The Ultimate Debate: Sox or Pats, Part 6

Previous parts: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Red Sox or Patriots? Patriots or Red Sox? I've been debating this question for over a month, and there is now finally a light at the end of this tunnel. S3B's Ultimate Debate is currently 71.4% complete, which, if you move the decimal one place to the left and drop the percent sign, looks alot like Julian Tavarez's spring training ERA.

As it stands, the Sox have a 3-2 lead in the battle to be #1. The Sox won Parts 1, 3, and 4 which discussed the knowledge, players, and thrill of victory factors, respectively. The Pats have taken Parts 2 and 5 which were centered on the factors of tenure and the agony of defeat. To go back and review any of the previous installments, feel free to click on your favorite number above.

Today, the focus shifts to apparel. Let's jump right in, shall we?

Apparel

As ridiculous as it may sound, the amount of stuff that a person owns for a particular team may help determine how passionate that person is about said team. Okay, okay. Just because you own a Boston Red Sox can opener doesn't necessarily qualify you as a fan. And in that same sense, just because you see someone sporting a Red Sox hat doesn't mean that they are a Red Sox fan. Hell, I run into individuals all the time who wear a hat simply for the fashion statement.

Anyways, I still hold the belief that, as a fan, you will strive to collect more and more memorabilia of the teams that you are most passionate about. There's an inherent interest and appeal. I mean, why wouldn't you accumulate stuff only from the teams that you like? It's a sign of pride. Wearing your Pats jersey out to the store in the early 90's may have been difficult, but it indicated where your loyalties laid. Serving chips and dip on a matching Red Sox plate and bowl set is a subtle reminder to your guests who you represent. In my opinion, apparel is a way for a fan to display his or her affections for a team year round, even when that team's particular season is not in season. Like I said, it's a sign of pride.

I think it makes sense. Let's look at an example - Jimmy Fallon in Fever Pitch. It's not his overabundance of Sox memorabilia that makes him a fan. What makes him a fan is the fact that he has never missed a Sox game since he was a little boy, he skips out on a trip to Paris with his girlfriend because the Mariners are in town, he can't maintain a relationship because girls are secondary to the Red Sox, and he makes his friends dance around like idiots for the chance to go to a Yankees game with him.

However, it's his apparel collection that defines how deeply Fallon's devotion goes. There is nothing in his apartment that isn't Red Sox related. His walls are plastered with Red Sox news articles;

A ticket draft: one good reason you can tell Fallon is a Sox fan.

he has Red Sox sheets, curtains, and a Sox comforter; he wipes his ass with Yankees toilet paper for cryin' out loud. Unlike the guys wearing a Sox hat simply for fashion's sense, you would clearly - CLEARLY - deduce that Fallon is a Red Sox simply by setting foot in his apartment. I realize that this is just a movie, but it is exemplifies what I am talking about; and you cannot tell me that there are not fans out there like this.

While I understand that different people display their affections in different ways, it is an absolute must to own something that is related to your team. If you don't, you're not a fan. Even if you're a Detroit Lions fan, you've got to display your pride in some form or another. The point at which you are no longer a fan of a team is the point at which you are ashamed to admit that you are a fan of that team.

As for my collection of apparel for these two particular Bostonian teams, in a word, it's a mess. I've collected so many random Red Sox and Patriots items over the years that sorting them out would be similar to trying to separate leaves in the fall by color. Off the top of my head, I own four Patriots jerseys (two Ty Law's, Adam Vinatieri, and Ben Watson), four t-shirts, a ballcap, and a winter hat. My Red Sox inventory includes one jersey, one hoodie, one t-shirt, a pair of socks, and three ballcaps. Outside of clothing, I've got a supermarket's worth of Pats and Sox stuff. This would include Red Sox folding chairs, at least one koozie for each team, at least one set of dinnerware for each team, a Tom Brady bobblehead, a Red Sox hammer, a David Ortiz Christmas ornament, a Manny Ramirez autographed baseball helmet, a Drew Bledsoe autographed football helmet, window clings for both teams, a Red Sox desk calendar, a Red Sox Rubik's cube, a Patriots flag...the list goes on and on.

In the end, there is too much stuff to count, and the difference between Pats stuff and Sox stuff is too small to determine. I'll be boring and indecisive; it's a tie.

Advantage: Push

Next Saturday: Je Ne Sais Quoi