Fenway Park

For 86 years, the Boston Red Sox suffered a World Series dry spell, a streak of bad luck that fans attributed to the "Curse of the Bambino," which, stories have it, struck the team in 1920 when they sold Babe Ruth (the "Bambino") to the New York Yankees. All that changed in 2004, when a maverick squad -- including Manny Ramirez, Pedro Martinez, and local favorite David Ortiz -- broke the curse in a thrilling seven-game series against the team's nemesis in the Series semifinals. This win against the Yankees was followed by a four-game sweep of St. Louis in the finals. Boston, and its citizens' ingrained sense of pessimism, hasn't been the same since. There's a palpable sense of justice being served, and more than a little pride in the way Red Sox caps have become residents' semiofficial uniform.

Fenway may be one of the smallest parks in the major leagues (capacity almost 39,000), but it's one of the most beloved, despite its oddball dimensions and the looming left-field wall, otherwise known as the Green Monster. Parking is expensive and the seats are a bit cramped, but the air is thick with legend. Ruth pitched here when the stadium was new; Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski slugged out their entire careers here.