After the series in New York this past weekend, I engaged my good friend K-Dog (a DIE HARD Mets fanatic) in a little conversation about the rules of east coast fandom and the merits (or lack thereof) in booing players. I initially broached the topic with a casual email expressing bewilderment over the New York faithful booing my man Albert Pujols on Sunday afternoon. Her comments so intrigued and exasperated me that I've decided to post them here along with my response. What follows is that conversation in full.
Me: Okay, K-Dog…I have a bone to pick. I watched as much of the Mets/Cards game yesterday that I could stomach and was a little disturbed by what I saw. (Aside from you kicking our ass, that is.) You guys were booing ALBERT PUJOLS! I couldn’t believe it! What the heck is up with that? You can’t boo Big Al! I’m starting to wonder if you crazy New Yorkers even like sports. Unbelievable!!!
PS: I was watching David Wright yesterday and you know…it’s really too bad he’s so unfortunate looking.
PPS: My Dad thinks he might like to have Jose Reyes play for the Cardinals. He thinks that kid might have a future.
K-Dog: We boo those who tend to murder us with heavy hitting. Chipper Jones and Pat Burrell for instance. We hate them. See, the importance and very backbone of New York sports fandom is this: we appreciate good baseball/football/insert sport here, when it benefits us only. And more often than not, as long as you performed well for us while you were here, we welcome you with open arms even when you perform well for an opposing team. Mike Piazza, for example - it might have been the first ever opposing team curtain call by a player in history. He hit a home run against the Mets on his first trip back to Shea and his loyal New York fans requested a curtain call after he took the the lead from us. We are fiercely loyal when and only when you give us something to be happy about. If you don't, we will throw you to the wolves so fast your head will spin. Slump or not, we don't give a shit what the hell is going on with you - you're making millions of dollars to hit and catch baseballs - make it happen.
As for Pujols - its part of New York baseball. When a guy hits a 2 run homer in the top of the 27th inning at 4 in the morning to beat us, we don't like him. Imagine Manny Ramirez & David Ortiz darkening Yankee Stadium's doorstep. It matters not that Ramirez might be one of the best right handed hitters in baseball. As far as Yankee fans are concerned, he causes them great pain and is therefore the devil. He, his children, his grandparents, his pets, etc. deserve whatever comes their way. It's part of the experience. We are equal opportunity booers, however. While we boo Pujols for killing us, we just as heavily, perhaps more so, boo our own players when they're killing us as well. As much as we may not care for Pujols at this time, we actually HATE Aaron Heilman, (i.e. the guy who gave up the 2 run winning homer in the 27th inning.) Loathing would not be an exaggeration. That guy must actually dread getting the call. We see him warming up in the bullpen and immediately start massaging our temples. Carlos Delgado was getting it pretty good for a while, too. Then he hit 9 RBI's at Yankee Stadium last month, tying a NY Mets record. At his first at bat at Shea that night (after a day/night double header, the 1st in the Bronx, the 2nd at Shea), he received a thunderous standing ovation.
We have simple requests: those that oppose us must not hit against us; those whose paychecks depend somewhat on our season ticket holdings must earn them. Otherwise, go f*$& yourself.
As for David Wright, he is just downright hot - it makes me happy to look at him. Plus it doesn't hurt that he's actually pretty good at baseball. You can't have Jose - aside from his idiotic dancing and handshakes in the dugout, he's extremely good at baseball and he's very entertaining to watch. And speaking of good at baseball, have you seen my new best friend Fernando Tatis? The man is on a serious hot streak. It seems singles are no longer good enough - doubles, triples and homers seem to be much more preferable for him.
Me: I think you could have summarized all of that quite succinctly just by saying “New York sports fans are crazy lunatics.” I didn’t realize there was such a method to your madness! Do you all receive some kind of manual at birth?
I just really HATE booing. My argument here is three-fold:
First of all, the way New York treats its athletes makes me want to have you all treated for bi-polar disorder. I sincerely empathize with anyone who plays on the east coast. It takes a special person to be able to tune that out and just try and do your job. In all reality, there are probably very few who are either a) super-humanly talented enough or b) strong minded enough to get through a stint out there without having batteries thrown at them or requiring therapy. When it’s good, it’s good, but when it’s BAD??? Jesus. These guys damn near have to put their families in protective custody. And that’s all before the media gets a hold of them! It’s a bit silly, no? Trying to find guys resilient enough to handle that has to significantly shrink your talent pool.
Second, I understand booing total assholes. (Perfect example: Carlos Zambrano!) But booing someone just because they are a good athlete and do not play for your team makes absolutely no sense. I may not look forward to people like Carlos Beltran coming to the plate, but for crying out loud…I think the man has earned his respect from Cardinals fans over the years. He’s not raped my sister, set my house on fire or otherwise done anything to me personally to inspire actual vitriol. Therefore, while I sincerely hope he strikes out, he’s f@#$ing GOOD. I’ve got to appreciate that even if I don’t necessarily LIKE it. What is my booing really going to do about it anyway?
Third, I don’t believe any professional athlete ever truly earns their paycheck. No one should get paid that much to play a damn game. However, me booing an overpaid baseball player is not going to deprive him of his millions OR inspire him to play better. Therefore, why waste the energy?
Basically, my point is…it’s a damn game! It’s sports and entertainment! Unfortunately, perpetual frustration comes with the package. I want to murder Jason Isringhausen 100 times a year, but it makes me sublimely sad to see him booed off the field at Busch Stadium. Where’s the fun in kicking someone when they’re down? I’ll swear violently under my breath, thank you very much.
PS: I also DESPISE fans that heckle the visiting outfielders. Grow up already, you drunken buffoons. There was a guy doing that when we were down in St. Louis and I wanted to throw a hot dog at him. Stop behaving like the Wrigley Field bleacher monkeys! You’re embarrassing me!
I just really HATE booing. My argument here is three-fold:
First of all, the way New York treats its athletes makes me want to have you all treated for bi-polar disorder. I sincerely empathize with anyone who plays on the east coast. It takes a special person to be able to tune that out and just try and do your job. In all reality, there are probably very few who are either a) super-humanly talented enough or b) strong minded enough to get through a stint out there without having batteries thrown at them or requiring therapy. When it’s good, it’s good, but when it’s BAD??? Jesus. These guys damn near have to put their families in protective custody. And that’s all before the media gets a hold of them! It’s a bit silly, no? Trying to find guys resilient enough to handle that has to significantly shrink your talent pool.
Second, I understand booing total assholes. (Perfect example: Carlos Zambrano!) But booing someone just because they are a good athlete and do not play for your team makes absolutely no sense. I may not look forward to people like Carlos Beltran coming to the plate, but for crying out loud…I think the man has earned his respect from Cardinals fans over the years. He’s not raped my sister, set my house on fire or otherwise done anything to me personally to inspire actual vitriol. Therefore, while I sincerely hope he strikes out, he’s f@#$ing GOOD. I’ve got to appreciate that even if I don’t necessarily LIKE it. What is my booing really going to do about it anyway?
Third, I don’t believe any professional athlete ever truly earns their paycheck. No one should get paid that much to play a damn game. However, me booing an overpaid baseball player is not going to deprive him of his millions OR inspire him to play better. Therefore, why waste the energy?
Basically, my point is…it’s a damn game! It’s sports and entertainment! Unfortunately, perpetual frustration comes with the package. I want to murder Jason Isringhausen 100 times a year, but it makes me sublimely sad to see him booed off the field at Busch Stadium. Where’s the fun in kicking someone when they’re down? I’ll swear violently under my breath, thank you very much.
PS: I also DESPISE fans that heckle the visiting outfielders. Grow up already, you drunken buffoons. There was a guy doing that when we were down in St. Louis and I wanted to throw a hot dog at him. Stop behaving like the Wrigley Field bleacher monkeys! You’re embarrassing me!
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