No More Sweet Caroline at Fenway?? Really?

 
Sweet Caroline Fenway Mix from Don Kelley on Vimeo.
It's been a tradition in the middle of the 8th inning for years. They play "Sweet Caroline" and the crowd has a great time singing along. A few years ago I made a special mix...crowd noise I had recorded over the years mixed in with Neil singing. We'd play it on the radio on Magic 106.7 every time the Red Sox won. (In 2008 I had to rush in on a Friday night and edit out the "Man-ny, Man-ny" chant.)

One Saturday a couple of years ago Tom Werner was on the way to Fenway and he heard it on the air. When the song ended the DJ, Candy O'Terry, said, "This special Fenway version of 'Sweet Caroline' was put together by our Program Director, Don Kelley." On Monday Tom Werner called me at the radio station and said he really enjoyed it and can he have a copy? Sure thing.

Last year, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Fenway, I put together a video of Fenway shots accompanied by my "Sweet Caroline" mix. I picked a poor year to do it, and today it was announced that they're dropping the song and replacing it with "At Fenway" by Brian Evans as of next Monday's home opener. I think I get the reasoning, but nobody will sing along to Brian Evans because nobody knows him or the song. Not yet, anyway.

So if you think you'll miss hearing the crowd singing to Neil Diamond in the middle of the 8th, click on the video above to remember how much fun it was.