My senior year of high school, I can remember sitting down in my kitchen googling multiple different Boston area colleges when I decided to Google “colleges near Fenway park” and much to my surprise, Emmanuel College was the first school to be listed. To be one hundred percent honest, I had never heard of Emmanuel before then and in that very moment I realized that I wanted to attend a college near America’s Most Beloved Ballpark, Fenway Park. When I tell people that I chose my college based on the proximity to Fenway Park, they tend to look at me with a confused daze. For those who know me, I consider myself a diehard Red Sox fan, so it’s only natural that I would end up at a school that was as close to Fenway as Emmanuel is.
Credit: Alison Hannigan
There’s something about Fenway that immediately puts me at ease, as soon as I walk through those ticket gates and begin to inhale the smell of freshly cut grass, cheapish beer, and fenway franks, I feel athome. I believe this is because of my dad and my great grandmother. Growing up, one thing that they always talked about was baseball, especially the Red Sox. As I became older and more invested in America’s favorite pastime, I began to appreciate the quality time my dad and I would spend together on endless summer nights watching the Sox play. Some of my favorite memories growing up have been made at Fenway Park, from running the bases to attending games with my friends and family, it’s no surprise that Fenway Park is my favorite place on earth.
Credit: FanFoto Fenway Park
Not only is Fenway my favorite place on earth, it’s also one of the most beautiful places in Boston. Now I know that might sound strange, how can a baseball park be beautiful? Well let me just tell you, from the Green Monster green that encompases the entire ball park, to the signature red dirt of the diamond and the precise nature of the stripes of the outfield, this park is a baseball fan and history buff’s dream. Sure fenway has its quirks, from the view obstructions of the support beams to the extremely narrow rows and seats, it’s these little traits that help make the Boston Red Sox fans more of a family rather than just another fanbase. Obviously every game is different, especially when you attend a rivalry game against the New York Yankees, but that is what I love about Fenway. Whether you’re attending a game in early April in the freezing cold or a scorching hot day game in April, every Red Sox game seems to be treated like its a game 7 in the ALCS or World Series,e’re always cheering, rain or shine, for the boys in the Red Sox.
Credit: Alison Hannigan
I’m so glad that I made that Google search my senior year of college and ended up here at Emmanuel, because there is really nothing better than going to a Red Sox game, with your best friends for $9. Out of all of the amazing experiences college has blessed me with, being able to attend Red Sox games so frequently is something that I am going to be forever grateful for. It’s by no surprise that from being this big of a fan that some of my friends have been dragged to multiple games with me. It’s through sharing the experience of the game, win or lose, with my best friends and family that makes the season a time that I truly look forward too. I truly believe in this team and can’t wait to see what these boys are able to accomplish over these next few weeks. I’ll honestly be able to say that if they were to bring home a World Series title in 2018 that I would have gotten everything I would have dreamt about out of my college experience.
Credit: Alison Hannigan