John Cena recently commented that he is getting flak in his hometown of Boston for switching his baseball allegiance from the Red Sox to the Tampa Bay Rays, who play where Cena is currently living in Florida. Cena spoke to Jimmy Traina of SI.com and says that the Red Sox have become the team they used to hate.
"Everybody, especially in the Boston area, literally wants me tried as a witch and burned at the stake," Cena said. "And I admire that about true Boston fans. Boston is a fantastic sports city."
Cena said of the Red Sox, "Fenway Park was a very different atmosphere when I used to go," he said. "And I've seen that place become a destination. I've seen it become a place where you go and buy a pink ball cap and a pink T-shirt and you don't know anybody on the team and you just enjoy the game...The Red Sox also by design have become the team that the Red Sox used to hate. They've become the Yankees," he told Traina. "They spend mega, mega money on talent and usually nine out of 10 times they're in a bidding war with the Yankees for talent."
Cena noted that he still follows the Sox, though. "I'm a sports fan. I still watch the Sox," he said. "I get NESN at the house. I still hear RemDawg [Jerry Remy] call the games. … I guess, like I said earlier about my character, I've always been me. When someone changes that drastically, it's like, ‘Ah the franchise turned their back on me as a fan. We used to be a bunch of rugged bums. Now we're a bunch of high end guys.' I don't know, it's tough."
