It’s no secret that come baseball season, Boston transforms into Red Sox Nation. And fans say when it comes to the Sox, they put everything else on hold.
A recent study conducted by Ben Reis and John Brownstein at Children’s Hospital Boston demonstrated a significant decrease in patients admitted to emergency rooms during Red Sox championship games, The Boston Globe reported on Monday.
According to the study, emergency room visits dropped about 15 percent during last October’s championship games. Health officials who conducted the study attributed this decline in hospital visits to fans putting baseball before minor health problems.
Numerous Red Sox fans said they would skip other commitments to see games.
Eli Reid, a Red Sox fan from Boston, said he noticed the trend discovered in the recent study.
“I did notice people canceling doctor and dentist appointments,” Reid said. “But they’ll certainly make up an appointment just to see the games.”
Reid said he saw fans wearing suits and ties at the first part of Tuesday’s doubleheader against the Toronto Blue Jays. College students shared Reid’s sentiment.
College of Arts and Sciences freshman Becca Platz and Leslie Rosenberg left Tuesday’s afternoon game carrying a sign that read, “We skipped classes to be here! Can I have your number?”
The girls said trying to get the attention of Red Sox players from their second-row seats was more important than being in class.
“I would delay homework until 2 a.m. to watch [Sox games],” Platz said. Even professors expressed sympathy for tired, hungover students who stayed up late watching Red Sox games.
“There was a lot of excitement,” said David Eckel, a CAS religion professor.
Eckel added that watching the 2004 post-season games did not affect students’ grades.
“I spoke about the game in class, but it didn’t seem to affect work ethic,” Eckel said.
CAS writing professor James Pasto said although he, too, is a Sox fan, he did not change paper deadlines or exam schedules during last year’s playoffs.
“I did not notice a drop in the grades, but students had to work harder from lost sleep,” he said. “Attendance dropped a little during the Red Sox-Yankees games, but nothing too major.”
According to the Assistant Director of Boston University Health Services, Chris Valadao, the baseball season does not affect the number of patients at BU Health Services.
“The patient load is definitely not going down,” Valadao said. “There are just as many, if not more [patients], since the academic year is just beginning. There is also a surplus of students from Tulane, and flu season is on its way.”
Health services at Boston College, Northeastern University and Emerson College also said they did not notice a decrease in numbers.
But Mary Jo Brown, director of admittance at Tufts New England Hospital, said she noticed a different trend at Tufts.
“I can’t provide you with anything scientific, but a lot of patients want to be sure they can get the game on television,” Brown said. “It is very important to them.”
According to Brown, all rooms at Tufts New England hospital are equipped with cable televisions that allow students to watch baseball games.
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