At Fenway, boasts go coast to coast
Fans excited for ‘once in a lifetime’ square-off in historic ballpark
In the middle of yesterday’s sea of raucous fans donning team gear outside Fenway Park was one peculiar sight — a man wearing a Dodgers jacket and a Red Sox hat.
Leo Lee, a 22-year old from Seoul, South Korea, lives in Boston. He explained to the Herald the reasoning behind his unique World Series uniform.
“A lot of people are coming up to me and asking, ‘Are you a Red Sox fan or are you a Dodgers fan?’ So I just have to tell them the whole story. I’m a big fan of (Dodgers pitcher) Hyun-jin Ryu, like most South Koreans, but I’m originally a Red Sox fan.”
Lee predicts the Red Sox will win in six games.
For longtime friends Gary Ochoa and Herschel Gonzalez, there has been no love lost this week.
Ochoa, 30, who is originally from Mexico but lives in East Boston, was spotted with L.A. Dodgers gear from head-to-toe waiting in line outside of Fenway Park at Gate E, hoping to get his hands on some tickets. Beside him was Gonzalez, 35, also from Mexico, who lives in Chelsea, donning his Red Sox gear.
“It’s going to be a painful series for them (Dodgers),” Gonzalez said. “After losing last year and then they come here.”
Ochoa told Gonzalez, who predicts a sweep from the Red Sox, to pump the brakes and that L.A. would win in six games.
“I look forward to next Tuesday when the Dodgers are World Series champs,” Ochoa said.
Martin Ayala, 54, flew Monday from Los Angeles to watch his beloved Dodgers play in historic Fenway.
He bought game tickets worth $800 last weekend, convinced the Dodgers would defeat the Brewers to head to the World Series.
“I’ve loved the Dodgers since I was seven years old. My dad used to send me gear in Puerto Rico,” Ayala said, decked out in his Dodgers gear in Kenmore Square.
“I’ve never been,” Ayala said. “To go to the World Series at a park like Fenway that has so much history and in a city so unique — I’m super excited. This is once in a lifetime.”
Greg Martens, 55, of Durham, Maine, changed his flight home from New Orleans yesterday morning from Maine to Boston once he scored tickets with a friend.
He says he hasn’t missed a Red Sox World Series since he was 12 years old.
“My grandfather started the tradition,” Martens said on Beacon Street outside the Eastern Standard. “He had season tickets. He was allergic to the sun so we always came to night games.”
“I feel very confident,” he added. “A lot of teams who win over 100 games usually fold real quick. But we went to New York and swept. Houston we swept. We’re doing well.