Has the Green Monster at Fenway Park lost some of its appeal?

When I was a kid, Fenway Park seemed to be the most magical place on earth, and the famous Green Monster was its most enchanting feature. However, while the allure of America's Most Beloved Ballpark remains, The Wall has, in my opinion, lost some of its appeal in recent years. Once a sacred monument to Red Sox tradition, the thirty-seven foot fence now resembles a giant billboard serving corporate greed. The magic has been diminished.

Perhaps it is because I'm British and, thus, more sensitive to such things, or perhaps it is because I have grown older, and now see baseball as the billion dollar business it is. But without question, I no longer see a beguiling landmark when I look at the Monster. Instead, I see a commercialised mess.

I still love the hand-operated scoreboard and all the nostalgia it entails, but right now, the beauty, authenticity and uniqueness of such features is shrouded in a haze of intrusive and often incongruous advertisements.

For instance, during this homestand, the Monster has been plastered with the logos and slogans of 12 different sponsors, from Volvo and Hyundai to CVS Pharmacy and W.B. Mason. Admittedly, several of the sponsorship slots are still dedicated to Red Sox charities such as the Jimmy Fund, which I totally admire, but the other advertisements frequently look vulgar. In particular, the three purpose-built ad boards atop the Monster command your attention and, therefore, ultimately detract from The Wall itself. The whole thing seems a little icky.

Of course, plastering sponsorship onto the outfield walls of Fenway Park is nothing new. In the early part of the park's existence, everything from shaving foam to cigarettes was advertised, including on the massive left-field fence. However, between The Wall being painted green in 1947 and the addition of an All-Star Game promotional logo in 1999, advertisements were disallowed on the sacrosanct structure.

During that 52-year span, the nation fell in love with The Wall. They admired its size and width, but also its simplicity, innocence and ability to summon bygone memories. There was an unspoiled beauty to the Monster that allowed people to easily imagine what the park was like when their parents and grandparents first discovered it. That is what made The Wall so special. That is what made it different. That is what made it magical.

However, since 2000, that nostalgia and romance has gradually slipped into the teeth of capitalist greed. It began with a fairly unspectacular Red Sox logo being printed onto The Wall in 2001; continued with the addition of the Monster seats and specific advertising panels on the scoreboard in 2003; and, in the ensuing years, has steadily worsened, to a point where today, a new generation of fans sees the Monster as just another outfield wall clad in a myriad sponsorship.

I understand the enormous marketing potential of The Wall, as the most recognisable ballpark feature in Major League Baseball, and I'm aware we live in a highly-commercialised age. But still, the modern Monster leaves me with a sense of dissatisfaction and a pang of regret. Ultimately, I think the Red Sox have pushed the boundaries a little too far on this issue and, as a result, one of the great hallmarks of Boston tradition has been altered forever. And that, to me, is more than a little sad.