Red Sox Nation stretches far and wide throughout the world. From box seats at Fenway Park to the space station in orbit, Fenway faithful have a fever that rivals any loyal fan base in any sport, in any part of the world. At a corner seat at Gippers Sports Grill in Auburn Monday afternoon, lifelong Sox fan John Thibault of Lewiston has waited for opening day of the 2013 season long before last season even ended.

Arriving early enough to get his favorite seat at the bar, he and his friends have high hopes for this year’s team. “Last year was the worst in what, over 50 years. I blame a lot of it on the manager. I didn’t think Valentine was any good from the start. I don’t know why they got rid of him. We went from having the best manager in all of baseball (Terry Francona) to the worst. I think (John) Farrell (current manager) will turn it around. He is going to work with the starting pitching and get Lester and Buchholz back on track.”

Thibault’s first memory of the Red Sox is his most vivid and lasting one. When he was 8 years old, his father took him to Fenway Park to see his first baseball game.

“Walking up the dark runway, I can remember it suddenly opening up and seeing the green grass and then the diamond and the entire stadium. My jaw dropped to the ground, and I was hooked for life. I got to see Yaz (Carl Yastrzemski) play then, and to this day he is still my favorite player of all time.”

Thibault has watched every opening day of the Red Sox season at Gippers that he can remember — except one. “I was at Fenway on opening day when Manny (Ramirez) came up to bat for the first time as a Red Sox. He hit a three-run homer to tie the game in the second inning, and they went on to beat the Yankees.”

He has been to many baseball stadiums, especially Camden Yards, where he says tickets are easier to get and going to a game there is often cheaper. He calls it “Fenway South,” as the number of Red Sox fans can often outnumber the Orioles fans when Boston comes to town.

“I’d love to go to any ballpark, except Yankee Stadium. I don’t want to contribute any money to their organization — they have enough already.”

To the casual observer, baseball can often be considered boring. The slow pace and low scoring often turns non-enthusiasts away.

“I don’t think it is slow at all,” he said. “If all you are looking for are home runs and scoring, I can understand. But if you think about all the strategy that is going on, it is not boring. I tend to think like a manager, working the numbers, percentages, strategies and the ins and outs of the game. It is exciting.”

Although Monday’s game was in New York and the bleachers were empty at Fenway, many Red Sox fans were packed in the bleachers at Gippers, where they removed a number of tables and set up bleachers for opening day. And of course, the majority of people sitting there were rooting for the Sox to beat the Yankees.