"And we would wear a BLUE hat with a RED "B" on it while we do so. Because we are not making a fashion statement. We are supporting our team."
-Sooooooo...does that rant apply to the St. Paddy's Day BP jerseys, as well? 'Cause my fiancee' bought one of those FROM THE RED SOX WEBSITE for my birthday last week with "DAMON 18" on the back ("SCHILLING 38" wasn't available in anything less than hip-hop/gangsta size) and it's completely bad-ass. But because it's not home white or road gray (or even "ridiculously garish third jersey" red) it's somehow less legitimate and means I'm only interested in making a fashion statement? Please. There's nothing wrong with expressing a degree of individuality while supporting your team at the same time.
Once I went on a very similar (verbal out loud) rant in the Dodgers Top of the Park team store, only to turn around and see 2 angry blondes standing behind me in their pink jerseys and pink hats. I looked at them and said "the sign doesn't say THINK PINK, does it?"
Being the pink wearing people that they are, I don't think they knew that the Dodgers slogan is Think Blue despite having the phrase printed on everything on the store. Oh well.
Agreed with the specialty girl-pink stuff in general. Not just Red Sox/sports teams, but that "slap it pink for the girls" mentality overall disturbs me. I actually don't care for pink and I know I'm not alone in that. I do have to admit I own a pink Red Sox cap my husband gave me, but I really covet his rare Japanese, one-I've-never-seen-before Red Sox cap and wear it every chance I get.
The pinkification of women is disturbing in the extreme. It is started by merchandizing dudes, but who are these women who buy into it? If your personal identity can be sold at a rummage sale, then you don't have one.
I love this post. I don't care that it's three years old. I just found it. And I love it.
1st...you uneducated morons. it was not baseball marketing that conceived this"evil" pink hat. to a degree maybe. the pink hat was used as a tool to generate money for breast cancer research i believe across all sports. i suppose you are against pink bats and ribbons for mothers day also.
Chris,
See how I address you like a human and don't immediately revert to name calling? That is not what I was referring to. And obviously, if it's not well-publicized, then how are we supposed to know that? I am clearly not against fundraising for breast cancer research. But my understanding was that the pink merchandise was conceived of as a ploy to get more "girls" interested in sports. And for what it's worth, not one person who I've ever seen wearing a pink hat, shirt, etc, has ever said, "I bought this to support breast cancer research." That, I would have no problem with.
I think Chris is a pink-hatter! Pink for breast cancer? Puh-leeeease!
I couldnt beileve this post! I love my pink hat! and i'm not a girly girl at all, shit i just came from a nice long weekend in NH shooting my bow and arrow like i've been doing since i was two! I'm hicker than hick, and i love it!
I also played softball all my life, and i really don't see any reason to hate a pink hat. Sounds to me like you really don't have a life to write huge blogs about hating pink hats! Well written i must say, but how dumb! Now if your talking about half the girls wearing them, i could understand, i hate a boston bimbo as much as the next person but for people who like going to the games and showing their support in a little different way, go you! I'm wearing a green red sox tshirt right now.
And i'll be at the game tomorrow evening so put on those pink hat, and hell guys look good in pink too!
I love this! My boyfriends biggest threat to me is that he is going to but me a pink Red Sox hat!! I have been saying the same thing for years, that just because I am a girl does not mean I need pink sportswear. And as for it starting as breast cancer products that is not true. There are ones for that, but it states that the money will go for breast cancer research on the tag, and it usually has a pink ribbon on it. It's made very clear that its a breast cancer thing, like when they use the pink bats on Mother's Day. The regular pink was designed for exactly the reason believed, that girls must have something pink to be interested. I found a shirt that says "Real Fans Don't Wear Pink". I am sure I will get dirty looks when I wear it, but it can't be worse than the looks I got when I went on a rant in the middle of the Souvenir Store. Thanks for writing what I've been argueing forever!!
While I agree in principle with the anti-pink, anti-bleacher bimbo argument, I'd like to play devil's advocate for the moment. Do you also object to the camoflage, black, black w/green shamrock, green w/ shamrock, and brown hats available to the men? It seems to me that logo merchandise has broken out of the traditional color scheme across the board, regardless of the gender to which the merchandise is targeted. This may or may not represent a loss of purity in baseball fandom, but it certainly presents potential fans with more choices and, therefore, presents the team with more opportunity for profit.
On the other hand, I do find it annoying to attend baseball and football games with people who have no idea what's happening, regardless of their attire. Again, though, how will teams gain new fans unless they (and existing fans) welcome them and encourage them to learn about the game? Perhaps the bleacher bimbo with the pink hat and pink jersey will be like Katherine Hepburn in Woman of the Year, eventually learning the intricacies of the game and becoming a true fan... Just a thought.
Great posts, by the way. I may be a Rockies fan, but I enjoy good baseball blogs wherever they may be.
As sad as it is that in some ways I do agree with half of what you say; I feel that it's almost like you have a chip on your shoulder for some of the women attending Sox games. I more than hate the fact that tickets go to people who are not real fans and that some of them DO NOT represent us real fans. A prime example is Ben Affleck bringing Jennifer Garner to a game insted of one of his friends or family members who have probally been a fan all of his or her's life and never sat that close to the game before. (My girl told me who Ben Asslick's girlfriend was, I don't know these things.)
My problem with what you wrote is that my fiance would have never liked baseball to begin with if it wasn't for the pink hats and shirts. I am from Mass, she is not. If I am going to marry a woman she has to at least love the Sox and now does so very much. It took a little while but she can tell you who each player is, what position they play, what they do best and even remembers a jersey number from time to time. If she didn't fall in love with the hats or shirts it probally would have been a little harder to do so.
Every woman I know has a gut instinct to shop. If they find another new and exciting outlet to shop for and it's a done deal. You even said yourself that you like a new pair of shoes. But sometimes it's hard to get someone who is not as passionate about a sport as you are, to get involved. If something as harmless as a pink hat gets my girl to come out to the bar on a weeknight to drink beer, eat nachos and swear like a sailor at the T.V. screen with me until 1:00 in the morning then who cares.
Oh and by the way you can still be a dumb blonde bimbo and wear a red and blue hat. You can put make-up on a pig but it's still a pig. Segregation is always the same when you assume and categorize people into the same group.
does every person who wears a pink red sox item have to be a bleacher bimbo? seriously, get over it. there ARE girls who completely understand the game, know players & their positions and numbers yet still wear pink attire. you're overreacting. does it hurt to show some individuality? i say you just suck it up, grow up and get over it.
On the east coast, let's blame Arthur D'Angelo and Twins enterprises, on the west let's blame Alyssa Milano.
Hi Kristen,
I'm a regular reader of your blog, but have never commented before. I was looking at the dates of the recent comments on this post & I think some might be referrals from a post I wrote linking here. If so, I apologize for the grouchy people!
I COMPLETELY agree with you on this point (which is why I linked to it in the first place). Hope we're cool. 
I randomly came across this entry while making this very same debate with someone earlier. I whole heartedly agree with every word that you said. Wearing team gear is about supporting your team and NOT about making a fashion statement. (It doesn't help that I think that pink is the worst color ever created, but that's a whole other discussion.) It's awful. The only exception is the green hats in Boston because it's something that the team also wears. There's no need for the neon green or bright orange or camo printed crap gear.
And all of that coming from a die-hard Yankees fan. At least there's ONE thing that we can agree on. 
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