, under $10), you could purchase a ticket and have the most enjoyable time at a ballgame. We would buy tickets to see a team in town we wanted to watch play the Padres, and usually by the third inning, we found seats (that were not our assigned) that were behind the dugout. Petco is just a beautiful place for a baseball fan to experience a game.
Fast forward to 2024, and being a Padres fan in Fenway felt very similar. First, so many other fans sporting the brown and yellow were in the house. It appeared to be an even combination of fans who came in from southern California to experience Fenway and fans who, like me, now live here.
Fellow Padres fans were also incredibly supportive of each other. We say “Go Pads” as we pass each other in the stands, give a fist pump, or better yet, strike up a conversation while waiting in the beer line to share our stories.
On the other side, Fenway Park and the Red Sox fans couldn’t have been more welcoming. I did not come across one instance of heckling. If anything, it was more of a sense of pride, with an attitude of, “This is our legendary park, I hope you enjoy it.”
The Padres won two out of the three games in the weekend series, even without stars, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Yu Darvish. That was just an added bonus.
Bringing young kids dressed in the opposing team’s gear to Fenway Park, I couldn’t help but wonder if needed an extra-attentive eye on them. However, I couldn’t have been more pleased with how opposing fans were treated at Fenway. It certainly makes those who traveled in want to come back again for a summer baseball game at one of the world’s most iconic parks.
