There must be at least a dozen different ways to gauge the popularity of a major league sports franchise. If we're talking about a European soccer team, the easiest way may be to look at the value of its jersey deal - how much is it getting paid to wear its sponsor's name on the front of its jersey. With the exception of Major League Soccer, that idea has yet to catch on in the US so we must look at other metrics. In the case of baseball due to its long season and deep involvement in regional sports networks, one of way is to look at the viewership of games on those networks.
Fortunately, the good folks at Sports Business Journal are around to provide us with the numbers. For the first time since 2003, the Red Sox do not lead the majors in ratings for local cable networks, drawing a rating of 6.25 on NESN, down nearly 36% from last year. That was good for only fifth place this year behind the resurgent Cardinals, with a 9.7 on Fox Sports Midwest, the Twins (7.85 FS North), the Phillies (7.2 on CSN Philadelphia) and the newly Reds (6.52 on FS Ohio). It's no coincidence that each of those teams is locked in a tight race for a division lead, while the Red Sox are 8 games out of first in the AL East and had a very slow start.
This particular edition of the BoSox has simply failed to ignite the usual passion, despite the sellout of every home game, that is normally associated with Red Sox nation and how much is attributable to the slow start is anyone's guess. My guess is that Sox fans have become spoiled and that early season troubles made them apathetic. They will still go to home games since it is as much a social event as a baseball game but they're too apathetic to watch a game on TV. The cure is simple - win enough to catch the hated Yankees and all will be forgiven - even if that means staying home in October.
