Taking advice
Big Stupid Tommy and Mike said I should talk about baseball and boobs, respectively. So, for Tommy, I thought this was funny:
People who minutes earlier had been dancing and singing the praises of their home team suddenly turned their wrath on the fan who grabbed for the fly ball. Obscene chants echoed from inside the stadium and from the surrounding streets, where thousands had gathered to celebrate what they hoped would be the Cubs’ first trip to the World Series since 1945.
Ballpark guards escorted the man, who was wearing a Cubs hat, from his seat along the low outfield wall and into a security office as the game ended. He covered his face with a sweater as he walked past fans who pelted him with cups of beer and shouted obscenities. Some chanted “kill him.”
Maybe people take this silly game a bit too seriously.
And for Mike, the Boobie-Thon. And give a couple bucks, it’s for a good cause.
October 15th, 2003 at 9:17 am
I agree. And I felt bad for the guy, because there are a lot of crazy people whose priorities are WAY out of whack out there, and I actually said a small prayer for him, because a lot of people are going to make his life miserable for a little while.
I don’t like those people. And I wish there were fewer of them, not just in baseball, but in the world.
But honestly, I like the people who stand out on the street at a stadium in the cold and wet when they can’t get a seat, until the bitter end more than the folks who leave in the seventh inning because their team is behind.
Or leave in the third quarter because Georgia is handing it to Tennessee.
I don’t know if I can explain it. Except that it’s about loyalty. Misplaced? Maybe. Suckers for lost causes? Almost definitely. But we live in a world where loyalty doesn’t mean as much as it used to (and sometimes, it means precisely dick). And a lot of us have been loyal to this baseball team for longer than anything else (possibly even family).
Because most of the time it is inconsequential.
And some people do take it too seriously. I don’t think I’m one of them, though it’s arguable. I don’t want to kill the guy. Just cuss him.
But for most of us, we were really, really close to something we’ve been waiting for all our lives.
They’re angry because they’ve been loyal for all these years, and it’s looking like it might pay off, and some guy makes a split second decision, and chooses wrongly. In the fairy tale existence that some believed were were living, the one that all of us dream about…outside factors like well-meaning Cubs fans don’t potentially ruin a great thing.
It’s baseball. And I won’t opologize for it.
And I won’t waste my time apologizing for some of its fans.
October 15th, 2003 at 9:18 am
And can I just add that I, too, would enjoy it very much if you talked about boobies a little more often?
Because they don’t disappoint me like baseball.
October 15th, 2003 at 9:22 am
Hehe. They are harsh on him. But lets face it, the man paid his money and came there with a glove to catch a ball. He got it.
October 15th, 2003 at 9:32 am
I wonder, in hindsight, if any fan of the home team had a chance to assist them by their own actions (or inactions) and with time to think about it instead of react, would they give up the chance to catch a foul ball.
If someone said, ok – the next pitch is going to be hit foul right to you, but if you hold back and don’t try to catch it, Alou will and you’ll only be 4 outs from the World Series. What fan wouldn’t say, “Oh yeah – glad to help!”
The guy still should’ve held back, but in that split second of decision making instinct can take over.
October 15th, 2003 at 3:18 pm
Well, I had a prior comment with some stats that Uncle might love.
Anyway, I hope they hang this little snot in the Billy Goat Tavern.
October 15th, 2003 at 3:44 pm
Uncle, I have linked you to my latest work of sports literature here. Enjoy!