When it comes to Boston-area sports, Lynnfield has the distinction of having been home to numerous athletes over the years, particularly some popular members of the Bruins and the Red Sox.

However, it's been a long, long time since Carl Yastrzemski allegedly re-sodded his front lawn in Lynnfield with turf from Fenway's outfield - and those glorious days of 2004 and 2007 are starting to feel almost as remote as the long-ago "Impossible Dream" team.

So here's the deal. This isn't Florida Marlins country. A lot of us on the North Shore have Red Sox roots that go back three or four generations. I'm told that my grandfather used to be up on a ladder working on his house in Salem back in the 1950s and he'd be yelling at the game as it played on a little transistor radio down on the ground.

At the end of the 1970s, my Aunt Pat took me to my first-ever Red Sox game - and the lineup reads like a Hall of Fame ballot - Carlton Fisk, Fred Lynn, Jim Rice, Dwight Evans, and Yaz to name a few - while others I remember seeing at that first game include Rick Burleson, Butch Hobson, Bob Stanley, and I think Jerry Remy. Presumably, Gary "Muggsy" Allenson or maybe even Bob Montgomery might have been the backup catcher that night. But either way - that's how far back my Red Sox roots go.

Looking back to 2004, that time in local lore was such a great time to be a longtime fan, and such a great time to be from the Boston area. It was a heck of a week to move to another state and not have cable.

That said, this lifelong fan isn't too happy with the current state of the team, or the contracts they've saddled themselves with for much of the remaining decade. There's also just this big whiff of unlikeability coming from the Fenway vicinity these days. But their farm system still looks (fairly) promising, the ownership has delivered two championships already despite a more recent string of bad personnel moves, and a solid nucleus of talent is still in place.

So what do you think? Are you still into the Red Sox this year or have you reverted to the old "Wait 'Til Next Year" mode?  Vote in the poll below or feel free to share your own Red Sox memories and thoughts in the comment boxes below!