How many times have you heard this, in some form:
"No, I don't go to the games versus the Red Sox. Too many Sox fans there."
This is a classic case of the cultural phenomenon of the B.I.C. See, I know the reason why Sox fans take over Camden Yards. The B.I.C. greatly contributes to this. Allow me to explain.
Cause: The Orioles haven't done well for years. Interest dwindles, as does attendance. Cause: Red Sox do well, interest increases, as does how well they "travel" (the matter of residence of these Sox fans is suspect, but not especially relevant to this point). Effect: Less Orioles fans leaves room for Sox fans to buy tickets. Conclusion: O's fans practically invite Sox fans to Camden Yards.
Now, couple that with another symptom of the Inferiority Complex, the meekness, and when the Orioles play the Red Sox, Camden Yards becomes what Sox fans refer to as "Fenway South."
Now, this attitude drives me crazy, as it's the worst kind of the complex. It stems from a great many fans in the area being a fan of the team only, and not the sport(s). See, with me, I love the sports being played. My allegiance to the teams are because I was born in Baltimore, and raised right down the road in Glen Burnie. So, when a team isn't doing well, like the Orioles, I'm as interested as when a team is doing well like the Ravens have been. My fandom isn't dictated by record. So, I would still go to a Red Sox game, even if they're the cream and we're the dregs (though I've joked with friends about not wanting to go). And while I was there, I surely wouldn't treat the visiting fans with open arms. That's the other problem. We we let them take it over by not being there AND letting them get away with acting like it's the home ball park. Even if the ration is 20:1, O's fans should be O's fans, and not be afraid of the Sox fans. It surely doesn't help that it seems stadium management have standing orders to keep the visiting teams fans out of harms way, but that's not a fan problem.
Listen, if you're sick of hearing "Let's Go Red Sox!" etc., you can make the diference. Go to the games. Don't sit on your hands. Don't fall victim to The Baltimore Inferiority Complex. You know why? Because it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, as the Paradox of Invasion points out.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
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5 comments:
It's getting to the point that no matter who we're playing, there's an audible cheer when the opposing team gets a hit. It's not always overpowering like the BoSox or Yankees; but we shouldn't be able to hear Oakland A's fans at Camden Yards AT ALL.
This is where I disagree. If the team was any good, the fans would come out. Asking fans to pay money (in this economy) to watch their team get slaughtered in front of 90% opposition isn't fair
If the fans pay their money to come out, there won't be 90% opposition fans. We'll still get slaughtered, but at least it will be amongst friends.
But see the paradox there, Brian? By "rolling over" because the team hasn't done well, us fans are acquiescing and allowing the behavior to continue. This would be a different issue if the majority of Sox fans weren't the obnoxious type that are now actually staking a claim to our park, but they are, and with our "why bother going" attitude, we're enabling them to do so.
It's like I said, we (the general we) care more about being fans of a winning team than being fans of the team.
The thing that p*sses me off the most isn't the Sox Nation coming in and taking over like it does in every stadium they play in (the exception, _maybe_ ,being Yankee Stadium), it's the shameless pandering of the stadium itself to the Bosox fans. At any game where the Red Sox are in town, you can go into the one of the various ORIOLES STORES inside the stadium and buy Red Sox gear. That doesn't happen even for the hated Yankees. It certainly doesn't happen for, say, the Tigers. It's things like this that turn the stadium into Fenway South. If the Red Sox fans aren't already decked out in Red Sox gear, let them buy it from a street vendor ... which is what they're gonna do anyway. Because no opposing teams' fans should expect to walk into an 'home' teams' stadium and buy gear for their team. It's sacrilege and infuriating. It's the reason why I'm already pissed off after being in the stadium for all of 3 minutes.
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