"You should enter a ballpark the way you enter a church."

~ Bill 'Spaceman' Lee~

All Shamanism is Local Shamanism  

Meaning that although the shamanic principles are universal, the local myths and legends of a people dominate a culture, which their rituals must embody, as a unifying folklore.   

Such a common mythology is difficult to find though, within a people of such divergent tribal backgrounds. 

But, Americans do have one mythos in common that unites them in ritual experience.

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"I believe in the Church of Baseball.  I tried all the major religions and most of the minor ones.  I've worshipped Buddha, Allah, Brahma, Vishnu, Siva, trees, mushrooms and Isadora Duncan.  I know things.  For instance, there are 108 beads in a Catholic rosary and there are 108 stitches in a baseball.  When I learned that, I gave Jesus a chance . But it just didn't work out between us ..... I've tried 'em all, I really have, and the only church that truly feeds the soul, day in, day out, is the Church of Baseball"

~ Ron Shelton "Bull Durham" 1988 ~

Fenway Park

  Home of the Boston Red Sox

 http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/ .

One of the joys of New England life is returning to the chapel that is the home of the Boston Red Sox; Fenway Park.  Unlike other Shrines, though, this house of worship generates electricity.  It is a place where visitors can see the invisible murals that have been painted and left behind by the men who have played there in years gone by...

That glorious "chapel" called Fenway Park began its formal life history in September 1911 when ground was broken by the James McLaughlin Construction Company.  Less than a year later, (and after two rain delays),  Fenway Park finally hosted its first professional baseball game on April 20, 1912. 

(The first official game played in Fenway Park actually occurred on April 9 when the Red Sox beat Harvard University, 2-0.)  

A century later the hallowed grounds are still standing despite the commercialization of virtually every aspect of the game.

"As I grew up, I knew that as a building Fenway Park was on the level of Mount Olympus, the Pyramid at Giza, the nation's capitol, the Czar's Winter Palace, and the Louvre; except, of course, that it is better than all those inconsequential places." (Baseball Commissioner Bart Giamatti)

"As Commissioner, you’re supposed to be objective. It wasn’t much of a secret, though, that I loved Fenway; especially how it made you a participant, not a spectator." (Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn)

"The thing that I remember the most is just the feeling you get when you walk out on that field. All of the ballparks, especially the new ones, and Camden Yards, I guess, started the trend, try to capture in the modern sense the feeling of Fenway Park. It's just a great feeling to be able to play baseball on that field. It's a special place." (Cal Ripken, Jr in Sports Illustrated)

"Fenway is the essence of baseball." (Tom Seaver in the Christian Science Monitor)

"I'm helplessly and permanently a Red Sox fan. It was like first love...You never forget. It's special. It's the first time I saw a ballpark. I'd thought nothing would ever replace cricket. Wow! Fenway Park at 7 o'clock in the evening. Oh, just, magic beyond magic: never got over that."  (Art Historian Simon Schama in 'History in Brilliant Brushstrokes')

"That moment, when you first lay eyes on that field; The Monster, the triangle, the scoreboard, the light tower Big Mac bashed, the left-field grass where Ted Williams once roamed ; it all defines to me why baseball is such a magical game." (ESPN Analyst Jayson Stark)

"That's the magic of Fenway Park . That’s why people love it so. Come to think of it, at Fenway almost every year is a wonder year."  (Red Sox Announcer Ned Martin)

"New England's parlor, a region's nightclub, and the Olde Towne Team's hearth. To generations of Americans, going to Fenway Park has been like coming home." (Curt Smith in 'Our House : A Tribute to Fenway Park')

“A crazy-quilt violation of city planning principles, an irregular pile of architecture, a menace to marketing consultants, Fenway Park works. It works as a symbol of New England 's pride, as a repository of evergreen hopes, as a tabernacle of lost innocence. It works as a place to watch baseball."  (Martin F. Nolan in 'A Ballpark, Not a Stadium')

"We love Fenway Park because we love antiques, be they rocking chairs or ballparks. But we love it even more because the eccentricities of the place mirror our own. It is, like us, difficult and cranky. And this makes it a mighty hard place for a player to play in. Too bad. Players come and go, but Fenway Park may become an American Pyramid." (Boston Red Sox Sportscaster Clark Booth in 'Fenway' by Dan Shaughnessy)

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.The Royal Rooter's Anthem 

The original version of "Tessie" (You Are the Only, Only, Only) was written by Will R. Anderson and was featured in the Broadway musical "The Silver Slipper". While a popular tune, the song gained greater notoriety when it was adopted as a rallying cry by the Royal Rooters, a collection of loyal fans led by Michael T. McGreevy, better  known as "Nuff Ced McGreevy", owner of the original Boston sports bar, the 3rd Base Saloon . Which got its name because, like third base, it was the last stop before heading home.

In any other city, when you win the World Series,

people shake your hand and say 'congratulations'. 

In Boston they shake your hand and say 'thank you'." 

~Johnny Damon 'Boston Red Sox 2004'~