04/25/24
July 03, 2003
Anyone ever heard this heckler?: As if watching my Red Sox play the lowly Devil Rays isn't punishment enough, toss in Wakefield's knuckle ball and this guy's mouth, it's all I can do to not slit my wrists. Any thoughts on guys like this, no matter what sport? If I was sitting near him, I have to think I'd ask for him to be removed.
he was giving mondesi a hard time and got shown on sportscenter last time the Yankees were in town. Some article... musta been a slow news day for that paper. I think heckling is more of a college hockey thing, at least we had a lot of fun with it at Cornell. in MLB, a big open stadium, with a ton of empty space around (foul territory) it's probably less effective, although we did really rattle tim salmon when I was in Anaheim in the bleachers in 1994...
posted by Bernreuther at 08:20 PM on July 03, 2003
This guy sucks. I heard him Tuesday night. As annoying as Red Sox fans are (they were chanting Yankees Suck! at the Pearl Jam concert tonight) this guy's grating voice must be the soundtrack to hell sounds like. "the players can easily be distracted here by the slightest little bit of sound" Yeah, that's because the visiting players aren't used to having people in the stands at the Trop.
posted by jerseygirl at 12:06 AM on July 04, 2003
heckling is part of the game, of any game really. The best hecklers are in the bleachers of wrigley, and most of the players had fun with them.
posted by corpse at 09:08 AM on July 04, 2003
Tim Wakefield was heckled relentlessly during a Texas Rangers game in Arlington I saw while visiting Dallas. This big Fred Flintstone-looking guy behind first base kept yelling "bring the heat" in such a loud and recognizeable voice that the crowd got into it, announcers talked about him, and the producers even showed him and Wakefield in split-screen. It was funny, but I imagine the attention is going to make it get old pretty quickly.
posted by rcade at 10:30 AM on July 04, 2003
I am the master heckler...it's not too difficult, if you eschew profanity, pick on one player consistently, and get creative with your caps that you can get your entire section to join in the fun. Me and two buddies were in Fenway about 5 years ago and we set our sights on Bobby Higginson (or "Higgy" as we relentlessly called him). He was in right, we were about five rows up and we just let him have it all game. The people around us were laughing and cheering us on pretty good, and about the fifth, after Higgy had given us the fish-eye for the third straight pitch some people starting yelling at him to pay attention to the game. Next pitch some Sox player drills a shot down the right field line that comes to a stop right in front of us, Higgy has to come right up to the fenceline to retrieve the ball. Everybody in our section, sensing his vulnerabilty and loss of focus, cut loose with some of the most creative, vituperative language I'd ever heard. Higgy paused a moment, then fired the ball into left field getting the Sox an extra base. Next inning, an identical play, same result. Next inning, Higgy got moved to left. Naturally, it was because of us.
posted by vito90 at 01:57 PM on July 04, 2003
If I may be so bold, the best hecklers were on the infamous Hill at Sydney Cricket Ground. Not long ago they asked of an inept England fielder "Hey, Tufnell, lend us your brain....we're building an idiot" A true classic.
posted by Fat Buddha at 07:22 PM on July 04, 2003
Whatever happened to the guy who sat behind the visiting team during Washington Bullet games? Did he die of something or did the Bullets take away his season tickets?
posted by shackbar at 02:52 AM on July 05, 2003
Robin Ficker was his name. A google search reveals a plethora of stories of conspiracy to silence him. Looks like he also had his license to practice law revoked as well.
posted by usfbull at 02:28 PM on July 05, 2003
My best heckling story: We were at Busch Stadium watching the Cards and the Rockies and giving it to Dante Bichette pretty good. He had given us the hairy-eye a couple times, but we were being pretty mild. Willie McGee hits a ball into the right-center gap and Bichette makes a nice play in cutting it off, but Willie's still going to try to stretch it to a double. Bichette hauls off and fires it ... directly into the turf and on about 15 bounces into second, where McGee is standing and laughing. Bichette comes back muttering to himself, and I lean out and yell, "Hey, Dante! Is 'Bichette' French for 'ragarm?'" Even HE laughed, and he tipped his cap to us in the seventh. Class guy.
posted by wfrazerjr at 10:10 PM on July 05, 2003
This guy is amazingly awful. Bad enough the Sox announcers actually had the truck shut off the crowd mike near him. Not that it made much of a difference. The best part is he has a goddamn notebook. That and he rode Todd Walker the whole time. Nobody else, just the team's, what, 6th or 7th best position player? Completely unimaginative pablum too: it was all about not taking a walk, swinging away, etc. Since it's Tampa, the guy actually passes for entertainment in that echo chamber of a "park". He's Robin Ficker with absolutely no sense of humor. If you didn't see him, imagine walking into the worst Hooters in the worst town in the worst state in the US and getting a seat at the bar next to the loudest drunk. It'd be like that.
posted by yerfatma at 10:39 AM on July 07, 2003
usfbull, can't you understand that suicide is never the answer? haven't you watched enough tearful afterschool specials and lifetime movies to realize that?