The pre-game ritual is well under way at Ferg’s Bar and Grill, the landmark drinking spot in the shadow of Tropicana Field. Portable outhouses line the railroad tracks out back, the parking area has been turned into a beer garden, and the coolers are being packed with ice and bottles.

It’s relatively quiet now. In another two hours, “craziness,” said Olivia Scott, 24, in charge of a beer station on the Central Avenue sidewalk at Ferg’s. About 5 p.m., Central will be closed to traffic, leaving even more room for drinkers.

“The Red Sox are here, and they have a good following,” Scott said.

They also have an animated following.

“I wouldn’t say they drink more,” she said. “They get rowdier.”

Ferg’s has seen this crowd before.

“We even stock a beer for them from up there. Narragansett,” she said. “They all say it’s awful. “Gimme one!”

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