Stories From The "Coalition Of The Schilling"

Denis Riva—Brazil. I'm 29 years old and I started to see baseball and love the sox in 1998.The most beautiful thing I see in the sox is the passion of the fans. They never gave up, even in the hardest moments. The Sox was never alone. I see almost everyday the 2004 ALCS, and I still cannot believe it happened. Jon Lester beating cancer and the Rockies... another wonderful story. These are a few reasons that made me a loyal and fanatic Sox Fan.

Josh Turton—Switzerland. I'm a Sox fan in Zurich, Switzerland. I've followed the Sox since I was old enough to understand why my grandfather was cursing at the TV at his house in Connecticut and since I had my first ball glove where I was born in Acton, Massachusetts. Each of my daughters has uttered the phrase "boo Yankees" as a core requirement of their first ten words in life. I moved to Zurich this summer before the All-Star break and desperately miss baseball. My current home in the US is in Tampa, Florida.... also home of the "other" Sox home stadium, but also home to more than a few miserable Yankees fans. I watch the standings daily, monitor FenwayNation and MLB.com to catch games and notes, and wear my 10 year old Red Sox hat with the paint stains on it every where I go. My last game was in 2004 when I took my oldest daughter to her first trip to Fenway and we sat in the front row of the Monster at the top of the ladder. I still have the picture, and still have the emails from buddies and family who saw her in her pink bosox shirt and hat on TV and heard the announcers describing a "focused little Sox fan". Looking forward to watching the boys play LATE FALL BALL!

Russell Cobleigh—Sweden. I was born & raised in Westford, Massachusetts and even played on the Red Sox in Little League. I married a nice Swedish girl and we decided to raise our kids here where there is little or no violence. I watch the Sox on mlb.com on my PC. Sometimes the games are a little late, but; better than never. I was in Boston last year and saw the Sox play on Memorial Day. They got beat by the O's but I still had a ball. I took my son to his first baseball game at Fenway! All I have left to say is...........GO SOX!!!

Mark Lawrence—Sydney, Australia. I'm from Sydney, Australia, and I have a small group of dedicated Red Sox fans here who meet up for beers and baseball talk every couple of weeks. My first game at Fenway was in May 1994 during my first visit to the United States. That was when I fell in love with the Sox (hey, it's Fenway Park - why wouldn't you fall in love with the Sox?) I watch the games on my home PC and listen to them - surreptitiously - while I'm at work. I'm not really surprised that there are Red Sox fans all over the world - they're a wonderful team who do their best every time they take the field and that's what makes them great. And if any of the Red Sox read this, remember: we'll see you in October! Go Sox!