04/16/24
August 25, 2005
You're not wearing that shirt in this house! : Boston Red Sox are "strongly urging" fans to not display the infamous "Yankees Suck" t-shirt in the ballpark.
posted by lil_brown_bat to baseball at 05:53 PM - 63 comments
Why can't they were a yankees suck t-shirt. If you do not let them have there way soon there going to be having shirts that say the red sox suck and then you will not have any fans. What do you want them to start wearing shirts that say the yankees are the best, no i don't think that is going to happen. Not in this life time anyways.
posted by marcusexpress@yahoo.com at 08:15 PM on August 25, 2005
Hey soonerdude, ou fans thought that was really how you spelled it.
posted by texoma-slim at 08:22 PM on August 25, 2005
We did have a discussion in another thread last week about offending fan displays and how the teams themselves have the right, and in some cases, the obligation, to do what they can to curtail them. The "Yankees Suck" shirts may not be over the line themselves, but it does turn the rivalry down a nastier road than it had been before. I understand the decision.
posted by chicobangs at 08:33 PM on August 25, 2005
Why can't they were a yankees suck t-shirt. If you do not let them have there way soon there going to be having shirts that say the red sox suck and then you will not have any fans. What do you want them to start wearing shirts that say the yankees are the best, no i don't think that is going to happen. Not in this life time anyways. What a wonderful argument. Anyway, good. They have been doing this in part for a while, barring the racier shirts, but I'm glad they are officially coming out with it. No need.
posted by jerseygirl at 08:36 PM on August 25, 2005
I agree jersey. A few years back the late Johnny Oates suggested a "paint the town red" campaign in Arlington. He asked Ranger fans to wear red to the ballpark to show support. Maybe the Sox could offer something similar as an alternative to an activity that shows their fans in a negative light. I hate the Yankees, too, but I wouldn't wear anything in public that I wouldn't wear to Grandmas house.
posted by texoma-slim at 08:50 PM on August 25, 2005
i don't know that it shows the fans in a negative light. it's not like you can read the shirts on tv. i think it's more for the benefit of the other people attending the games. (and i really don't think the red sox need a gimmick to drum up fan solidarity.) the yankees have had a long-standing ban on boston sucks shirts. this year "buck foston" shirts have been popular (and allowed at the stadium) which i'm not entirely thrilled about.
posted by goddam at 09:43 PM on August 25, 2005
For the life of me I can't see why any of this matters. I mean, who really cares if people want to wear witless shirts. It's a ball game.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 11:38 PM on August 25, 2005
I find burning the American Flag offensive, but that is a right protected under the Constitution, just like someone's right to wear a Yankees Suck shirt, it's a form of freedom of speech and although may not be in the best taste, is still their right to wear it. I think the Red sox organization is treading on the thin line of censorship. Being a Sox fan myself, I wouldn't personally wear the shirt, I'd rather just wear some Sox garb, that speaks volumes in itself. JMO....
posted by MNJ1193 at 12:35 AM on August 26, 2005
Fenway Park is private property, so the First Amendment, much as I think it's been stepped on lately, doesn't really apply here. They have the option of telling you not to wear it, and you have the option of leaving. Personally, I think these are way, way more elegant ways to say the same thing.
posted by chicobangs at 12:39 AM on August 26, 2005
I don't see what the deal is with the yankees suck t-shirt if people want to wear them thats what they are going to do I mean come on I think the jeter sucks arod t-shirts that are out there are a little more offensive don't you
posted by goredsoxgirl at 07:38 AM on August 26, 2005
As a Yankees fan I don't see how or why it should be banned . And believe me i've seen Red Sox suck shirts too. Theres even a shirt with a little boy taking a piss on the Boston insignia , Just like there is for the Yankees insignia too . That seems worse to me . Looking up shirts available I see ... Boston still sux .... Yuck the Fankees ....Yankees Suck Ass ...Boston Sucks Our Big Johnson ... Jeter Sucks ... Jeter Swallows ....Shut Up Schilling .... Jeter Sux Arod . looks like plenty of hatred to go around between the two teams and their fans .
posted by evil empire at 08:16 AM on August 26, 2005
"anything sucking" -t-shirts can be offensive no matter who is the target.. The misspelled shirts, like Buck Foston are just plain stupid. Sounds like something out of JR High! In today' world you'll find someone who is offended no matter what.
posted by daddisamm at 08:18 AM on August 26, 2005
Looking up shirts available I see ... Boston still sux .... Yuck the Fankees ....Yankees Suck Ass ...Boston Sucks Our Big Johnson ... Jeter Sucks ... Jeter Swallows ....Shut Up Schilling .... Jeter Sux Arod . looks like plenty of hatred to go around between the two teams and their fans . Looks like somebody needs to grow up a little! Why should there be "hatred" That's an awlful strong word for a "game'
posted by daddisamm at 08:23 AM on August 26, 2005
Teams have a responsibility to curb fan aggression where they can. This kind of "Yankees Suck," "Buck Foston" stuff should be harmless one upsmanship, but we all know that every team's fan base includes some aggressive morons. In the years I followed the Cowboys religiously in Dallas, there were three situations where the morons got out of control: two games where brawls broke out in the stands and the post-Super Bowl riot in downtown Dallas. You have to take the opportunity to do a little moron control from time to time, or you embolden them.
posted by rcade at 09:34 AM on August 26, 2005
Why should there be "hatred" That's an awlful strong word for a "game' We might be slightly different from you laid-pack hippie Communists in the Mid-West. Is that so wrong?
posted by yerfatma at 10:35 AM on August 26, 2005
We might be slightly different from you laid-pack hippie Communists in the Mid-West. Is that so wrong? WoW! its been a long time since I was refered to as a "laid back hippie communist".!!! Will that effect my memebership in the "Moral Majority" ;-) (yes thats a joke-I think). Seriously, Rcade is right, you are always going to have moron's in everyway who take things to another level. I give you some of the Crazed cheese-heads in Green Bay as an example. (mooning teams busses)
posted by daddisamm at 10:47 AM on August 26, 2005
I find burning the American Flag offensive, but that is a right protected under the Constitution, just like someone's right to wear a Yankees Suck shirt, it's a form of freedom of speech and although may not be in the best taste, is still their right to wear it. I think the Red sox organization is treading on the thin line of censorship. Being a Sox fan myself, I wouldn't personally wear the shirt, I'd rather just wear some Sox garb, that speaks volumes in itself. JMO.... You have a valid point. Just as fans have the right to wear the offensive tshirt, the Red Sox have the right to ban the tshirt at the ballpark. We have the right to go barefoot and topless, but we have all read signs at businesses that read "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service".
posted by panteeze at 11:34 AM on August 26, 2005
Laid back hippie communists? Last time I checked thats not how mid-westerners are at all. Anyways, there is always going to animosity between the yankees and red sox. Stopping the use of a shirt is not going to help, if anything they will come up with something else.
posted by tina at 11:55 AM on August 26, 2005
Last time I checked thats not how mid-westerners are at all. When's the last time you checked? The Red Menace has infested any number of states in this country. Are you now or have you ever been a Yankee fan?
posted by yerfatma at 12:32 PM on August 26, 2005
Are they also going to ban the chants ... YANKEES SUCK YANKEES SUCK , in fenway .... or BOSTON SUCKS BOSTON SUCKS in yankee stadium ?
posted by evil empire at 12:58 PM on August 26, 2005
I'm not a fan of either team, but isn't there something about freedom of expression? Wear what you want to. This is a sports rivalry, Red sox and yeankees, dogers and giants. there are shirts like this everywhere. it's just a shirt with words on it, don't like it? LOOK AWAY AND IGNORE IT. Next the Sox execs will makeshirts that say "The Yankees aren't very good."
posted by ChefMatthewJones at 01:08 PM on August 26, 2005
Uh, rioting morons are not going to be prevented by denying them access to a t-shirt. In fact, usually they're not wearing shirts at all. The shirts are a Red Herring. The real problem is a lack of taste or any consideration of the concept of 'other people' and 'other people with children'. The shirts are simply symptoms of the greater problem.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 01:30 PM on August 26, 2005
I don't see why this is met with such ridiculous resistance. I'm the farthest thing from a prude, and obviously, no stranger to crass language, but there's a time and place for everything and an atmosphere where children are in attendance is not the place. Don't get all "well it's the nature of sports!" because that doesn't hold true. Organized professional sports events, for the most part, are becoming more and more family driven. Yes, Fenway is a privately owned place, so your Constitutional Rights to wear the words "Yankees Sucks" "GayRod" "Jeter Tosses ARods Salad" are checked when you redeem your ticket at the gate. "Look away and ignore it" isn't the answer. It doesn't even make sense. If someone put a billboard in your neighborhood, around your children, family and home that says "Jeter Sucks ARod" would you accept "look away and ignore it" as an alternative and solution? You pay money to go into a park, there are children and families there (whether you brought them in or not), act like a grown up. I know this is probably the stupidest question I've asked in a while, but aren't you just sick to death of the Yankees Suck chants, the shirts and the hats, the stuffed animals and the baby bibs? Boston won the World Series. In doing so, they beat the Yankees in maybe one of the most memorable ways possible. Can't we just act like fans of a team that won and check the petty bullshit part of the rivalry at the door now?
posted by jerseygirl at 01:33 PM on August 26, 2005
Well I would agree that it is tasteless, witless idiots who believe this stuff is comedy gold and worthy of public display - but this is only a problem, it seems, in NY and Boston. The rest of the country seems to get by without the childishness explicit in the rivalry. However, given how the curse was lifted last year, I'm not surprised there is still bitterness. Frankly, if I were a Red Sox fan I would be a bit embarrassed. And if I were a Yankee fan - I'd be embarrassed for a whole bunch of other reasons.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 01:54 PM on August 26, 2005
What about the Dodgers and Giants? Maybe not as venomous as the Sox and Yankees, but still a liberal amount of hostility in the air. Also, back when TBS was WTCG-17 from Atlanta, it was the only source for regular baseball we had in Florida; Joe Torre was managing the Braves, and they developed a pretty nasty little rivalry with the Dodgers, complete with beanball wars and "Dodgers Suck" t-shirts. Maybe it has something to do with Torre, or maybe everybody just hates the Dodgers.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 02:52 PM on August 26, 2005
I'm the farthest thing from a prude, and obviously, no stranger to crass language, but there's a time and place for everything and an atmosphere where children are in attendance is not the place. I am suprised the "children" argument didn't make this thread sooner. Do you really think a tshirt with the letters Yankees Suck is going to damage a child? Isn't it a parents repsonsibilty to educate their children about freedom of speech? Or to educate their children that although the parent doesn't like the tshirt, it isn't necessarily wrong to wear the shirt? The world would be an awesome place if everyone behaved and acted how I want them to. LOL
posted by panteeze at 03:05 PM on August 26, 2005
? Or to educate their children that although the parent doesn't like the tshirt, it isn't necessarily wrong to wear the shirt? Why would I teach my kids that?? I am certainly not going to tell me kids that it might be ok for them to wear a shirt I find offensive! That just doesnt make since--sorry
posted by daddisamm at 03:17 PM on August 26, 2005
While I think the [your team] sucks is almost too lame to be a true insult, I agree that the line has to be drawn somewhere. This line is as good as any other. Apparently, the Red Sox got a lot of complaints about the shirts. I feel sorry for those guys trying to make a living selling shirts outside of the stadium that might be stuck with the things.
posted by bperk at 03:44 PM on August 26, 2005
Why would I teach my kids that?? I am certainly not going to tell me kids that it might be ok for them to wear a shirt I find offensive! That just doesnt make since--sorry The point is that just because something is offensive to you, it does not mean it is offensive to everyone else, nor illegal. Telling a child that you don't agree with another persons taste is better than creating the idea that just because you don't like it, it should be banned.
posted by panteeze at 04:29 PM on August 26, 2005
Telling a child that you don't agree with another persons taste is better than creating the idea that just because you don't like it, it should be banned. Personally, I think what's worst is giving the child the notion that the First Amendment gives him/her the right to "freely express" anything anywhere he/she wants. Such a child is likely to get an unpleasant surprise once removed from the tender care of his/her coddling, doting, deluded parents.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 04:39 PM on August 26, 2005
Teaching kids there's a right time and a wrong time to cuss like Tommy Lasorda is a big part of parenting, Panteeze. At least it has been in my house, where the boys have recently discovered the amazing flexibility and joie de vivre of the F word.
posted by rcade at 04:44 PM on August 26, 2005
There's gotta be a middle ground everyone can be happy with....
posted by smithers at 04:45 PM on August 26, 2005
Parenting isnt always black and white there can be some gray areas--like in my beard and the hair on my head! :-)
posted by daddisamm at 05:27 PM on August 26, 2005
>>>Enterprising and educated OU students came up with "Tuck Fexas" shirts. Back when I attended Ohio State it was "Muck Fichigan" creative, those college kids :)
posted by JohnSFO at 05:42 PM on August 26, 2005
Personally, I think what's worst is giving the child the notion that the First Amendment gives him/her the right to "freely express" anything anywhere he/she wants. Such a child is likely to get an unpleasant surprise once removed from the tender care of his/her coddling, doting, deluded parents. I sorry that happened to you.
posted by panteeze at 05:53 PM on August 26, 2005
Puck Fanteeze.
posted by rcade at 06:14 PM on August 26, 2005
posted by yerfatma at 06:40 PM on August 26, 2005
hahahahaha...okay, l'esprit d'escalier encore un fois, I never woulda thought of that one.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 06:49 PM on August 26, 2005
I image there aren't any little Puckie Fanteeses at home.
posted by jerseygirl at 06:55 PM on August 26, 2005
"For the life of me I can't see why any of this matters. I mean, who really cares if people want to wear witless shirts. It's a ball game." ~WeedyMcSmokey Right on. Who cares what anyone wears? It's not destructive or harmful in anyway...this is America, after all. The whole freedom of speech thing is legal, you know. But that still doesn't matter in this world because if anyone doesn't agree with you they complain and make a law against it anyway. Yeah. If people can stand on any street corner and hold up giant pictures of dead babies in protest of abortion, then why is anyone upset about a damn t-shirt that says something sucks?
posted by Irish Gal at 07:11 PM on August 26, 2005
Fenway Park, and any private establishment, especially one that you pay an admission to willingly enter and therefore abide by all that itty-bitty text on the back you don't read. In that text, it basically says "Play by our rules or fuck off please." Your "I have Freedom of Speech" and "This is America" doesn't cover you everywhere. If someone's at your house, and they start spraypainting on the couch, you're going to kick them out, right? What about their Freedom of Speech? What's that you say? It's your private property and you can set the rules in your own house? EXACTLY. You're all misconstruing what you think you're entitled to. If people can stand on any street corner and hold up giant pictures of dead babies in protest of abortion, then why is anyone upset about a damn t-shirt that says something sucks? Probably because they aren't showing the photos of dead fetuses at Fenway Park? Because you know what, I bet those would be banned also. Especially if they say "Aborted Fetuses Suck Jeter"
posted by jerseygirl at 07:20 PM on August 26, 2005
pardon that first sentence, it sucks Kevin Millar. But you get the point.
posted by jerseygirl at 07:28 PM on August 26, 2005
Probably because they aren't showing the photos of dead fetuses at Fenway Park? Because you know what, I bet those would be banned also. Especially if they say "Aborted Fetuses Suck Jeter" just a bit much............
posted by daddisamm at 07:40 PM on August 26, 2005
just a bit much............ Hey, daddisamm, come to Boston and I'll take you on a side trip to Brookline and show you people standing on street corners holding up fetus-related posters that are every bit as tasteless.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 08:35 PM on August 26, 2005
Who cares what anyone wears? People do. And there's a shirt idea in the Jeter-abortion thing. Like Jesus (played by Johnny Damon) posed as Rodin's Thinker ruminating on a photo of #2 and a bubble saying, "Maybe I'm all upside down on this."
posted by yerfatma at 08:49 PM on August 26, 2005
Well yerfatma I am a mid-westner, and I am a yankees fan.......
posted by tina at 01:18 AM on August 27, 2005
Hey, daddisamm, come to Boston and I'll take you on a side trip to Brookline and show you people standing on street corners holding up fetus-related posters that are every bit as tasteless. Thanks for the ofer lbb, but there is no need to take me to brookline. I have seen picture of fetus on the street corners out here in good old South Dakota! I find any such picture not only tasteless and but useless as well if you get my drift.. There are other ways in getting a message across,
posted by daddisamm at 02:19 AM on August 27, 2005
This link is starting to turn. I had better go find my potato salad.
posted by daddisamm at 02:22 AM on August 27, 2005
Personal and religious politics always sully the waters.
posted by jerseygirl at 06:02 AM on August 27, 2005
Puck Fanteeze. Good one. I image there aren't any little Puckie Fanteeses at home. Sorry to disappoint but there are several. I just don't believe in creating a false utopia for my children. I prefer to give them skills in how do deal with conflict and compromise. I don't want them thinking they can lobby for legislation just because they don't like something. They are great kids!
posted by panteeze at 11:00 AM on August 27, 2005
No one is lobbying for legislation. It's commenting on rules set upon by owners of a private property.
posted by jerseygirl at 12:15 PM on August 27, 2005
Personal and religious politics always sully the waters. thats true. but that not always a bad thing. People talk about the freedom speech in a case like these shirts and such. Along with these freedom's should be respect for the person who opposes your views. Sometime that means choosing when and where you "express your freedom of speech". That's what I have always taught my kids about things like this. You can "trash talk" without getting getting gross or being disrespectful.
posted by daddisamm at 01:15 PM on August 27, 2005
... wow. Okay, forget this thread. I'm done.
posted by jerseygirl at 03:34 PM on August 27, 2005
People talk about the freedom speech in a case like these shirts and such But you are not entitled to these freedoms when you go inside the stadium, which is private property. You give them up. As was stated earlier in this discussion just read the back of the tickets. There is probably a wording on the back that says something to the effect of; ....by any action action deemed improper by the licensor, including, but not limited to abusive language, or disruptive behavior, or any other act which results in ejection from any controlled area by the licensor. That came off the back of one of my old Cleveland ticket stubs. They do throw people out for stirring shit. I was at a playoff game were they tossed about 14 Indian and Yankee fans for arguing too much. Which was not a bad thing, because it was not far from a fight, but it was the licensors decision to give them the boot.
posted by jojomfd1 at 05:47 PM on August 27, 2005
But you are not entitled to these freedoms when you go inside the stadium, which is private property. Yeah, and Jesus H. Christ on a motorbike, panteeze and other freedom-of-speechers, why can't you get this after it's been explained half a dozen times in this thread alone??? It's not that hard a concept. If you say that you would allow your children (for example) to express themselves freely in your home no matter what the content of that expression, then I say that you don't know what "no matter what" means...but if your kids are teenagers, you could be about to find out, if you know what I mean.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 06:09 PM on August 27, 2005
Several courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, have upheld the right of private business and property owners to restrict offensive messages or speech, said Andrew Glincher, head of Nixon Peabody's Boston office. It was even addressed in the article itself.
posted by jojomfd1 at 07:47 PM on August 27, 2005
......Yeah, and ----- H. ------ on a motorbike,......!!!! Wow!!!!! Calm down lbb, its not worth get so worked up over something thats black and white like this issue is!
posted by daddisamm at 12:32 AM on August 28, 2005
Calm down lbb, its not worth get so worked up over something thats black and white like this issue is! I agree with you that it's "black and white". What I'm "so worked up" about, as you so quaintly put it, is that after this "black and white" issue has been explained over and over and over and over and over again, people are still making these "Freedom of speech, takin' away our rights" comments. What would you call people who refuse to get a "black and white" issue that's been explained repeatedly?
posted by lil_brown_bat at 06:08 AM on August 28, 2005
ignorant, stupid,smart, stubborn, liberal, conservative, and etc--in other words they are human. llb there are topic where we all, at one time or another cannot see "the black and truth" on something. We agree on this issue llb,but there have been other times when we have been at odds, both of us pulling our hair out cant figuring why the other couldn't see our point on a "black and white fact" I always apprecciate your views llb cause they seem to come from your heart..thats good. You will never be able to change everybodys mind on certain topics- And thats the way it has always have been-maybe always will be.
posted by daddisamm at 10:00 AM on August 28, 2005
Yeah, and Jesus H. Christ on a motorbike, panteeze and other freedom-of-speechers, why can't you get this after it's been explained half a dozen times in this thread alone??? It's not that hard a concept. Gee llb, if you took the time to read the repsonses to your own post, you would have noticed that I already commented on the private property issue. Looks like your got your panteeze in a bunch too soon.
posted by panteeze at 09:42 PM on August 28, 2005
IT IS EVERY AMERICANS RIGHT TO EXPRESS THEIR HATRED OF THE YANKEES.
posted by LIONSROAR at 04:51 PM on August 29, 2005
Hey lionsroar read about 7 posts up, and there is no need for the caps lock to be kept on the whole time. Please turn it off. Thanks.
posted by jojomfd1 at 10:07 PM on August 29, 2005
In the glory days of the OU-Texas series they tried this same tactic at the Cotton Bowl. Enterprising and educated OU students came up with "Tuck Fexas" shirts. Perhaps Bosox fans could follow suit? "Sankees Yuck"!