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Red Sox Nation is a term given to fans of the Boston Red Sox. The phrase "Red Sox Nation" was first coined by Boston Globe feature writer Nathan Cobb in an October 20, 1986 article about split allegiances among fans in Connecticut during the 1986 World Series between Red Sox and the New York Mets. The phrase was popularized by the 1996 book At Fenway: Dispatches From Red Sox Nation (ISBN 0-517-70104-9) by Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy.

Red Sox fans were once described by baseball commentator, Hall of Famer and former Red Sox player Dennis Eckersley as the "ultimate manic-depressive fanbase."^{[citation needed]} For all the excitement over the quality of play by the Red Sox, there is often a twinge of pessimism about the team, as the team's failures are typically blown out of proportion. Boston Globe columnist Charlie Pierce, among others, has attributed the self-perpetuating fatalism of the Nation to the intellectual legacy of the Puritans who settled Boston and instilled in the region's inhabitants a deep-seated Calvinist determinism.^[1] With the Red Sox victory in the 2004 World Series after the team's comeback from a three games to none deficit in the American League Championship Series against their ancient rivals, the New York Yankees, some commentators speculated that the title would change the nature of the Nation's denizens. A refrain oft-repeated by doubters, especially Yankee fans, is that the Red Sox would become "just another team" now that they have won the World Series. Others have worried that there will be an influx of fair-weather Sox fans, such as the influx of the pink hats.

In response to Red Sox Nation, the Yankees created a charity called Yankees Universe which benefits the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

In 2005 the Red Sox began offering "Official Citizenship" in Red Sox Nation. For a fee of $9.95(USD), fans received a membership card with the words "Official Red Sox Nation Citizen," and access to additional Red Sox merchandise offers and newsletters.^{[citation needed]}On March 15, 2006 the Red Sox began offering membership for a new Nation, which includes three "levels" of membership. One level is the "Fan Pack" for $14.99, the "Ultimate Fan Pack" for $99.95, and the "Monster Pack" for $199.95. Included in the Monster Pack is a season subscription to MLB.tv and the guaranteed opportunity to buy two Green Monster seat tickets.^[2] The two more expensive offers have sold out quickly.

In the summer of 2007, the Red Sox fan site on MLB.com offered "official" citizens of RSN the chance to register as candidates to become the first president of Red Sox Nation, for the 2008 season. A broad field of self-proclaimed candidates was whittled down (internally, by operators of the website) to 25, then an open-to-all online "primary" was held in August that resulted in 10 final candidates. For most of September, the ten were provided with weblogs on the website to mount their campaigns. On September 27, Tim Russert of NBC moderated a debate among six of the candidates in a hall at Boston University (three were no-shows, and Doris Kearns Goodwin withdrew from the race). The final election, also open to the public at the same website, was held from September 28 through October 2, 2007. The winner was Jerry Remy, a former Red Sox player and current broadcast color commentator.^[3] The following day, Remy threw out the first ball in the opening game of the Red Sox' playoff series.

Red Sox Nation is spread across the entire country because many New England natives re-locate to other parts of the country and many New England college students return home after developing a passion for the Red Sox. These fans can typically be found supporting their team at Red Sox games outside of Fenway Park. They keep up with the team by watching the games on satellite television, as well as through various Web sites. Members of the Nation are even known to call the popular WEEI sports-talk radio station in Boston long distance during the season and remain on hold, merely to be able to talk about their beloved Sox. Fans in California have created a Red Sox Nation West. Some believe Red Sox nation is similar to the fair-weather fan (also know as bandwagon fan) phenomenon that many Americans experience as a particular team rises to glory in a particular sport. Recent fair-weather fan bases include: the Indianapolis Colts, San Diego Chargers, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Chicago Bulls, and the Miami Heat.

In 2005 and 2007, the Red Sox had the highest road attendance of all MLB teams.^[4] Part of this is apparently due to a large contingent of New England-based fans who fly to Red Sox away games in other ballparks. For games in New York, Baltimore, Chicago, and Tampa Bay, the increase in "commuter fans" has been attributed to relatively inexpensive air fares and, conversely, the difficulty and expense of obtaining tickets to home games at Fenway Park. This phenomenon among Red Sox fans has been exacerbated by Red Sox Nation references in popular culture, e.g., films such as Fever Pitch and J. Crew catalog covers during the summer of 2007. Detractors will point however, that the statistics are skewed by the fact that the Red Sox play in a far smaller ballpark then the other popular teams in the league (e.g., the Red Sox sell out at Yankee Stadium are over 56,000 -- at Fenway, the Yankees games are always sold out, but only 36,000 fans can be squeezed in.) ^[5]

• Ben Affleck^[6][7]
• Michael Chiklis^[8][9]
• Matt Damon^[10]
• Dropkick Murphys^[11][12]
• The Farrelly Brothers^[13]
• Jennifer Garner^[14]
• Jake Gyllenhaal^[15]
• Stephen King^[16][17]
• Denis Leary^[18][19]
• Conan O'Brien^[20]
• Mike O'Malley^[21]

• Official Boston Red Sox Website
• "Official" Red Sox Nation Website
• The Remy Report Jerry Remy's Sox Page
• Dan Shaughnessy's Sports Column in the Boston Globe
• 2007 Red Sox Nation Presidential Candidates
• Jerry Remy's MLBlog