Ever since the New York Yankees snatched Babe Ruth from the Boston Red Sox, Red Sox fans have harbored a deep resentment toward their division rivals, and since that time, "Yankees Suck!" chants became a fixture of New England sporting events.
Although the Red Sox banned the popular "Yankees Suck!" T-shirts in Fenway Park two years ago, T-shirt vendors tapped into their creative energy this off-season to come up with new digs against the Evil Empure.
While Yankee captain Derek Jeter and all-star third baseman Alex Rodriquez have long suffered the wrath of Red Sox Nation, Sox fans, not surprisingly, have found a new punching bag.
And the T-shirts show it.
Boston's former center fielder and fan favorite Johnny Damon, who led the renegade Red Sox to a World Series title in 2004, is now the subject of T-shirts that read "Johnny Who?", "From Jesus to Judas" -- on his betrayal of the Sox -- and "Johnny Demon."
Some fans, including Ben Reiffen, 22, opposed the T-shirts that personally attacked players, arguing that hatred for a team will last longer than grudges against players.
"These new shirts cannot last forever," Reiffen said. "But 'Yankees Suck' shirts you can wear for 100 years. Insulting the players is pointless because you don't know where they will end up. Who knows, Johnny Damon could be playing for the Cubs next year."
Rich Mall, who took off work to watch the home opener with other die-hard Sox fans outside of Game On!, said he is growing tired of all the anti-Yankees merchandise and chants.
"'Yankees Suck' shirts are getting old," Mall said, "The chant bothers me. It's one thing when we are playing the Yankees, but when it gets broken out at Celtics games it's too much."
Los Angeles Dodgers fan Kenyatta Savage, who attended Tuesday's game, said seeing the T-shirts was disheartening.
"Sox fans need to put all their energy into rooting for their team instead of hating another team," Savage said.
Savage's friend Matt Atchanasiou quickly chimed in, showing off his own anti-Yankee T-shirt, which displayed a Red Sox logo below the phrase, "This is your brain," and underneath that was a Yankees logo framed by the words, "This is you brain on drugs."
"It is a good plug for Boston fans," Atchanasiou said. "It keeps the rivalry alive."
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