As the daughter of a past member of the BLOHARDS (Benevolent Loyal Order of Honorable Ancient RedSox Diehard Sufferers), who spent years being driven around Long Island, New York in my Dad's gold Camaro donning a bumper sticker that said "I Love New York Too, it's the Yankees I Hate", I feel the pain of growing up behind enemy lines. I even had "Red Sux Fan" and "Bucky Dent's Girlfriend" spray-painted on my locker. I was seven at the time. My upbringing, which included an update each morning of a "really good day" translation Red Sox won, Yankees lost (or variations on that theme depending upon the outcome of the previous days' games), instilled upon me a love of the Red Sox that eventually came full circle in 2004. Not only did my company, Boston Duck Tours christen Red Sox Nathan, a proud member of our fleet, but also we had the sincere honor of carrying the championship team during their Rolling Rally celebration. This was truly the most memorable day of my career and the pinnacle of personal triumphs.

In speaking to potential constituents regarding my platform, suggestions included, "beer served at your seats until the end of the game," and "invent a female version of a urinal, to cut down on lines." Instead, I base my candidacy on what makes each and every one of us lifelong fans, through good times and bad. We must continue to:
- Let Manny be Manny,
- Roll the dice on big-ticket wildcards like Dice-K,
- Give Wakefield his own catcher,
- Forgo a new, modern stadium for historic, cozy Fenway.
Bottom line, we're all here for the same reason, to support the best team with the heart and soul to match.

My name is Rob Crawford, "Regular Rob,", and like you, I'm pretty sure I was born to be president of Red Sox Nation. Let me tell you a little about myself.

I was raised just outside of Cleveland Circle and on most summer evenings during my youth, I would ride the C-line to Fenway Park with my father and brother, Ben, to buy “standing room only” tickets and stand directly under the Section 25 sign.

One of four siblings, all of whom attended Brookline High School, I grew up in a Red Sox household where first-reading-rights to the Boston Globe sports section were fought over every morning; serious wiffle ball was played every day after school, year-round (imitating Dwight Evans' batting stance was my specialty); and the only TV shows allowed on school nights were Red Sox games on channel 38.

My father, Reverend James W. Crawford, wrote a rhyming poem each Opening Day for the principals of his children's schools, seeking forgiveness for the hookey that we would be playing once again. My dad and I have not missed a home-opener in 30 years.

For ten years, I pitched in Boston's Yawkey Amateur Baseball League for Avi Nelson Club; in the league's 1993 all-star game, played at Fenway Park, I pitched two scoreless innings despite giving up a memorable blast off the Green Monster. The most exhilarating part of that experience was warming up in the Red Sox bullpen. I was inducted into the league's hall of fame in 2003 (OK, so it's not quite Cooperstown, but regular fans don't get into that Hall).

In 2004, I co-wrote and recorded the Red Sox song, We're Comin', under the alias Crawdaddy and The Cursebusters. The song was played over the loudspeakers at Fenway prior to playoff and World Series games, and it received a rating of one star (out of four) from Larry Katz in the Boston Herald.

I had several outstanding teachers at Brookline High School who inspired me to become a teacher, so I taught middle school English and coached youth athletics for the first eight years of my career. Now 38 and living in Wellesley with my wife and four children, ages 8 to 1, I'm an elementary school administrator and I coach in Wellesley's Little League. The miracles of baseball and the joys of living and dying with the Red Sox continue to be integral to my family's life.

This July, I wrote the song, I'm A Member of Red Sox Nation, with my friends Dan and Michele Page, then recorded the song in my basement on my Mac laptop, perched atop an air hockey table. The song debuted at Fenway Park during the fifth inning of the July 18 game vs. Kansas City. (It has not been reviewed yet by Larry Katz, but I'm really pulling for two stars this time around.) I believe there are many ways for me to be a winner in this campaign. Getting the most votes is one way. Having thousands of kids across New England asking their parents to play “the Red Sox Nation song” one more time – that would be another.

If I were elected President of Red Sox Nation, my first act would be to solicit applications for, then appoint, 10 "Red Sox angels" in New England, each of whom would be given a block of 4 season tickets to give away, game by game, to people whose lives – for whatever reason - would be deeply touched by a trip to Fenway for a Red Sox home game (that's 40 tickets per game). There is already unprecedented joy at Fenway Park. Here is a way to make a quantum leap in Fenway Joy, with 3,240 people per year experiencing the euphoria of Fenway through the miraculous channel of random (but targeted) generosity.

Red Sox Nation isn't a government – and it doesn't really need any governing. Red Sox Nation is a worldwide, diverse band of men and women, girls and boys of all ages whose lives and moods are, for better or for worse, tangled up with the fate of the Red Sox. Yet I imagine that the Nation's experience could be enhanced by a president who represents the millions of “regular fans” around the world, someone who grew up near Boston in a Sox-crazed family and who is now raising young, passionate Red Sox fans in his own home, witnessing the impact of the magic of baseball, Fenway Park, and the Red Sox first hand in his children's lives, today.

Some of us were born Red Sox fans, and some of us became Red Sox fans later in life for an infinite number of reasons. Some of know who Jack Brohamer and John Wasdin are, and some of us don't know and don't care – yet love the Sox as ardently as those who have been steeped in Red Sox tradition for decades. For some of us, our main goal in life is to see the Red Sox win the World Series; for all of us, it's certainly among our top-three. Some of us wear blue Sox hats, some of us wear green Sox hats, some of us wear pink Sox hats, and those of us with really great hair go hatless. Regardless of our particular fashion choices, however, we're all part of Red Sox Nation, all part of an insane family unlike any other on the planet.

I would relish the opportunity to represent the voices and hearts of Red Sox Nation in the Red Sox organization and to be the ultimate liaison between fans and the team, working imaginatively to find more ways to bring the Red Sox and Fenway Park experience to members of the Nation – and future members of the Nation -- everywhere. I thank you for your vote – and I hope you like the song!

If elected, I make 10 promises:
1. That I will get Luis Tiant, Jim Rice, Smokey Joe Wood and Janet Marie Smith into the Hall of Fame. Tip O'Neill made me promise I would fight for Smokey Joe to my deathbed.
2. That the Red Sox will provide every youngster in New England a video of Dwight Evans playing right field, so they can learn how to play that position correctly.
3. That all politicians have to pay their way into the park.
4. That, like Lyndon Johnson in 1960, Jerry Remy will be asked to be my running mate. After all, I was the first guy in Boston to discover him, at Somerset High School. And The Rev. Thomas Kennedy will be my Secretary of State, for the good of world peace, and rigging deals to get the best international players into the Red Sox farm system.
5. That the farthest west rest area on the Massachusetts Turnpike will be renamed "Wasdin Place."
6. That MIT will be renamed Matsuzaka Institute of Technology.
7. That we will built a seating section so that 1000 kids a game can get in--via a lottery--for $5 a head.
8. That if we can have cities and towns named after Red Sox like Wiilamstown, Lynn, Everett, Montgomery, Lee, the town of Westin will be renamed "Ortizton."
9. That Pearl Jam will play Fenway.
10. That every Opening Day, every school in New England will play Ken Coleman's call of Carl Yastrzemski's catch off Tom Tresh preseving Bill Rohr's no-hitter against the Yankees in 1967.

Student, player, businessman, analyst, fan - through each phase of my life there has always been one common thread – the game of baseball. From the age of 7, when I held my first bat, to the present day, everything I have done has been centered on my lifelong love of baseball. But let's face it – Red Sox baseball is in a league of its own. And there is no group with greater passion than Red Sox fans.

Sure, I've been blessed to play for the Red Sox and work as their analyst and ambassador, but what I love best is just being a Red Sox fan. From the bleachers to the boxes, the Green Monster seats to the grandstands, whether it is Fenway or another ballpark around the country, I sit alongside fans from all walks of life. But we all have one thing in common – a passion for Red Sox baseball.

That's why I'm running for President of Red Sox Nation. When elected I will keep doing what I love – go to baseball games, teach skills to young people, bring the game to people in disadvantaged areas, and show love to fellow fans. I will continue to develop new kinds of social networks for Red Sox Nation, such as Sawxheads.com, a MySpace for sports, and unique events in Boston and around the country promoting a more personal connection between the game, its players and the fans.

There are millions of people of all ages who love to share their stories, their pictures and their experiences with the only other people who truly understand-fellow Red Sox fans. So, when elected, I'll make it my mission to expand Red Sox nation to support and promote what we all have in common – our passion for Boston Red Sox baseball.

Join my world ~ this is what drives me!

I'm running for President of Red Sox Nation for ten reasons. First, I've always wanted to be the President of something; at this point, I don't really care what it is. Second, I think I can get free tickets out of this. Third, I heard Mike O'Malley might run, and as much as I enjoy his work, we can't let him be President after he already subjected us to seven years of "Yes, Dear." Fourth, I'm the guy who once wrote a column called "Why Roger Clemens is the Anti-Christ," you have to vote me just for that. Fifth, unlike with that chainsmoker Jerry Remy, you'd never have to worry about my health during my tenure - and even if something does happen to me, you'll be in capable hands with my running mate, Rich Garces. Sixth, I dressed up as Fred Lynn for two straight Halloweens in '75 and '76- even as a kid, I was making great decisions. Seventh, I'm sure you have people in your life - in the office, in your dorm, in your family - who claim to be true Sox fans but couldn't pick Todd Benzinger or Dewey Evans out of a police lineup. I'm going to create a nationwide competency test to weed out these bandwagon jerks. Eighth, I spent the last four years in California learning about political leadership from the great Arnold Schwarzenegger - with that kind of training, I'm going to be unstoppable. Ninth, I have not one, not two but THREE friends named Sully. That has to count for something. And tenth, I'm going to use my presidential powers to get more free stuff for kids - free Red Sox Nation memberships, free tickets, free stuff from the Pro Shop and everything else. Vote for Simmons or you're basically admitting that you don't care about kids.

Rick Swanson, born in New Britain, resides in Glastonbury, CT. Married since 1985 with 3 children. P.E. teacher. I went to my first Red Sox game in 1957, when TW hit a tying home run in the ninth against NY. Lucky enough to be there for Longborg, Fisk, and Papi, faithful enough to be there for Bucky, Buckner and Boone.

Wrote the following to the owner, president, and GM of the team after game 2 in 2004. "I'm going to say something now that probably no other Red Sox fan would even say, or even think. I hope they lose game three and fall behind 3 games to zero. Then I want to see the greatest comeback ever in the history of baseball. The 2004 Boston Red Sox will be the first team in baseball history to come back from the grave, and win a 7 game series after losing the first 3 games. Then on top of that they will then go on to win the World Series in four straight, over the Cardinals."

The number one priority of my platform, is to influence the leaders to make the best trades, and play the right people at the right time, and to assist in leading the Red Sox to a World Championship every year. Well at least 2 in a row.
2. To put a team on the field that the fans love. Every effort will be made to bring back Orlando Cabrera, and Dave Roberts.
3. Johnny Pesky will be back in the dugout before October 1, if I am elected on September 29.
4. Red Sox Nation will be a free nation for all who want to participate. Any Red Sox fan with passion will be in. Pink hats too.
5. To create Red Sox World and hotel with 200 rooms with a view over the monster looking down on Fenway built over the Mass Pike. Better than Disneyland for all Red Sox fans. Machinima avatars will recreate every great game in Red Sox history.
6. Retire number 25.
7. Eliminate Standing from Standing Room Only, with a Walkstool for all.
8. Have an Okajima titanium necklace day, where all fans receive the same red and white necklace, with the same magical powers.
9. Put a new statistic to measure defense into baseball. Reaction and Range.
10. Replay games by editing each game so you only see the last pitch of every at bat. A complete game will be shown in 30 minutes.