Anecdotal evidence suggests that after more than a week of
nail-biting, marathon playoff action between two of the most
bitter rivals in all of professional sports, millions of Boston
Red Sox and New York Yankees fans may be weary and unable to
focus on their jobs, relationships -- or even their families.
In Boston and New York, employees have openly admitted to
arriving late or missing work over the last few days because of
games that set length records. Employers, meanwhile, have
noticed sluggish, distracted workers seeming to need more
caffeine to function properly.
"There are just a lot of tired people at work -- people
needing a couple of extra cups of coffee to get through the
day," said Ellen Molle, a spokeswoman for Sovereign Bank in
Boston.
Stephen Greyser, a professor of sports marketing at Harvard
Business School and a Red Sox season ticket holder, likened
fans' anxiety to the stress of taking on a second job.
The games' impact has even been felt on Wall Street:
Financial players overseas have noticed U.S. colleagues
appearing distracted by the contest.
"I did see that they took a little time to respond to the
good news from IBM and Texas Instruments," said David Buik,
head of business strategy at spread-betting firm Cantor Index
in London, speaking about reaction to favorable earnings
reports from the technology bellwethers. "They seem to be
focused on the ball game."
LIKE 'AN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIP'
Life should return to normal for half of the fan base after
Wednesday night's showdown in the Bronx, where either the
Yankees or the Red Sox will win a trip to the World Series (news - web sites) --
baseball's championship.
But for fans of the winning club, it could be more of the
same as their team plays another best-of-seven series against
either the Houston Astros or the St. Louis Cardinals.
The sense of anxiety is arguably more acute for Red Sox
faithful, who are desperate for their club to defeat the
arch-rival Yankees and advance to the World Series.
Some believe their team is cursed, noting the Sox have not
won a championship since 1918. The Yankees, meanwhile, have won
26 championships over the same 86-years -- an astonishing mark
of success.
David Barlow, director of the Center for Stress and Anxiety
Disorders at Boston University, said being a Red Sox fan has
similarities to being in an abusive relationship -- and that
becomes more pronounced during the playoffs.
"You get beaten down, battered down, slapped around, then
all of a sudden you get picked up," he said.
"I wouldn't be a bit surprised about worker productivity
dropping this week among fans who are so intently focused and
anxiously anticipating the outcome of each game."
A Red Sox fan himself, he admitted to arriving late at work
Wednesday because he stayed up to watch Tuesday's game.
Yet another source of the baseball fever gripping the
Northeast is that for observers of America's Pastime these are
not just ballgames, they are historic milestones laden with
emotional peaks and troughs.
The Red Sox came into the American League Championship
Series favored to win; they promptly dropped the first three
games to the Yankees, including a humiliating 19-8 loss at home
Saturday night.
Pundits had written them off Sunday, as no team in Major
League Baseball history has managed to force a Game Seven after
trailing 3-0 in a best-of-seven series.
But the Red Sox proved the naysayers wrong, winning two
back-to-back, come-from-behind games in extra innings to set up
Tuesday's Game Six. They won that, too, in a 4-2 stunner, which
set up Wednesday's decisive Game Seven.
