BOSTON — Family members sometimes compete with one another, but love usually rules the day.
That’s the case among Liverpool FC and the Boston Red Sox, storied sports teams which share common ownership under the Fenway Sports Group corporate umbrella.
Red Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy provided insight Tuesday into how the historic sports teams celebrate and feed off of each others’ successes. Liverpool currently is in contention for the Premier League and UEFA Champions League titles in 2018-19, and the Red Sox, World Series champions in 2018, hope their soccer brethren can match the success they enjoyed last season.
“It’s hard to even dream that big, but at this point in the season there’s obviously a chance,” Kennedy told NESN.com on Tuesday at Fenway Park when asked about the prospect of Liverpool winning domestic and/or European titles.
“(FSG principal owner) John Henry, (FSG president) Mike Gordon and (FSG chairman) Tom Werner got involved with Liverpool Football Club to win trophies. They got involved with the Red Sox in 2002 to do everything we possibly could to win championships and trophies. So we’re all … massive fans and supporters (of Liverpool).”
Kennedy revealed how FSG’s various sports teams and business properties believe they continually must raise their respective games, lest their corporate cousins out-shine them in the most important aspect: winning.
“Within the Fenway Sports Group family of companies you don’t want to be the one sitting around the board room with a team that’s not performing well,” he said with a chuckle. “There definitely is a healthy competition, but we all cheer for each other.”
After all, the Red Sox’s and Liverpool’s owners are helpful, yet demanding.
“This ownership group invested heavily into all of their teams. They’re really into it for on-field success.”
Kennedy, a Brookline, Mass., native, and his family have become die-hard Reds since FSG bought Liverpool in October 2010. The Kennedy’s spend many a weekend morning watching the team’s Premier League games.
“It’s easy to fall in love with this club, he said. “My whole family, we watch the matches. They’re on at a great time in the morning so we’re so into it. It has been great fun to become a supporter.”
Liverpool will play a preseason game July 21 at Fenway Park against Sevilla FC. Kennedy hopes the Reds might be able to parade the Premier League trophy and/or the European Cup at Friendly Fenway, just like the New England Patriots did alongside the Red Sox earlier this month prior to Boston’s home opener.
“No matter what happens, they’re going to be here this summer,” he said. “Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the international friendly has a little more significance.”
Liverpool will determine whether this season proves historically successful in the coming weeks. The Reds have a one-point lead atop the Premier League standings (at the time of this writing) with three games remaining. Their two-game Champions League semifinal series against FC Barcelona will kick off next week, and the final of European soccer’s elite club competition will be June 1 in Madrid.
