When you talk about being a Red Sox fan, being a baseball fan is almost an afterthought; what everyday members of this fraternal order demonstrate in The Nation, Lenny Manzo’s new documentary, is that faithfulness and devotion are entrenched deep within the collective veins of these devotees.

Set to a beautiful soundtrack created by Tom Martin and OBT Music, The Nation weaves stories from a wide array of personalities, from Sister Theresa Ryder and retired social worker Kenneth Hammond to night club manager B.J. Ryan and insurance evaluator Jim Letendre. In fact, the only celebrity speakers that appear in the film are former player Johnny Pesky, who makes a scattered comment here and there, and Boston Globe sportswriter Dan Shaughnessy, who authored “Reversing The Curse” shortly after Boston claimed its first World Series title since trading the Bambino all those years ago.

However, the lack of familiar faces does not take away anything from the stories told by generations of fans, some old enough to remember living through the “Impossible Dream” season of 1967 and all enraptured by Boston’s reversal of fortune in the 2004 post-season, highlighted by the great - if not the greatest - comeback ever in sports against the rival New York Yankees in American League Championship Series.

If you are looking for video highlights of the team through the years, you won’t find it on this video. What you will find are stories from people from all walks of life who share one common bond: a love of the Red Sox.

From the DVD jacket: In 2004, the Boston Red Sox did what no team in the history of baseball had ever done, mounting the greatest comeback ever in sports history. As their whirlwind season came to its climactic and victorious close, the team ended 86 years of trial and tribulation, hope and heartache, near-wins and eventual disappointment. But through all these trying years one thing remained constant - the nation of loyal fans who never gave up on their team. For the first time, the voices of these fans will be heard as we explore the history of the Red Sox through their eyes, culminating in the thrill of the 2004 ALCS and World Series. Their stories will reveal the true nature of what it means to be a Red Sox fan - how the love for the team has been passed down through the generations and has created an indelible bond among all members of The Nation in New England and beyond. To be a fan of the Boston Red Sox is to be a fan like no other - in short, it is truly a way of life.

Order The Nation now from rsfans.com!