A longtime Boston Red Sox fan of nearly four years made a daring and some might say foolish leap onto the Tampa Bay Rays bandwagon this afternoon as it sped by the Red Sox bandwagon heading towards the top of the American League East.

            “I’ve never seen anything like it,” said a Red Sox bandwagon passenger sporting a new pre-tattered Boston hat. “It was so dangerous. That Rays bandwagon could crash or run out of gas at any moment.”

            Witnesses who saw the man’s leap say he suddenly rose from his seat, threw off his Red Sox hat and David Ortiz jersey, ran and jumped out into midair.

            “I have seen people jump onto bandwagons before,” said Chip Fetter. “I mean, I’m a Red Sox fan after all. At least, right now I am. But I’ve never seen anything like that before. We’re not even at the All-Star break for crying out loud. When I jumped on the Red Sox bandwagon in 2004, it wasn’t until the final out of the ALCS. And then I just filed onboard with everyone else. There was no death-defying leap.”

            Some on the Red Sox bandwagon fear the man’s successful jump will encourage others to take similar action.

            “I have been on this Red Sox bandwagon longer than almost anyone,” said San Diego resident Jim Haney. “I jumped on after Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS. I didn’t wait until after Game 6 or Game 7 like most people. So I know what it’s like to be risky. But even when I jumped, I kept a Yankees t-shirt on underneath for protection. Then if something went wrong I could be like: ‘Hey, looky here ... I’ve been a Yankees fan all along.’ But this guy didn’t take anything tying him to Red Sox Nation. He even left behind his wallet with his Red Sox Nation ID card inside. Those things cost 10 bucks.”

            While acknowledging that a man did leap onto the Rays bandwagon while it passed the Red Sox bandwagon, Tampa Bay’s bandwagon driver refused to disclose the jumper’s name.

            “It’s just a sort of courtesy we are extending to our bandwagon riders right now,” he said. “We honestly don’t know where this bandwagon is going to go right now, how well it’s constructed or anything. It could fall apart at any moment. So we’re keeping everyone’s identies private at least until late August to spare them potential embarrassment.”