(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Being inside Fenway Park on Opening Day is only half the battle, for a real fan experience, you need to pregame at one of the many Red Sox bars and restaurants in the Fenway area before the game.

Boston is a city that loves our Red Sox for better or worse, and for all the Red Sox fans Opening Day is almost here! Can’t you hear the birds chirping, the smell of fresh cut grass, the sound the bat makes when you know it’s a homerun? It’s also the un-official sign that summer is right around the corner! For now we still have to deal with zany weather.

Lansdowne Street will be buzzing with excitement, because here in Boston we eat, breathe, and bleed sports! Opening Day is also that one day it’s ok to call in sick to work and go day drink with friends and pull the kids out of school to go see Wally the Green Monster! (Just don’t tell Mom.)

After exhaustive research and some taste-testing, we’ve put together the definitive list of bars and restaurants near Fenway Park that you need to check out before any Red Sox game or Fenway Park concert this year.

LET’S GO RED SOX and good luck this season!

19 Red Sox Bars and Restaurants That Are A Must On Opening Day