Displaced fans bond while away

Boston University graduate student Noelle Perlmutter is a New York Yankees fan. Though her love for the Yankees remains strong, she must express that love in private while living in Boston.
‘I have never talked to a Red Sox fan about my Yankee love,’ she said. ‘It’s not easy to be Yankee fan in Boston. When I’m walking in Kenmore Square, and I’m surrounded by red and blue, I feel shy and scared and claustrophobic, and I’m walking around with my head buried in my shirt.’
It was meant as a tongue-in-cheek DirecTV advertising campaign, but for many Boston University students, ‘displaced fan syndrome,’ which is characterized by living away from one’s favorite sports teams, is a very real condition.
‘My roommate is a Mets fan, and he didn’t like too much that I was a Marlins fan,’ College of Arts and Sciences freshman Brendon Stanton said. ‘In the last week of the season, when the Mets were trying to get into the playoffs and they were playing the Marlins and the Marlins schlacked them basically, that didn’t go over so well. He was threatening to throw my Marlins hat out – jokingly, of course.’
Stanton, a New York native, said he became a fan of the Marlins because of his childhood baseball card collection. Being a displaced fan all his life then, Stanton said living in Boston will not hurt his commitment to the Marlins.
‘It is difficult because they’re always talking about getting rid of the team because basically there are no fans,’ he said. ‘But I’ll follow them as long as they are a team, no matter how they do.’
School of Engineering junior Bryan Adams said as a lifelong Twins and Vikings fan from Minnesota, living away from the home team ‘strengthens’ his commitment.
‘You get sick of hearing about the Red Sox or the Patriots, and it seems like when people come out here who have never been a Red Sox of Patriots fan their whole life, suddenly become one,’ he said. ‘So you feel more of a need to show your hometown loyalty.
‘I have considered sort of becoming a Red Sox fan, and I do own a Red Sox hat, but I feel ashamed whenever I wear it,’ Adams said. ‘It’s kind of like cheating.’
Some fans use their situation as a way to bond with fellow exiles. College of Communication junior Katie Sigeti said because the Padres fan base is relatively limited to California, encountering a fellow fan in Boston helps her stay connected to home.
‘When I see somebody wearing a Padres shirt here, I get really excited,’ she said. ‘It’s nice to have those roots that go back to home.’ I do feel connected that way.’
Sigeti said she does not think she is betraying her home team by rooting for the Red Sox.
‘The Red Sox and the Padres hardly ever play each other,’ Sigeti said. ‘They’re not really rivals . . . I’ve been to games where the Padres play the Red Sox. I’ll wear either a Padres hat and a Red Sox shirt or a Red Sox shirt with a Padres hat.’