The Defecting Red Sox Fan

I am sorry but to me this guy is an idiot. You are a fan of the team not a fan of the fans. If you don’t like what the TEAM is doing (i.e losing or a poorly run organization) then I can see renouncing your fandom. Other wise you are a loser in my opinion. Clearly, this person likes losing and now should go cheer for the Pittsburgh Pirates because they will never win again. Sure there are bandwagon fans and they piss you off because they clearly don’t really care for baseball but to renounce your fandomhood for one team because of a few thousand idiots seems udder foolish to me. Someone give this guy a swift kick in the pants and a stiff drink and send him back to Fenway with a Green Monstah” T-shirt.

Can’t he at least proud of the fact that he is a true fan and he had suffered with the team thought all the painfully loses and really enjoyed the euphoria of finally winning one. Losing is suppose to steel your heart and make you stronger clearly all winning has done is make this guy weak like a limp spaghetti noodle. Don’t mourn the lose of this joker true Red Sox fans because he is either depressed about something else in his life and will be back or for what ever reason loves misery, in which case he will never be back because the Sox are the next dynasty.

It happens. It’s not something new. And sometimes it happens even when the team does not win it all (How many Phoenix Suns fans were there before the run-n-gun shit?). Just look at the Patriots, I mean, how many fans did the team have from 89 to 92, when they won like 0,5 games. And a lot of those new fans are complete idiots, but it happens on all sports.

Back in 92 or something like that, the Sox kind of sucked. But I remember seeing a lot of guys going to Fenway to watch the Red Sox just because they were a sort of ‘sexy’ franchise. Even back then, when we won like 3 games each season we had these ‘fans’. I don’t know what it is, maybe it’s the curse. The point is, the Sox always had some lousy fans, but they’re really a very small sample. So it doesn’t make any sense getting pissed about it.

I find that the “obnoxious fans” card and the “bandwagon fans” card is like the “bought a championship” card or the “got all the calls” card – they’re the rhetorical crutches of fans with teams who regularly drink deep of the ignominious brew of defeat. As the cries of bitter, jealous and heart-sick souls of fandom’s realm of the damned, I don’t think they need to be dignified with responses – certainly not from the fans themselves, particularly if the fans doing the ignoring recently inhabited the selfsame hell.

As to obnoxious fans, I think this is something which comes with winning all the time. A “Let’s go Red Sox” chant to Youk or Manny on a 3-2 pitch down 2 runs in the ninth is inherently less annoying to these whiners than it would be on a 3-0 pitch up two runs in the ninth. What’s the solution? Not win or not cheer – neither is fair or reasonable. The real solution is a strikeout, but I guess that’s too much to ask from some closers?

As an addendum, I refer to my team as “we” because they’re a Boston team and I’m from Boston, and in the context of the conversation it typically makes more sense than referring to them as “they,” because “they” are usually the team from the other municipality. I fail to see what could be simpler to someone who isn’t wicked rehtahded. I don’t mispercieve myself as the fifth bullpen option for the Sox (although the comparison is regrettably understandable lately), I merely identify myself with my team because they’ve been my team for a long time. I say “we” when we suck, too. I watched the ball go through Buckner’s legs at the time I was doing the same thing in Little League (albeit in right field) – I feel I’ve fucking earned the right to say “we.” I think this criticism is merely sniping from faint-hearted fans who desert their teams at the drop of the hat. I live in Los Angeles, and see a lot of this (see, e.g., the Clippers recently).

As to bandwagon fans, this suggests that no one can become a Red Sox fan (or Celtics or Patriots fan) unless they remember Big Bill Dinneen playing for the Boston Beaneaters in 1901. People root for teams for all sorts of reasons. I didn’t hear the Yankees complaining in the 90s. Nor did I hear the Cowboys, Steelers, Colts or Broncos pissing and moaning. The Mets continue to make bank off the anti-Yankees backlash. Half of the Lakers’ fans spent Game 6 reading Variety and attempt to sell their latest crappy screenplay on their Bluetooth headsets while driving like fucking morons (in this respect, L.A. teams are unique – as their fans jump ship to their own personal self-absorption bandwagons at the first sign of adversity). The bandwagoneering insult only really works for perennially woebegotten franchises, and it is a curse (rising ticket -prices, overhearing moronic conversations, bad fan rep (although really, who has good fan rep? – loveable losers, and that’s about it)), but also a blessing (juicy, juicy ticket and merch revenue, more nationally-televised games). I, for one, welcome our less-committed brethren. Remember, we’re not booing, we’re saying “Yoooouk.” Now, may I direct your attention to these fine deluxe Boston Red Sox hats – available in blue, red, white, and newly in Celtic green, Departed black, and “matches my cellphone and rat-dog” pink. Only $ 24.95…

I don’t believe in the notion of a true fan, because there are so many ways to enjoy baseball. You can be a connoisseur of scouting, and endlessly discuss arm angles and pitching mechanics. You can be into Sabermetrics, and come up with new ways to measure and judge talent, like TWIRP (triples+walks in relief performances). You can be all into the camaraderie and team spirit stuff, and revel at the things like Manny being Manny. You can be into the history of baseball, its voluminous past. You can be a less knowledgeable fan, and still enjoy the game and make valid observations about it (Dice-K’s struggling – hook him Tito!). And none of these types are exclusive, or fixed; today’s “ELLSBURYOMGLOLZ” could be tomorrow’s Bill James (in a pink hat).

If there isn’t one right way to enjoy baseball, there are many wrong ways. Using it as an excuse to be a bigot is one – going to other stadiums to get into fights with opposing fans, trolling on other blogs, etc.. Another is to completely dismiss the other fans out there – to say that people who can’t define VORP are morons, or that the ones who don’t believe in team spirit are heartless computers.

Frankly, the whole notion of an exclusive fanbase doesn’t appeal to me. It’s better to be open to many people. We should recognize that many different people contribute to this team; even if they do so by buying overpriced merchandise to support the $120 million payroll.

I have no problem with people who want to (or even pretend to) root for the Sox. Live & let live; plus the Sox are a great story. Yes its discouraging to watch & listen to the “yankees $uck ” & “beat LA” chants among another dumbarse behaviors exhibited by some people in Sox gear or at Sox games– its embarrassing to me & at times felt that I needed to explain that I was a Sox fan when Gedman was their catcher or I am not "that kind" of Sox fan. Now, its like "pffffffffft" ask me a baseball (not just Sox) related question & you’ll now I am a true fan of the game.

It is the same everywhere- how many Yankee fans that ya meet are really "fans". I’ve met "fans" who can’t name the infield (big blank stares when asked who is the 2nd baseman) or don’t know who played centerfield OR rightfield for the Yanks in 1996 or have no clue what Cotton Eye Joe is all about…this is dating myself but say "mick the quick", "mr. may" or "the straw that stirs the drink" & you will see who is for real & who is just plain old lame— "all aboard"- new jacks…but like 0157H7 posted- you can still enjoy the game without knowing all the stats & history

Anyway I take issue with the people who claim the Sox had no fan base before 2004; the whole "B is for bandwagon" boolchit—- I grew up a Sox fan, lived in Boston in the late 80’s & 90’s & went to games & I wasn’t alone…

The Sox don’t belong to me but even if they did, I can’t pick & choose the fans – come one come all. One of the things I enjoy most is talking baseball so the bigger the fan base the better the chance for dialogue. That being said, I have rooted for the Sox despite the organization’s dubious/suspect discriminatory history, the perennial loser adage & even the Gagne months & haven’t left…I can’t speak for the defector but I couldn’t walk away– am too invested – plus why let some knuckleheads ruin a great experience for you – why?

I could do without the Disney-esque, family-friendly crapola. In particular, that song they play over the PA after the ceremonial first pitch – “Play ball” – burns my ears.

But I like winning. Winning is fun. I much prefer winning to bitching and moaning and pining for the lean years. I’ll put up with high-fiving stoopid yahoos so long as we keep winning.

I think you could make an equally powerful argument about the banality of rooting for the laundry, versus being a fan of the sport and the players. The Red Sox are a corporate entity and interested in making money first and foremost. They don’t provide humanity with anything more than what other teams provide, so why root for them? You’re rooting for your local 9, your city/region. It’s a modern City-State mentality. We are Boston.

Most true bangwagon fans are simply not fans of the sport, in general. They want to be associated with and informed about what’s cool at the moment. I’ve seen more Celtics gear in the last month than I have in years living in Boston. However, it does give some of those bandwagoneers a chance to become life-long fans where they might not be inclined to if the team is a boring, motley crew of losers.

You’d really have to be a bitter, masochistic bastard to jump ship to a losing team simply because your team is no longer an underdog. Dark days will come again. Enjoy the winning while it lasts.