Fans Yell -- Get Over it!
Adam J Locascio
Tuesday October 5, 2004
Well after a chair-throwing incident in Oakland earlier this week, maybe we can keep our eyes on the field.
It seems that the players are starting to get involved with the skirmish in the stands. Texas Rangers relief pitcher Frank Francisco got a little hot under the collar and decided to offer a better seat to a fan that was heckling him. He did this by throwing a chair at the fan in the front row. The result was a broken nose, some bruises and most certainly an impending law suit.
Now throwing chairs is a time-honored art in professional wrestling, but let’s leave the chair shots to the professionals and keep it out of baseball. At the same time, you have to wonder what on Earth someone could say that would make someone go to that extreme?
The truth is, it doesn’t matter.
Fans can yell. Fans can scream. Fans can heckle. Fans can make fun of an athlete’s legal problems. Shoot, I wish I had Lakers tickets for next season because there is a whole Bible of one-liners I can fire at Kobe. This is being a fan. This is what it’s all about. This is why we go to the game.
Now, there is a line. Profanity and lewd language we can leave at home. There are kids around and parents have a hard enough time thinking up diseases on which to blame their child’s shortcomings. They shouldn’t have to worry about exposing their child to Richard Pryor at a ballgame.
If the fans in Oakland were pushing the line, they should have been shown the door, but this happened with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. It doesn’t sound like anyone around them was complaining.
This is our right as a fan. Call it a little payback for rising ticket prices and $8.00 beers. You want to suck every living dollar out of me because I’m a sports fan? Fine. I get to rip your product at the top of my lungs if I don’t get what I paid for. For the money that sports cost today, I better see the home team win. If I see shoddy play, I’m going to vote with my voice. Sorry owners, you can’t have it both ways.
These players are paid too much and are too spoiled to be worried about what a fan is (gasp) saying to them. Think about your current job. I’ll pay you eight figures to do your current job, but the only catch is, the most annoying co-worker in your office yells, “You suck!” at you 30 times a day.
Where do I sign up?
And if the players don’t like it? Well, there’s always Barber College. I paid my money. If I wanted to sit still and be stoic, I would be in my recliner. It’s called home field advantage for a reason.
It should be stamped on the back of every ticket. “This ticket entitles the purchaser to the right to scream, yell, cheer, clap, hoot, holler and laugh at every incident on the field. In addition, the ticket holder is entitled to their right to berate, criticize, chastise, beatify, and comment on the fact that a player’s trunk was loaded with illegal substances – and the players have to sit back and take it.”
Toughen up, Francisco. It’s only a game.
Adam J. Locascio is a financial advisor in the Tampa Bay area and a Board Member of the Tampa Bay Storm Surge Fan Club. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Phoenix and is a six-year season ticket holder for the Tampa Bay Storm.
