Boorish Behavior
I know that Cleveland has a lot of good baseball fans. A pity that they let the idiot fringe drown them out on Monday night.
Jim Thome played for 12 seasons as a Cleveland Offensive Stereotype. During most of those 12 seasons he was one of the most dangerous hitters in the American League. He showed up for work every day, never caused a controversy, and was well-loved in the community. In the winter of 2002-2003, at the age of 32, Thome had a opportunity to take a better paying job in a new town, and moved on. On Monday night, he returned to Cleveland for the first time since leaving, wearing the uniform of a hated rival, to whom he had been traded over this past winter. From the reaction he got, you'd think that he had sold out the country into a pointless war, encouraged torture, and turned the keys to the country over to the oil companies.
Cleveland "fan" got the idea into his tiny little mind that it would be great fun to go out to the Jake and boo the living crap out of Jim Thome. Not just when he was introduced, not just during his first at-bat, but all night long. It was a classless display, but it got worse.
Scott Sauerbeck, pitching to Thome in the ninth, lost control of a fastball that came up and in, causing Thome to bail out quickly or get hit in the face. I swear, "fan" almost gave Sauerbeck a standing ovation. Only Travis Hafner's grand slam in the seventh got a louder cheer.
Is that what you go to the game for? To angrily boo someone who made a career decision you didn't agree with? To hope that he gets hurt? I'm not trying to single out Cleveland; there are boorish cretins at every ballpark. Usually, they show up at Giants road games, following Barry Bonds.
Buying a ticket does give you a right to express your opinion of what is happening. It does not give you carte blanche to engage in behavior that would be unacceptable in other public places. It does not give you the right to be rude, obnoxious, and stupid.
Jim Thome played for 12 seasons as a Cleveland Offensive Stereotype. During most of those 12 seasons he was one of the most dangerous hitters in the American League. He showed up for work every day, never caused a controversy, and was well-loved in the community. In the winter of 2002-2003, at the age of 32, Thome had a opportunity to take a better paying job in a new town, and moved on. On Monday night, he returned to Cleveland for the first time since leaving, wearing the uniform of a hated rival, to whom he had been traded over this past winter. From the reaction he got, you'd think that he had sold out the country into a pointless war, encouraged torture, and turned the keys to the country over to the oil companies.
Cleveland "fan" got the idea into his tiny little mind that it would be great fun to go out to the Jake and boo the living crap out of Jim Thome. Not just when he was introduced, not just during his first at-bat, but all night long. It was a classless display, but it got worse.
Scott Sauerbeck, pitching to Thome in the ninth, lost control of a fastball that came up and in, causing Thome to bail out quickly or get hit in the face. I swear, "fan" almost gave Sauerbeck a standing ovation. Only Travis Hafner's grand slam in the seventh got a louder cheer.
Is that what you go to the game for? To angrily boo someone who made a career decision you didn't agree with? To hope that he gets hurt? I'm not trying to single out Cleveland; there are boorish cretins at every ballpark. Usually, they show up at Giants road games, following Barry Bonds.
Buying a ticket does give you a right to express your opinion of what is happening. It does not give you carte blanche to engage in behavior that would be unacceptable in other public places. It does not give you the right to be rude, obnoxious, and stupid.
posted by Jim at
7:21 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home