11/05/24
July 12, 2007
Take Back the Yard: Frustrated with Red Sox and Yankee fans taking over Camden Yards Oriole fans decide to fight back.
What an amazing concept: going to the ballpark and supporting your own team.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 02:07 PM on July 12, 2007
The concept of supporting the local team is taking a big hit, now that you can follow every game another team plays on satellite. Here in Jacksonville, I feel like half the NFL fans in the community never left their old allegiances behind, which creates a half-hearted fanbase. The Steelers bring so many fans to Jacksonville it should count against their home games.
posted by rcade at 02:26 PM on July 12, 2007
Why should local bartenders and waiters and vendors have to suffer the indignity of those fools with the funny accents walking around like they own the joint? Yeah what the fuck do we think we're doing going to their city, spending our money, supporting the downtown business and economy when the locals won't even go to the park themselves? I had such a nice time in Baltimore 2 summers ago, too. Not every out of town fan is an asshole.
posted by jerseygirl at 03:12 PM on July 12, 2007
THX sees this as a positive way to re-inforce team spirit in the stands. THX also realizes that you should keep your taunting of the "invaders" as good natured as you can without being milk-toasty. THX realizes he is supposed to be talking like this in a different thread, so off he goes. When Chicago came to Seattle to play the Hawks, I forgot what city I was in for a while.
posted by THX-1138 at 03:16 PM on July 12, 2007
Yeah what the fuck do we think we're doing going to their city, spending our money, supporting the downtown business and economy when the locals won't even go to the park themselves? I was thinking the exact same thing myself JG. What a way to chase the money right out of your own economy the next time these teams come to town, and you don't feel like doing anything about it. Real nice assclowns.
posted by jojomfd1 at 03:22 PM on July 12, 2007
I can see where these Oriole fans are coming from. Detroit used to have the same problem a few years ago when they would play the Indians. There always seemed to be more Indian fans than Tigers fans at the games.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 04:01 PM on July 12, 2007
Sox and Yanks fans suck in untold ways, but can you really blame them? They live in and around crappy cities (yes, that’s right) and their teams play home games at outdated stadiums. Having spent a considerable amount of time over the years in all three cities, I gotta say, the Baltimore case is pretty thin compared to NYC and Boston. Beantown and The Big Apple have more to do, nonstop, than Charm City ever will. Sure, the Inner Harbor's nice and all, and The Cat's Eye Pub in Fell's Point still contains some of my DNA from all the blood I shed in there, but to call NYC and Boston 'crappy cities' next to Baltimore is the textbook definition of delusions of grandeur. Also, that part about Sox fans feeling safe in Baltimore is utter bullshit. Nobody feels safe in Baltimore. Locals, tourists, cops, the National Guard, Godzilla, nobody. The friggin' crime in that city makes Detroit look tame. And crabcakes are soooo overrated. I can see where these Oriole fans are coming from. I can see it, too: Shitty Baseball Fan-ville, that's where. If you can't outdraw the visiting team in your own fucking house, shut your piehole. For a city that had its football team stolen away in the night by some dickhead millionaire, you'd think Ballmer would have learned to appreciate what they've got, win, lose, draw, or Angelos. I didn't mean you specifically had to shut your piehole, Ying, so please don't take umbrage.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 04:35 PM on July 12, 2007
Blue Jay fans used to do the same thing. There was a time you couldn't beg a ticket for a Jays game. If you couldn't get into Skydome, you invaded Tiger Stadium and Municipal Stadium in Cleveland. Often times Jays fans outnumbered homefans. Now, it's reversed. A few years ago when Cleveland was SO good, and the past couple of years the Tigers, and always the Yankees and Red Sox fans invade Toronto when their teams come to town. As a Jays fan I'm happy, there's more money going into the till, the stadium is more alive, and there are millions of dollars being spent in and around the city. It's all good. As long as the visitors leave their weapons at home, we're glad to see you. Good natured ribbing is part of sport. Obnoxious louts should be ejected from stadiums without delay.
posted by tommybiden at 04:57 PM on July 12, 2007
I'm going to two of the three games in baltimore putting money in their local economy. I'm a jerk like that. Not every out of town fan is an asshole. Exactly. I was at 2 sox games in atlanta recently and had a good time, spent money all over the city, and cheered my team when they did something good; that's it. Sure, some out of town fans are obnoxious, but so are some in town fans. As far as the local establishments, I doubt the waiter even knows I'm a sox fan nor does he care. Getting paid is good. I do feel badly for the players. Something didn't feel right when the braves had one out left in the ninth and the only thing you hear is "let's go red sox". Which brings me to another complaint. Some fans are dead. Yes, there were a lot of sox fans at turner field, but there was still more brave fans. Sox fans were constantly starting "let's got red sox" chants. The braves fans did nothing except try to drown them out with boos. Only when that god awful tomahawk chop music did they cheer their team. there's more money going into the till, the stadium is more alive Exactly. The three sox/braves games were all basically sold out. A week later they played the nationals in front of 22,000. Is that what fans want? Recently there was a discussion on sportsfilter regarding the advantages of seeing a game in person and on tv. For me the energy is a big draw for attending a game. 22,000 in a 50,000 seat park is depressing.
posted by justgary at 05:14 PM on July 12, 2007
I like the publication"The Loss Column". Reminds me of an old radio show I loved called "Leonards Losers". Here in North Texas the only time other fans were an issue was during inter league play when we were exorted to support the home team because the Cub's fans were coming en masse.They did, taking up whole sections.Actually it was pretty cool.
posted by sickleguy at 05:33 PM on July 12, 2007
For me the energy is a big draw for attending a game. 22,000 in a 50,000 seat park is depressing. Agreed. Seeing the stadium jam packed with people, most of whom are excited and energized to be at the game, just adds to the expirience.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 05:59 PM on July 12, 2007
TBH pretty much covered it for me: nice park, good food, Johns Hopkins, but there's a reason Homicide was set there, and it wasn't the scenery. Let's not start pretending Oriole fans are irrational for not paying into the coffers. Thanks for being doormats, second-tier team! Especially when you're the one second-tier team that doesn't really have to be one. The money your owner has spent could have funded a solid contender every year. Sorry we do it better.
posted by yerfatma at 07:42 PM on July 12, 2007
The Steelers bring so many fans to Jacksonville it should count against their home games. It's not just Jacksonville. I have seen the Steelers play in a few stadiums around the country and often times their fans seem to out number the home supporters. This reminds me a bit of how the Indianapolis *cough* Colts were trying to convince their season ticket holding fans not to sell their tickets to anyone with a 412 or 724 phone number. Or something ridiculous like that. Otherwise I agree with justgary.
posted by scully at 07:43 PM on July 12, 2007
It's not just Jacksonville. I have seen the Steelers play in a few stadiums around the country and often times their fans seem to out number the home supporters. I think the situation of Baltimore is a bit different than cities like Jacksonville, though. Baltimore is an old city and the Orioles have had a respectable half-century there. The Jaguars, in contrast, are a team that hasn't been around very long in a city that has a lot of people who didn't grow up there. Situations like that combine the lack of a generations-old fan base with a population that probably includes a reasonable percentage of people who grew up in the northeastern US. Back in the '90s I went to see a Bruins game in San Jose, and while I'll give it to those Sharks fans for shelling out for jackets, hats, t-shirts, bags, umbrellas, and matching ties and handkerchiefs with Sharks logos on them, at least 20% of the seats in the house were occupied by people wearing Bruins jerseys, or Hockey East jerseys. And the really funny thing is, none of the Sharks fans got the Hockey East thing. So, if you live somewhere like San Jose or Jacksonville, and a team from back east comes to town, there will be a lot of fans show up -- and they're not jumping on the plane to do it. But Baltimore is a different situation. Baltimore has no excuse, none whatsoever, for not having a strong, fervent, showing-up-and-shouting-about-it fan base. And if it takes other teams' fans outnumbering them (or at least out-presencing them) in their house to shame them into making the effort...well, it's half-assed, is all I can say. It's just againsty and stupid, and it ain't what being a fan is about.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 07:58 PM on July 12, 2007
Meh, the Red Sox have had attendance numbers under 10,000 for years on end. It's just a question of success. There are no wildly loyal fan bases. There's a small base of hard-core fanatics and then a bunch of people who show up when you win.
posted by yerfatma at 09:09 PM on July 12, 2007
Went to a Cowboys game in Dallas a couple years ago for the Eagles Monday night game. Was amazed how many people from Philly made the trip. We saw tons of Philadelphians at bars & restaurants all weekend, and there was a huge presence of green at the stadium. In fact, with the Eagles dominating the game, by the fourth quarter it did feel like a home game for the road team. As an aside, the people of Dallas were amazingly genial with the fans of Philadelphia. Knowing how a Cowboys fan is treated in Philadelphia, I truly appreciated how kind the locals were.
posted by DudeDykstra at 10:24 PM on July 12, 2007
I can't believe someone from Bawlmer is actually accusing others of having a funny accent. I love the city, lived there for 3 years and met my wife there, but it took me months to understand a word anyone said. I really can't blame O's fans for being upset with the stands being full of tourists. It must be embarassing to live in a city whose baseball ownership cares so little about them. Visitors outnumbering the locals is nothing new there. In the early 80s, my wife and I used to date at Memorial Stadium whenever the BoSox came to town. There were plenty of Boston caps and jerseys back then, and even though Baltimore had some pretty good teams in that era, it was still pretty easy to get tickets. Actually, the city hasn't been the same since Hausner's Restaurant closed.
posted by Howard_T at 11:54 PM on July 12, 2007
Totally off-topic, but Homicide, for a few years there, was the finest police drama ever made. I'm just sayin'.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 04:50 AM on July 13, 2007
Meh, the Red Sox have had attendance numbers under 10,000 for years on end. It's just a question of success. There are no wildly loyal fan bases. There's a small base of hard-core fanatics and then a bunch of people who show up when you win. Hell, when everyone on the Red Sox was hurt last year and they were like 10+ games out, that park was not full. The tickets may have been sold in advance (thus a sell out) but people were not going to the games.
posted by jerseygirl at 06:42 AM on July 13, 2007
I'd like to point out this thread on Baltimore baseball has been co-opted by Red Sox fans. God we're awful. We drove the die-hard Orioles fans right out the door in spite of their cogent arguments, large numbers and general stick-to-it-ivness. Did anyone notice it was Back to the 80s Night in the front rows at Fenway last night?
posted by yerfatma at 06:54 AM on July 13, 2007
As an aside, the people of Dallas were amazingly genial with the fans of Philadelphia. Knowing how a Cowboys fan is treated in Philadelphia, I truly appreciated how kind the locals were. Being a Cowboys fans and living in Jersey, there's just no way I would ever attend a Eagles/Cowboys game in the City of Brotherly Love. The locals there are just brutal and will try to start a fight if they see a hint of Cowboys silver & blue during gameday. I rather watch it on HDTV at the comfort of my own home.
posted by BornIcon at 07:06 AM on July 13, 2007
Totally off-topic, but Homicide, for a few years there, was the finest police drama ever made. And now The Wire is the best show on TV. I went to a number of O's-Sox games when I was in college in DC, and while I remember seeing a smattering of other Bostonians at the game I'd hardly call our presence overwhelming. Of course, this was in the late 90s, before the lifting of the "Curse" and the descent of the plague of "pink hats" and other bandwagoneers. My friends and I always behaved ourselves, though we couldn't help but laugh at the diminutive nicknames the stadium scoreboard bestowed on the players, like "Raffy" and "Bordy". The best game I ever saw there was Hideo Nomo's no-hitter for Boston - all the O's fans got behind Nomo in the late innings and to some extent we all went home happy. Camden Yards is awesome and it's a shame that the team playing its home games there has been so disappointing. I don't know why this blogger feels the need to take meaningless cheap shots at Boston and New York but I think this whole stunt is harmless.
posted by Venicemenace at 07:24 AM on July 13, 2007
Camden is awesome, Venice. Inner Harbor is beautiful. I had a blast there all weekend, found everyone very friendly and accommodating, and never once was I knifed or accosted in the city of Baltimore. Not even by the vendors outside the stadium (selling more Red Sox gear than O's gear) who were more than excited to see our crappy city of Boston money free flowing into their pockets. I guess the next dastardly plot of The Loss Column will be targeting the merchandise vendors outside the park and kicking over their meager plywood/cinderblock stands if they dare to cater to the Red Sox/Yankee fans. If Oriole fans hate the Red Sox fans for invading their turf on occasion, Tampa Bay fans have probably be planning a secret jihad on us as we speak.
posted by jerseygirl at 08:58 AM on July 13, 2007
I just have to throw in one little thing that needs to be recognized if Municipal Stadium in Cleveland is going to be lumped in with all of these other " baseball parks." There aren't many 74,000 seat baseball stadiums, then or now. There was always plenty of tickets to go around even when the team was doing good!
posted by jojomfd1 at 10:24 AM on July 13, 2007
Well my joke (-ish) post was ruined. I was going to make light of the fact that the DC-Baltimore metro area drew no fans during the Nationals @ Orioles interleague games but they managed to average 20k fans during the series.
posted by gradys_kitchen at 10:41 AM on July 13, 2007
There aren't many 74,000 seat baseball stadiums, then or now. Heck, there isn't even one in Cleveland.
posted by yerfatma at 11:07 AM on July 13, 2007
I just have to throw in one little thing that needs to be recognized if Municipal Stadium in Cleveland is going to be lumped in with all of these other " baseball parks." There aren't many 74,000 seat baseball stadiums, then or now. There was always plenty of tickets to go around even when the team was doing good! You might want to reread my post. When the Blue Jays were selling out every game at Skydome, Jays fans who wanted to attend games would often go to games in Cleveland and Detroit. Nowhere did I say there weren't lots of seats still available when the Indians played at Municipal Stadium, but that the Toronto invaders would dominate the stands rather than local supporters.
posted by tommybiden at 11:43 AM on July 13, 2007
That's what they get for building it so close to the ocean.
posted by yerfatma at 12:37 PM on July 13, 2007
In New Jersey, the Devils and Nets never come close to selling out unless the Knicks,Lakers, Rangers,or Flyers come to town. I like having a full building, even if it is filled with away team fans, it brings some life into the place.
posted by MGDADDYO at 12:41 PM on July 13, 2007
Tampa Bay fans have probably be planning a secret jihad on us as we speak. I don't think there are enough of them to form a cell, let alone do any damage. That's what they get for building it so close to the ocean. I'll bet the O's would draw a lot better if they hired Oil Can Boyd to pitch for them. He wouldn't be much worse than what they have in their bullpen now, and he's a hell of a lot more colorful.
posted by Howard_T at 04:16 PM on July 13, 2007
I suppose one could suggest that a large contingent of visiting fans gives your ball club that much more money to spend on fielding a team that will beat the club that those visiting fans come to see. Doesn't make it less annoying for the hardcores, but it's very much a good thing.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 06:52 PM on July 13, 2007
WeedyMcSmokey "I suppose one could suggest that a large contingent of visiting fans gives your ball club that much more money to spend on fielding a team that will beat the club that those visiting fans come to see. Doesn't make it less annoying for the hardcores, but it's very much a good thing." Ummm,,, Just because they are getting more money doesn't really mean that they are gonna put it to good use. I mean their team salary isn't that low is it? They can just over pay players.
posted by STUNNER at 12:06 AM on July 14, 2007
That's very similar to the way the players of today interact with one another. Back in the day, that was unheard of. Players rarely spoke to one another and even in the All-Star Game, would treat it as if they were in a war. Just ask Ray Fosse what the hell happened to his career after Pete Rose trucked him over at home plate in the 1970 All-Star Game.