By Jesse Sanchez / MLB.com

Red Sox fans pack the streets just outside Fenway Park before Game 3 of the ALDS on Saturday. (Jason Kennedy/MLB.com)

But can you really define a Red Sox fan?

MLB.com ventured outside Fenway Park before Saturday's game in a search for the true meaning of being a Red Sox fan from the people who know best -- actual Red Sox fans.

So tell us Red Sox Nation, What is a Red Sox fan?

Chris Irr, 19, East Lyme, Mass.:
"A Red Sox fan is someone who is devoted to the Sox. It's someone who watches every game and hates to see them lose and loves to see them win. But a real fan is always there each year to stick it out and go through the whole struggle again. There are negative fans and positive fans out there. Negative ones think we will always blow it. The positive fans always think we can do it and we'll never give up that dream."

Analisa Raya-Flores, 18, Los Angeles:
"We love the players. My dad raised me to be a Sox fan and to support the players no matter what. My dad was the type of guy who considered converting to Judaism because Sandy Koufax was his favorite pitcher so that's how I was raised to love baseball and the Sox. It's very personal. When they lose, it's like taking a piece of our soul."

Bill Robinson, 23, Marshfield, Mass.:
"A Red Sox fan is very passionate and lives and dies by the team. We come out every day no matter if we win or lose. We give 100 percent, and we expect the players on the field to give 100 percent. We have the reputation of making things worse when things are bad, but it's a matter of us giving out the passion and we want to see the same passion given out on the field."

Phil Deslets, 24, Salisbury, Mass.:
"A Red Sox fan is a guy who just left a wedding that his girlfriend is in to be at this game. I don't care and I know I'm in trouble, but I had to be here for this game. It's all worth it and I think -- or at least I hope -- she will get over it. I can't miss seeing the Sox come back and win this thing. We did it in 1999 when we were down 0-2, and the Yankees did it to the A's a couple of years ago. We can do it, too. You never know. But then if we do comeback, we'll always wonder if they are going to break our hearts in the ninth inning or something."

Henry Lane, 72, Osterville, Mass.:
"Red Sox fans are diehard. We never get down even though we lose. Next year, they will sell out as many tickets as we did this year, if we win or not. Diehards always look at next year."

Pat Totten, 14, Quincy, Mass.:
"It comes from the heart. You love the Red Sox, and you hate the Yankees. It comes from the inside and it comes out. Your soul belongs to the Red Sox and you live and die with them. Red Sox are in your heart."

Bobby Harrington, 14, Quincy, Mass.:
"Red Sox fans are more than fans. We look at ourselves as warriors. See that guy with hat and jersey and all that gear? He's a true Red Sox Warrior like me."

Chris Ellms, 46, Sugar Hill, New Hampshire:
"We are historians. The curse and the triumphs are part of our history and lifetimes. We've come so close so many times in my lifetime, and losing late is almost part of history. We study the game pretty well and we are known as the greatest fans in the world. What else can I say?

Chris Ellms Jr. 12, Sugar Hill, New Hampshire:
"I've been a Red Sox fan my entire life. We are people who like the game, the team, and we hate the Yankees. We take it to a higher level than other fans. That's who we are."

Ben Sweeney, 18, Hopkinton, Mass.:
"A Red Sox fan is somebody who stays up to 3 am to watch the Sox with 30 of his buddies in a dorm room on a small TV with a resident advisor banging on your door telling you to be quiet. We're diehard all the way, man."

Nick Maloney, 19, Newton Mass.:
"Let me put it this way: It hurts more when the Red Sox lose than if your girlfriend dumped you. I was so ticked off when we lost on Wednesday and Thursday that I could not get out of bed the next day, I just couldn't do it. I don't have the words to tell you what a Red Sox fan is, but I can tell you that when the postseason ends, we count the days until the season begins. We watch preseason games like they are playoff games."

Holly Fairchild, 56, Plymouth, Mass.:
"A Red Sox fan is somebody who never gives up hope. If they are up or down, we love them. We are Red Sox fans in Boston and true fans are loyal."

Steve Fairchild, 62, Plymouth, Mass.:
"A Red Sox fan is a long-suffering sports fan. It has been a tortuous time since 1918. You have to remember Kaiser Wilhelm was the chancellor of Germany the last time we won a World Series. We remain patient and we hang on, but we are kind of jaded about success because we have been let down so many times."

Jesse Sanchez is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.