PatriotsReign

I've debated a few fans outside New England on who & where the term "Nation" started....as in Patriot Nation/Red Sox Nation. I contend that it started here in New England and was coined by Dan Shaunessey sometime back in the 1980's. I love to tell fans from other regions that they're just Patriot Nation copy-cats & wannabe's...I just hope I'm right!

Can anyone offer me more on this?

PittPatriot

I am not sure about the true origins...it'd be nice if the Globe/Shaughnessy did a column on it. I think 'Red Sox Nation' is recognized above all else because the Sox have a following in virtually every American city.

I think the closest thing to a football nation would have to be the Steelers. The Cowboys/Niners used to fall under 'America's team', but I don't think they have a 'Nation.' I definitely don't buy the Pats as having a national fan base outside of tranplanted New Englanders (like me). May be they have a young cohort of fans from the recent SB championships, but otherwise, they were the NFL's bastard children for the past half century.
I see Steelers' garb worn quite commonly in every city I have lived in...but that doesn't give them a Nation.

Go Sox! May the Mitchell report shed light on those dirty Yankees!

rodrust

"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."

REF:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Sox_Nation

Patriot Power

...but really didn't come into common usage until the latest owners of the Red Sox started using it as a marketing device.

PatriotsReign

Wow! I'm very impressed. Thank you rodrust, excellent information & insight.

rodrust

AGREE 100% and when you say marketing device add "revenue stream" on to that.

questionman

Are you talking in general or specifically with the Sox and Pats? I think the whole "nation" thing with a team started with the Raiders and the Radier Nation.

rodrust

Hmmm.. :

"The Raider Nation is known for its "black hole", a specific section of the McAfee Coliseum (Sections 104, 105, 106, and 107) frequented by the rowdiest and most fervent fans of the Oakland Raiders. The origin of the name is obscure; certainly it was in vogue during the early 1980s, when Raider fans from the San Francisco Bay Area were forced to travel to Los Angeles or elsewhere to watch their team. Today, the Raiders, currently based in Oakland, still have a strong fanbase in Los Angeles."

REF: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raider_nation

speed

That was always my impression as well.

scout

The book "Fenway", is a great book which chronicles the history of the Red Sox. It discusses one of the World Championships around 1912. The owner feared that the Red Sox Nation, wouldn't arrive and take their alloted seated assignments in the outfield, thus sold the seats at the booth (Red Sox Nation did arrive later). I don't have the book, but from what I remember, the writer didn't coin the phrase as it was what those fans were called at that time.