he old man sat on a wooden bench in front of his Peterborough Street apartment yesterday afternoon, talking with a few of his friends. He wore a Red Sox hat that covered all but few of his gray hairs.
Yes, Dan Bienert had heard about the proposal for a new stadium. He's been a Sox fan since the 1940s and a season ticket-holder since 1973.
He's even a member of Save Fenway Park, and he attended a meeting last Thursday at the Church of the Seventh Day Adventists.
But Bienert knows it would be tough to renovate the current park. And he's not about to abandon his team if it abandons the old ballyard.
''I'll still go, regardless,'' Bienert said. ''Unless they moved to North Adams or Falmouth. But I won't cancel my season tickets, as long as they're here.''
Edward Mitchell and Jim Plauski, a pair of Hull residents who grew up with the Red Sox, think it's time for the local nine to move on. While grabbing lunch at the Cask N' Flagon, they said the team would benefit from a new park - especially if it wants to compete for high-priced free agents.
''If I owned the team,'' Mitchell said, ''I would think they need the extra money coming in.''
''Change is good,'' said Plauski, ''in a way.''
Feelings at South Station were split, with some fans lamenting the demise of another Boston landmark, as this announcement comes four years after Boston Garden shut down. Others welcomed the modern conveniences that would come with a newer, larger park.
''They should keep Fenway,'' said Rich Sites of Boston.
''They took the Garden, but don't take Fenway.''
''I am a Yankee fan, but I do like Fenway,'' said John Jaskiemy of South Attleboro. ''They should keep it as a monument.''
