One of the few downsides of my resuming full attention to the weird Boston Red Sox 2026 season is that I now have to watch the paid political ads between innings on NESN, the New England Sports Network that broadcasts Sox and Bruins games.

As background [Note: this is NOT a baseball-related post, so ye who have been deprived of love for the National Pastime by a quirks of mysterious God, don’t stop reading], the team played so wretchedly for so long—three full months—that I was forced to suspend viewership just to preserve my sanity, as all rational analysis led to the unavoidable conclusion that the team was a hopeless, inexplicable flop despite what should have been sufficient talent to compete, and watching the group find infuriating ways to lose was a waste of time and emotion. Unexpectedly, and almost without precedent in baseball history, Boston climbed from a dismal 32–46 record on June 24 and a 1% playoff probability to 61–51, capturing the second American League Wild Card spot and tying an 80-year-old franchise record with a 15-game winning streak. They are now in the midst of a new 6 game streak now, and are playing exciting, spirited baseball, most recently sweeping the Best Team Money Can Buy, the L.A. Dodgers, in the Evil Empire’s home stadium.

But the political ads! They are insulting, as the authors obviously believe Red Sox fans are morons, and, to be fair since I read the comments after team reports, many certainly are.