Inside Boston Sports | Jumbo Nation: A look at the mania of local sports at Tufts

    Manic. Traditional. Intense. All words used to describe Boston's sports culture. But what does it mean to become a part of this atmosphere upon arriving in the area? For some, it can be a new annoyance along the lines of going to class; for others, it can develop into a new way to live, on par with breathing.
    Like a toxic gas seeping through the cool Boston air into surrounding communities, the area's sports culture becomes infectious, even to the most halfhearted of fans. Sure, some exhibit innate immunity. But for the majority, setting foot in the region means instant exposure.
    "Being around Boston sports in 2009 is to be around intelligence and a spirit that is really special," said Professor George Scarlett of the child development department, who moved to New England from Baltimore in 1963. "It's not just another sports town. I'm passionate about the Patriots but am neurotic about baseball and got caught up in Sox fever. I had experienced that city passion before in Baltimore with [Colts quarterback Johnny] Unitas, but gradually got converted when I started living on my own."
    With a wave of championships flowing into the city, being a Boston sports fan has become increasingly easy for new students. The Boston Red Sox, for instance, have won two of the last five World Series and could be poised for another run this October.
    The New England Patriots, likewise, are owners of three Super Bowl trophies this decade and have accumulated at least nine wins in every season since 2001. In 2007, the squad went 16-0 in the regular season. And with quarterback Tom Brady back from a knee injury, things are looking bright for the city's gridiron stars.
    The Boston Celtics, who have won an NBA best 17 titles — including the 2008 championship — and the Boston Bruins, a five-time Stanley Cup-winning franchise, have made winning a way of life. The atmosphere of success can be contagious, especially to Tufts students.
    "Once you live in this area, it becomes easier to jump on the bandwagon," said sophomore Jeff Prescott, who grew up in New York Yankee territory Wilton, Conn. "Collectively it's becoming easier and easier to support teams in Boston, because I think its beginning to compete for the sports capital of the nation."
    Even for those Tufts students from far away, assimilating into Boston's sports atmosphere comes naturally.
    "I feel like Red Sox fans are very accepting," said senior Brenna Heintz, a native of Alaska. "So I came here, where the Boston sports teams are really electrifying, and I got caught up in it. I'm sure that if you're a student who comes from far away and Boston has been losing a lot, you wouldn't be as likely to get caught up in it."
    Just as it has no geographical boundaries, devotion in Boston has no age limit. For those accustomed to the city's recent success, like Prescott, or others who grew up watching the Red Sox in the 1940s, like Professor Sol Gittleman, the sports culture refuses to falter at the generational gap, appealing to all residents.
    "If you're interested in sports and it's in your DNA, you get the sense that you're in a historic town," said Gittleman, who teaches a course on baseball history. "It's a little bit manic, a little bit crazy in such a small town. People take it extremely seriously."
    Yet what attracts fans like Professor Scarlett to Gillette Stadium or Fenway Park is not the banners or the rings, but rather the constant support emanating from the seats in those hallowed grounds.
    "What I fell in love with is this tradition," Scarlett said. "It was captured in ‘Fever Pitch,' this license to be nutty and to still have fun. If you keep an open mind and start to see the sports teams in Boston, I think you can still admit and enjoy the fact that there's something special here."
    The fact that Boston houses hundreds of thousands of college-age sports fans only adds to the mania.
    "College fans are some of the most driven fans because they're young, exuberant and are their own personalities," Jeff Prescott said. "New York is where business happens, not where fun happens. In Boston the fan base is so strong that it fosters a stronger and more tightly-knit community because it's the biggest college city."
    Even for the most diehard of fans, Boston sports still offer rich opportunities each day. The consensus advice for any sports fan? Get to Fenway as soon as possible to experience the full effect of what the area has to offer.
    "Fenway is one of the two great historic monuments left in pro baseball," Gittleman said. "If you got a sense of history, you'll want to see Fenway Park. You should get consumed, or at least involved, if you come and are interested in sports in general."
    "Over the years, I realized that this [tradition] was something deeper than anything," Scarlett added. "Fenway Park is to Boston what Notre Dame is to Paris. It is the cathedral. It's this very positive community that links one generation to another. The tradition is unbelievable."