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December 3, 2009

Andover author roots for home teams - and writes about them

New guide book sprinkled with history

By Judy Wakefield

Put up a scoreboard and they'll come.

That's been the story of Boston area sports fans and an Andover author lights it up with his new book on the subject.

Chris Klein of Andover is the writer of "The Die Hard Sports Fan's Guide to Boston" (Union Park Press, paperback, $17.95).

When Klein calls this spectator's handbook, "a labor of love," he truly means it. He's a lifelong member of Boston's die hard sports fan club, which he believes is a wicked good club to be in.

"There's really no other part of the country like Boston," said this Andover High School graduate who just bought a house in town three weeks ago. Texas may have its football and Minnesota its hockey, but Boston has four popular professional sports teams and devoted fans following each of them - or all of them.

What's different about Klein's book style it combines historical Boston sports facts with a guide to everything you need to know about going to a sporting event today. It includes the standard guide information on ticket prices, nearby restaurants and disability access. But, it also gives the scoop on sports history: that Fenway Park opened the same week that the Titanic sank (April 1912) and that the infamous John Deere tractor from the Patriots "snow game" against Miami hangs proudly from the rafters at the team's Hall of Fame at Patriot Place?

Klein said he peppered the book with historical sports facts so that readers won't get bogged down with them in what is really a guide book, complete with helpful spectator tips and tips on scoring autographs.

"There's enough of those books out there," he said of sports history books. "I wanted to encapsulate some history that would show (readers) how we got here."

His research shows that Boston's die hard sports fan probably arrived among the early immigrants.

"A city known as the Athens of America shares with the ancient Greeks a love of sports," he writes.

Maybe Bostonians love sports because athletic success is based on individual talent, not one's social and economic background, he writes, noting that's "a democratic concept that still resounds in the city that launched the American Revolution."

The four professional sports teams are not the only ones getting attention in Klein's book. Horse racing, lacrosse, boxing, minor sports leagues and high school championships also are covered.

What Klein likes about the non-professional sports is the innocence.

"It's sports in the purest form," Klein said. "You can get off the couch and enjoy it."

Klein, who has a 19-month-old son with his wife Erin, sure does. Andover High School boys and girls basketball games are favorites.

"No agents, no salaries, just good basketball on a cold December night," he said.

This author spent about a year researching the book, which he good-naturedly laughed about.

"There was lots of research, you can't argue that...You know, all the arenas, the hotdogs, the beer," he laughed.

But seriously, it was a labor of love, he said. He's a die-hard Boston sports fan and hopes the book is helpful to others like him.

KLEIN'S TOP 10 SPORTS EVENTS

1. Marathon Monday

2. Red Sox Opening Day

3. Celtics-Lakers

4. The Beanpot

5. Red Sox-Yankees

6. Head of the Charles Regatta

7. Harvard-Yale Football

8. Bruins-Canadiens

9. Cape Cod League Baseball

10. Thanksgiving High School Football

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Andover author roots for home teams - and writes about them
by By Judy Wakefield , , Thu Dec 03, 2009, 04:58 AM EST
Arts/Entertainment

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