The Sweet Caroline – Boston Red Sox Connection
For the younger generation of Red Sox fans, Fenway Park and the song Sweet Caroline just go together – they’re basically a package deal. But this tradition, when the entire stadium belts out Neil Diamond’s 1969 hit during the game’s 8th inning, is actually a fairly recent phenomenon. It’s also a custom that came to be both loved and loathed, depending on who you ask.
Source: The Boston Globe
The “cheesy” song didn’t arrive on the baseball scene until 1997 – the year that Wally the Green Monster and giant Coke bottles made their debut. So how did such an old song with no apparent ties to baseball become a major part of the Fenway game experience? This is where we start from the beginning…