In 2005 the Red Sox began offering "Official Citizenship" in Red Sox Nation. For a fee of $9.95(USD), fans received a membership card with the words "Official Red Sox Nation Citizen," and access to additional Red Sox merchandise offers and newsletters.[citation needed] Critics have charged it as a shameless commercial ploy.[citation needed] On March 15, 2006 the Red Sox began offering membership for a new Nation, which includes three "levels" of membership. One level is the "Fan Pack" for $14.99, the "Ultimate Fan Pack" for $99.95, and the "Monster Pack" for $199.95. Included in the Monster Pack is a season subscription to MLB.tv and the guaranteed opportunity to buy two Green Monster seat tickets.[3] The two more expensive offers have sold out quickly.
In the summer of 2007, the Red Sox fan site on MLB.com offered "official" citizens of RSN the chance to register as candidates to become the first president of Red Sox Nation, for the 2008 season. A broad field of self-proclaimed candidates was whittled down (internally, by operators of the website) to 25, then an open-to-all online "primary" was held in August that resulted in 10 final candidates. For most of September, the ten were provided with weblogs on the website to mount their campaigns. On September 27, Tim Russert of NBC moderated a debate among six of the candidates in a hall at Boston University (three were no-shows, and Doris Kearns Goodwin withdrew from the race). The final election, also open to the public at the same website, was held from September 28 through October 2, 2007. The winner was Jerry Remy, a former Red Sox player and current broadcast color commentator.[4] The following day, Remy threw out the first ball in the opening game of the Red Sox' playoff series.