Published: Saturday, Oct. 11, 2008

Updated: Saturday, Oct. 11, 2008

Rays fans make their presence felt

The Tampa Bay Rays put their heads down and made their way off the field, and the fans stood and cheered.

And it was only the end of batting practice.

How 'bout then Rays!

How 'bout them Rays fans!

They certainly answered the bell - The cowbell? - Friday night during Game 1 of the American League Championship Series against the Boston Red Sox, who, as we are all too aware, are fan favorites in this area.

That was a concern in the Rays clubhouse leading up to Friday's first pitch.

Red Sox Nation normally sets up camp at Tropicana Field, which has earned the nickname of Fenway Park South whenever the Red Sox are in town.

But on Friday, for the biggest game in franchise history, the Trop was the center of the Rays universe.

The Nickleback song "Gotta Be Somebody" was playing when the Red Sox emerged from the visitor's dugout before their batting practice and the defending World Series champs were booed.

The Red Sox were booed nearly an hour later when they ran off the field after batting practice.

Not sure which was more stunning: The ALCS being played at the Trop? Or the Red Sox getting booed at the Trop?

It's about time for both, really.

The Rays certainly earned this trip to the championship series after outlasting the Red Sox for the American League East title and disposing of the Chicago White Sox in four games of the American League Division Series.

And now that they are here, they deserve to be loved in their own park.

Oh, there were Red Sox fans. Lots of them.

They wore their Big Papi shirts and Jason Bay jerseys.

And they made a lot of noise when Jason Bartlett ended a seventh-inning rally when he forced Cliff Floyd at second base.

But we've heard more from Boston fans over the years.

The joke used to be that the Rays needed to take the early lead when playing the Red Sox at the Trop to take the fans out of the game.

Wasn't a problem Friday.

Boston starter Daisuke Matsuzaka held the Rays hitless through six innings, and the Red Sox moved ahead 1-0 with a run in the fifth, but the Rays faithful never wavered.

After all, what's a one-run deficit in the toughest building for visiting teams to play in this season?

Too much, it seemed.

The Rays have fought back from bigger deficits all season, but the big hit, the big inning, never materialized.

It was Red Sox 2, Rays 0.

Kind of a downer for the biggest Rays party ever.

Carl Crawford and Floyd singled to open the seventh. Floyd's single sent Crawford all the way to third.

Here we go.

Nope.

Matsuzaka pitched out of the jam, retiring the next two batters before getting Bartlett to force Floyd at second.

In the eight it was Akinori Iwamura and B.J. Upton's turn to start things off with back-to-back singles.

Here we go.

Nope.

Carlos Peña swung on 3-0 and flied out, and Evan Longoria bounced into a double play.

The ninth belonged to Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon, and that's when the Trop was finally silenced.

But it was a heck of an ALCS debut for the Rays.

Rays fans owned their building, and that was as much a part of Friday's story as the fact it was Oct. 10 and the Rays were still playing baseball.

The fans wore their 9=8 T-shirts and their American League East championship caps.

They chanted "AKI! AKI! AKI!" when Iwamura came to bat in the first inning.

They screamed when Aki! Aki! Aki! started an inning-ending double play in the fourth inning.

It was music. Sweet music.

It was Beethoven and the Beatles.

It was the ALCS at the Trop.

It wasn't a win for the home team, but Game 2 is tonight.

We know how the Rays respond after a tough loss.