why are there 10x more red sox fans this year than any other year?

[lu_hawk]

i'm not talking about on 2+2. i am talking about in new york and new jersey. you see these people everywhere. in the past 10 years i doubt i have seen one red sox hat on a guido at the jersey shore, i saw about 20 this past weekend. at newark airport more red sox hats were for sale than yankees hats or mets hats. you see lots of them in manhattan these days, and lots out in the suburbs too. and all the red sox hats i see look very, very new, almost mint condition.