The sound of 20 cash registers closing rapidly began to fade, as the ringing became overpowered by the volume levels of several voices. Usually my introverted-self would find this setting to be incredibly overwhelming. But instead, I thought of it as appealing.
Once I concluded my internship with the Salem Red Sox, I filled my car to the brim with all of my belongings and headed for Boston. Moving back to Boston meant not only was I on the hunt for a full-time job, but needed some sort of work to bring in a paycheck for the time being. After taking a day to recover from the road-trip, I printed several copies of my resume and headed into the city to find work. Naturally, I headed straight for Fenway and applied to one of my must-stop places at the ballpark…the Red Sox Team Store.
Growing up, the store was a place I looked forward to going on every trip to Boston. Each trip included purchasing several clothing and collectable items that made it difficult to fully zip my suitcase. But, it made me happier than ever to have all of the new items on display in my bedroom or in my closet ready to wear.
As soon as I expressed interest in a sales associate position, I immediately went through the interview process and was officially hired! I never worked in retail before, but was thrilled to be employed at a place that I always looked forward to visiting for so many years. Plus, spending 5-6 days a week at the ballpark was an automatic bonus.
I like to think I caught onto the job quickly, but my first day aligned with the start of the last homestand of the season. This meant Jersey Street would be flooded with fans at the start of business hours through after the end of the game.
During the homestand I stood at the register constantly in ready position to help the hundreds of customers that filtered through. Something I immediately noticed is the amount of baseball fans from all over the world that entered the team store to find the right item to take back home with them and preserve. Not only did I meet people who were from different states, but countries including; Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Mexico. At times when the store was calmer, I had the opportunity to hold conversations with the individuals and learn what drew them to Boston, or more specifically, Fenway Park.
It always made me smile to learn Fenway was a bucket list item for these individuals as they grew up hearing about the history of the organization. What made me smile even wider was telling people what I love about the organization and even getting to put a stamp on their Major League Baseball Ballpark Passport. Of course, I always offered the job of stamping to the passport owner, but was always secretly honored when they requested I do it!
I was only employed at the Team Store for a short 5 weeks before accepting my current job with the Portland Sea Dogs. However, the start of the baseball season has me thinking about the thousands upon thousands of fans that will be visiting Fenway Park for the first time this year, and how I am really going to miss hearing about where they are from and what made them want to indulge in Boston’s incredible history.
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