Stevenson and her son at Fenway Park
By Anne Stevenson, 1L.
As a recent transplant from Boston, I have found the adjustment to Miami living fairly easy. I chose to enroll in the University of Miami School of Law because of the magnificent opportunities offered here to further my education without the possibility of ever having to shovel another flake of snow. I think I may have even notified U-Haul of my move before calling my family and UML to tell them the great news.
During my first week of orientation, I discovered that the social scene here was going to be challenging for me because I am from a different background than most of my classmates. One of the reasons I chose Miami was because of the diverse cultural aspects of the region, however, it would have been helpful if UML had actually included the number of Yankees fans in some of the brochures that came to the house before I enrolled.
At orientation, nobody knows each other and for an entire week small talk dominated. As a Bostonian, I am a professional small talker. Next time you go on Facebook, check to see how many of your Boston friends post status updates about traffic, food, the weather, and sports. Especially the sports. However, I didn’t move to Miami to talk about how bad the weather is in Boston. I deliberately moved to Miami so I wouldn’t feel peer pressured to go outside and “enjoy the nice weathah.” Miami traffic is another blog all together, but what I will say about that is put the cell phones down when you are driving, and as long as you are no more than the third car to blow through the red light you are fine. I am a broke student with no time to eat and an obligation to be bikini ready on the weekends when I hit the beach, so chatting about food would be just cruel at this juncture. So that left us with the topic of sports, which I was not going to broach in a sea of Miami Yankees fans.
As a mom to a six year old, I try to raise my son right by teaching him how to follow the golden rule, don’t do drugs, don’t play in traffic, and don’t play with Yankees fans. Everyone in my family owns a t-shirt that says “Real women don’t sleep with Yankees fans” or “Yankees suck!” This is because we know that our “dirty cousins” from New York do not subscribe to the same code of ethics governing loyalty and altruism that Sox fans do. It is my duty to save my son the heart ache of being cheated later in life should he choose to befriend a Yankees fan.
Think I am kidding? We Sox fans take our loyalties very seriously, and unlike other sports fans, we don’t cheer for other people’s teams. That’s the difference between us. I struggled with this when I moved to Florida when a friend of mine invited me to a Marlins game. I stood up to cheer for the locals and nothing came out because deep in my heart I know that it would be like mailing anthrax home to my family to have them see me do that.
A Yankees fan will cheer for anyone and not feel bad about it, and nobody would really notice. At the Church of Red Sox Nation, we know who has been attending services since before 2004 and we don’t call the “Johnny Come Latelies” members of our congregation. You know you are in a Boston law office when it’s the day before a big game and everyone is wearing team jerseys to board meetings, including the partners. Or God forbid, the day after a big game loss and nobody in the office is talking to each other and grief councilors are on site to support the staff. Let me tell you something, when the Sox, the Pats, and the Celtics won the championships over the last six years, Boston fans rioted in the streets. We turned over cars and burned them. People died and went to jail for Boston teams on those nights. We don’t get that worked up about the Patriot Act, but the Patriots losing the big game last year and coming in second was the source of some serious outrage. You just don’t see that kind of loyalty in a Marlins fan.
Last weekend, I flew home to Boston because my grandfather is very sick. First thing I did at Logan Airport was grab a cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee, then I reported my luggage carrying all my text books lost. For the next 24 hours, I relished the fact that the staff at the airport were willing to help me out simply because my Red Sox hat and townie accent gave me automatic trustworthiness credibility.
One of my only two friends in Miami is from New York, but is not a baseball fan. In preparation for writing this blog I asked her, “Kell, do you think it’s possible for a Sox fan to date a Yankees fan?” Kelly goes “Well my boyfriend is from Boston and he cheers for both teams.” So I was like “Oh, so he’s a Yankees fan then.” Note to self, I might have one friend in Miami after all;)
Anne Stevenson is a 1L from Concord, New Hampshire who moved to Miami in June to attend UM Law with her six year old son Reece. She graduated from Tufts University in 2007 with her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, and worked as a legal assistant after college. As a Miami Scholar and proud mother, she does not have free time to partake in any hobbies (aside from writing her Res Ipsa blog in the middle of the night when she can’t sleep). However, back in the olden days you could find her doing political and legal aid volunteer work, reading books at the beach, taking Reece on adventures, teaching Sunday school, playing softball, running, doing yoga, exploring foreign countries, eating a quality breakfast at the best hole in the wall in town, or doing her beloved crossword puzzles. Anne would like to pursue a career in Family Law and start a non-profit agency to provide single mothers with pro bono legal assistance in the court system. Her Blog, “Wanton 1L” will be updated regularly.
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