People Are Sharing Personal Memories About Fenway So They Can Win a Pair of Boots

Red Sox fans are talking about their favorite times at the park for a contest sponsored by L.L. Bean.

Almost everyone from the Boston-area has some sort of memory that is connected to the Red Sox, or Fenway Park in general.

The historically recognized ball field has been the centerpiece for countless special occasions—from wedding proposals, to birthday celebrations, and even first dates—for hundreds of thousands of sports fans over the years.

To extract those memories from peoples’ brains, and get them to share their most nostalgic experiences of time spent watching the Red Sox, L.L. Bean has launched a contest where 50 people can get their hands on limited-edition boots made of up-cycled Fenway Park tarp from the 2012 season. The tarp was used during the 100th anniversary celebration of Fenway Park. Each pair of boots will be custom made for the winners.

In order to snag a pair of the “Fenway Bean Boots,” locals merely have to gush about their fondness for Fenway Park, and open up their personal lives on L.L. Bean’s Facebook fan page.

In just the few days since the contest launched, more than 1,000 people have shared their experiences at the ball field, including tales about loved ones, and even their first time at the park.

Here are a few of the memories (careful, some of them are tearjerkers) that have been shared so far:

A big day:

My son, Denny, is a transplant/oncology patient at Boston Children’s Hospital and Dana Farber. The Red Sox and the Jimmy Fund of Dana Farber have an inspiring partnership to fight against cancer. In August of this year, my then three year old son was honored to say the magic words “PLAY BALL” to start the game. We practiced for an entire month leading up to the game – and when the words came out with gusto, I have never been more proud! -Mandy Hubbard Schoonmaker

A proposal:

A bunch of us went to a Red Sox game at Fenway. The whole game, my then boyfriend, was very distracted and kept turning around to look at the jumbotron, which was behind us. It was very unlike him to not be concentrating on the game, so I started to wonder what was up. Some time during the 7th inning, “Congratulations Dirk and Heidi” appeared on the jumbotron and as I turned to my boyfriend, he said, “Oh that must be because of this!” and pulled a ring box out of his pocket. He was so nervous, he never even asked me to marry him! I, of course, said yes and our whole section clapped and cheered. The Red Sox ended up beating the Oakland A’s, 9-0 that game and we have been married for 6 years now. When we had our daughter in 2010, we took her to her first Red Sox game at Fenway at 6 weeks old and they played the Oakland A’s! -Heidi Kokmeyer

First time at Fenway:

Once the gate opened I figured that [my son, Karl] would race to the park, but that didn’t happen. He stopped, asked for my cellphone and dialed his grandfather’s number – a lifelong Red Sox fan – and told him where he was. “I can’t believe it, Grumpa!”, he said. Then we walked into the park….one of the most memorable few minutes of my life. The facial expression of this kid was priceless. The bright colors of the park glowed in the sunlight. Since we were so early, he knew exactly what he wanted to see (from what he read in books about Fenway Park) – Pesky’s pole, the Ted Williams seat, the Monster, Wally, the dugouts, the wall made of Lego’s…. everything. Of course he wanted to see all of the players that day, he both teams memorized, but it was the park that had his attention. -Shelley Sund

The chance to share similar memories from Fenway Park ends on October 20. The winners of the boots will be announced soon after. To read the rest of the stories from Red Sox fans, visit the L.L. Bean Facebook page.