But not as fun as it used to be.
Who remembers the old days of Red Sox Kid Nation? Did anyone else take part in it, or have had kids who did it? My sister and I were loyal members of Kid Nation until we both outgrew it. Not that either of us asked to get signed up, but my parents paid the fee so we could get free tickets in the grandstand area, and my sister and I got goodies every year. Namely, a tin Red Sox lunchbox, inside of which would be a kid-sized Red Sox Kid Nation baseball cap (the design would change every year, and it always had the year on the back), a stress-ball that looked like a baseball, a lanyard, and some other things that varied depending on the year.
I actually still have my Red Sox Kid Nation hat from 2009, because until last season it was my go-to Red Sox hat. It is way too small for my head, both now and then. I have my 2011 hat somewhere as well. My favorite one growing up was the 2010 hat, but it flew off my head as I hit the landing of the Yankee Cannonball ride at Canobie Lake Park and into the bromine-tinged waters below. A pretty New-England experience, if you ask me. Here’s the 2009 hat:
It’s a nice thing that the Red Sox organization still does, but it’s more online-focused now than it was back then, and there’s less physical things for kids to own, unless they use that handy-dandy discount at the team store. These days it’s more about earning virtual badges and discounts on stuff. No more lunchboxes, from what I understand. It was also formerly sponsored by Hood and is instead now sponsored by Dick’s Sporting G—I mean House of Sport.
If you have young kids that might be interested in this sort of thing, or if you’re interested in free tickets, I found the current Kid’s Nation link here. It’s a free membership for kids aged 14 and under.