Do you think that some Red Sox fans seem to forget...?

It's pretty funny. People HATE so EASILY that it is pathetic. My gosh, didn't the Sox not only break a mighty streak but didn't they make history? In fact, no one will ever be able to say that they were first to win a series after being down 3 games to none. The guy deserves a tip of the hat. What in the WORLD is a "sell-out"? Every free agent who left a team would be a sell-out. Oh, I can tell you, too, that in the old days players did not stick around our of choice, either, and the percentage of one-team players for their careers hasn't gone down, either.

MLB is a business. The Yankees offered Damon more money and he took it, so would anyone else. I think it is real dumb when fans do that to former players. This also happened with Jermaine Dye in Oakland, he helped them get to the playoffs almost single handedly. The next year he signed with the White Sox, and the A's fans booed him when he came back to play them. The A's didn't even offer him a contract. So don't boo or call the player a traitor until you know the whole deal.

I also have a question for those that read this. If you worked for Chevron and made $100,000 a year, the received a job offer from Shell for $150,000 a year, would you stay or go? If you say go to shell you have no room to call anyone a traitor because all Johnny Damon and any other free agent does is go to who pays more. If you say that you would stay, you're a liar.

What it says is what we all really hate to admit: that most baseball players are only as loyal to their fans and team as the money that team is willing to fork out. Now, I think Red Sox fans should be grateful to Damon for being such an integral part of that '04 team but I also understand why they'd give him a hard time now - going to the hated rival Yankees.

But Johnny Damon doesn't stay up at night thinking about how he might have let down any Boston fans. He's bringing in the millions to get that special new rug and furniture set.

the only thing i can say is the redsox made a good call. Johnny helped us tons in 04 and everything, but look at him now... I don't blame the redsox for not paying the extra... I mean i was so sad when he left, but i understand that baseball is a buisness and if they thought that to win they would need to not pay Damon as much as the yankees do, then i guess that's ok. Damon is not a superhero anymore, he's gotten older, not as fast, etc. If he was still out there doing amazing things for the yankees and playing better than 04 or something, i would be wayy more upset. and yes, I was one of those people who called him a traitor for a while, but then you realize that blaming people isn't going to change anything.

it does bother me a little, though, that he said after 04 that he would never go to the yankees and then he did.

I'm a Red Sox fan, and yes- Damon did help us out in 2004. But Sox fans still have every right to be upset with him because he got his ring, and then left us? And he basically left us for the money. Which is kind of upsetting because it shows that he didnt really care about the Sox, he just cared about the money.

My thinking would be that the fact that Damon departed for the Yankees made this a difficult pill to swallow for Red Sox fans. Had he left Boston for any other team, I believe he would still be thought of and treated fondly by Red Sox Nation.

That said, I do think Boston fans in general owe him a little more respect than they give. He was instrumental in their 2004 WS title, as you said. Boston has also gone on to win another WS since, so Damon's departure did not exactly destroy the team.

I think the biggest thing is that he left directly from the Red Sox to the Yankees. He was instrumental in the WS win and I'm sure Red Sox fans thought that an experience like that would solidify his position with the team. Because he left for more money (nothing wrong with that), the fans were broken-hearted and didn't want to forgive him.

Roger Clemens went through Toronto before he became a Yankee. Wade Boggs had it tough because he went directly from Sox to Yankees, but it didn't hurt as much because he never got a ring with us (but it was still controversial back then.) Damon really did tear the hearts of the fans out because he was one of the idiots... long hair, beard, scruffy, and then went to the Yankees and became clean cut. Like the money made him into someone else. Johnny, we hardly knew you anymore.

Not a Red Sox fan but they wouldn't have won their first World Series without Damon because he was a major part of their winning but it seems the fans have forgotten though.

Red Sox fans & Patriot fans forget the times BEFORE they ever won anything. It's called Patriot Logic, look it up in the Urban Dictionary. So Johnny Damon & fans of Johnny shouldn't expect any different. Thanx, we love you... Johnny WHO? Johnny the Traitor!

Some fans are very loyal to what they believe. Which means when they see one of their favorite players go to their rival, they are unhappy about it. Some players refuse to ever play for certain teams. Curt Schilling said he would never play for the Yankees. Damon got offered more money from the Yankees that Boston was not offering. It's part of the rivalry that fans and players get caught up in. What it all comes down to, it was a business decision for Damon. He got offered more money and years so he chose that. It's up to the fan whether or not to respect that.