The Red Sox’ beards have certainly garnered their fair share of attention throughout the season — and for good reason, as they are quite the spectacle — but now, they’ve grabbed the attention of a man who is no stranger to postseason whiskers.
Patrice Bergeron has been keeping a diary for ESPNBoston.com this season, and in his second entry, the B’s forward is giving the Red Sox’ scraggly look his stamp of approval.
“I see the Red Sox have hockey playoff beards going except they’ve had theirs all season long,” Bergeron said. “I’ve never seen a beard that long on a hockey player like they have, but that’s because they’ve kept it going for a long time now. I’ve got to give it up to them. They have some great beards going.”
The bearded magic the Sox have been enjoying all season long has led them to a two-game lead over the Rays in the ALDS, pushing Tampa Bay to the brink of elimination. The Red Sox will go for the sweep on Monday night, and they’ll have Bergy and the rest of the B’s rooting for them as they look to punch their ticket to the ALCS.
“I am a Red Sox fan now because I’ve been here in Boston for so long. It’s such a huge thing here in Boston,” Bergeron said. “I follow them as much as I can. I’m not the biggest baseball fan, but I wish them all the best obviously. Thorty [Shawn Thornton] and Johnny [Boychuk] are the diehard Red Sox fans on the team. I don’t know if he did, but I would suspect Thorty got to Game 1 on Friday. Tuukka [Rask] also gets to a few games during their season.”
Bergeron continued to say cheering on his fellow teams in the city is part of what makes Boston so special. The alternate captain appreciated the support the Bruins received from some members of the Red Sox during their postseason run, so he’s simply returning the favor in October.
“I think it’s great that every Boston team is very supportive of one another. I think that’s what you need in a city. Fans are the same way. It’s a sports town. They’re behind every team, which is great to see. Same thing for the players, I think it’s nice to have. Last year in our playoffs, we saw a couple players like [David] Ortiz come for a game or two. It’s nice to see. Obviously we’re going to cheer for them as well and hope for the best.”
