Six Lucky Red Sox Fans Win Tickets, Encompass Spirit of Red Sox Nation

What makes a great Red Sox fan? Well, a little bit of luck sure doesn't hurt.

Six very lucky Sox fans from around New England are eagerly looking forward to the team's April 4 season opener against the Yankees. As winners of the 2010 Opening Night VIP Experience sweepstakes, they're all set to attend Opening Night with their families for free.

To enter the contest, all they had to do was fill out a form as entries were taken at tour stops on the 2010 Red Sox Road Trip, presented by Coca-Cola. With this team, great fans are all around, and these six are no exception.

"When I met with [Red Sox president] Larry Lucchino after we won the contest, he asked me how long I'd been a fan," said Bill Jordan of Amherst, N.H., who won the contest alongside his wife Kathi. "So I asked him how old he was, which kind of shocked him. When he told me, I said to him, 'You were one year old when I first started coming here.'"

Lucchino is 64. Jordan is 71, and he's been coming to Fenway since the days of Ted Williams.

These are the kind of fans the Red Sox have. New Englanders form lifelong bonds with their baseball team, and you can't put a price on that.

The six winners, one from each New England state, were overjoyed at the chance to catch opening night against the Bronx Bombers.

"Oh my gosh, it's unbelievable," said Milt Alvarez of Tyngsboro, Mass. "I still can't believe that I won the contest. And best of all, it's a Yankees game, and those are the hardest seats to get at Fenway. Unbelievable."

"We're excited," added Peter Moniz of Tiverton, R.I. "We've never been to an opening day, and we've also never seen a Yankee game, so that's even better."

The other contest winners were Francesco Fazzolari of Vernon, Conn.; Dan and Dorene Caron of Gorham, Maine; and Elaine and Seth Barkyoumb of Fairfax, Vt.

Being from all parts of New England and all different walks of life, not all of these fans have the means to be regulars at Fenway Park, but they've all found ways to forge a connection between themselves and their favorite team. Take Jordan, for instance, who takes in six to eight games a year at Fenway. He enjoys seeing games with his wife, daughter and grandson, and for him, watching the Red Sox as a family bonding experience.

"My daughter and wife are probably bigger fans than I am," he said. "When the Sox are on the West Coast, she always stays awake for at least the first three innings of the game. I never do."

These fans follow the Red Sox around the country. They catch all the games they can on TV. They follow the team online and on the radio. They're always plugged in to what's going on with this team, and they're excited for the future.

"It's a new team, and hopefully it's going to be a better team," Alvarez said. "I know there's been a lot of talk, a lot of pros and cons to who they're letting go and who they're gaining. But I think it's going to be an improved team. They've got some new pitching, a new defense, and I'm hoping it's going to be a team that's going to go to the World Series. It looks promising."

With all the Red Sox' personnel changes and all they've done to prepare for the 2010 season, the fans all shared a sense of excitement about the team, something that's not uncommon with the Red Sox at this time of year. The Red Sox have New England fired up, as usual.

"I think they ignite the area," Moniz said. "They're something to look forward to around here, to see if they're doing good. Especially when they're winning, they bring excitement to the area. They break up the routine of daily life."

Added Alvarez, "The atmosphere in Fenway is just unbelievable. It's not like any other ballpark I've ever been to."

It's not just Fenway, though. It's the city at large.

"I think it's just the way Boston is," Jordan said. "They've always been pretty steady people. Boston people are loyal people."