Some lame writer with no talent or analysis ability by the name of Gregg Doyel wrote one of the dumbest columns I've read in a long time today for cbssportsline.
This isn't going to be a post defending Yankees fans; I don't feel Yankee fans deserve, nor need, defending. But anyone who throws stones against the Yankee fans, then finishes by stating that Red Sox fans should be held as the higher standard, is clearly too stupid to be writing for a major website. And therefore worthy of open criticism.
He starts by calling Yankees' fans "baseball's worst fans". Okay, why?
He then goes off and says "Yankee Stadium doesn't deserve A-Rod". Keep this mind later. Doyel suggests that A-Rod should opt out of his contract at the end of the season. So far, I have no complaints. I think A-Rod should, and will, opt of his contract, and I agree that if he has an MVP year (which he is having) then it makes sense. I don't begrudge any player getting his, if he can.
"But now the fans in New York are the problem". Why? Because they'll start booing him, if he has a bad game or two. First off, idiot (and I rarely call people names on my website, but wow... this guy is an idiot - Chicago Bulls fans, take note - you can never top Boston for inferiority complex, no matter how you try): it's the press that has been attacking A-Rod since day one. They attacked him because the mainstream media is dominated by Boston homers such asyourself, idiot. (N)ESPN, along with the major dailys here (Mike Lupica, I'm looking at you) are full of writers who grew up or live in Connecticut, in New England, in places that are part of Red Sox Nation. They have been attacking A-Rod since day one, because he was suppose to be a Red Sox, yet they couldn't complete the trade, and since then he has been Public Enemy #1 in Boston. This isn't hyperbole, it is fact.
So to blame Yankee fans, who are far more tolerant than the media (I've been to at least 5 Yankees games in each of the 3 years A-Rod has been here, and never heard him get booed, not once), is plain stupid. But this is part of the new media plan for 2007 with regards to A-Rod; one, they know he's gonna have a monster season, and they know he's going to opt out. So they will sell the story of his incredible comeback, even though he's not comeback from jack (he won the MVP two years ago, and with the support of Yankees fans, despite the media complain that it was "invalid" or "undeserved", and that David Ortiz had a better season - total BS, by the way).
In fact, where was this "complete player" crap when it came down to Rodriguez versus Ortiz? Back then, all you heard about was his lack of clutch. Now though, they (the media) are coozying up to the A-Rod again. They want him to jump ship. So they have to find other ways to get at the Yankees. Hence, they'll blame the fans for being "unsupportive" (as in this douchebag's column); or they'll try to go after Jeter. Seriously, despite having won the last three gold gloves at SS, because he has six errors in the first two weeks of the season (never mind that he has been playing in unusually cold temperatures so far), Jeter's defense is now front page news? Really? I need to have an update on his defensive woes everyday? This is the crap that they did to discredit A-Rod. Remember A-Rod's first season here? He was in the running for the Gold Glove at 3B, and came up with some stellar plays (I remember one particularly critical play with the bases loaded and one out against the Sox, and a hard hit ball to him at third, in which he went home, a play only he could make). Then a few errors in the second season, and his defense became an issue. Well, that crap might work on A-Rod, but it won't work on Jeter.
"Last summer it was awful. A-Rod slumped at the plate and was struggling in the field and the fans were on him and the press was on him and the struggles continued..."
Right. Because it was the fans who were on him that prompt the press to right stories. Right.
Listen, I would have been fine with this article if it came from someone who didn't have a clear agenda, and wasn't totally full of sh*t. But look at what it all leads to:
"You want to see some real fans? Boston has real fans."
WORD! Boston has real fans? Fans who don't boo their stars, right? Ask Nomar about those supportive fans. Ask Ted Williams. He loved them, right?
Ask Mark Bellhorn. Or let's ask JD Drew in about three months. And let's not forget who the greatest source of A-Rod attacks is: those same Boston Red Sox fans who wear "A-Rod has AIDS" t-shirt? Those classy guys? The same ones that were calling in to radio stations to complain already about Dice-K? What about Julian Taverez? He got booed so much, he refused to tip his cap to fans after they cheered him.
"I'm not happy about way I'm treated… like Rudy Seanez, myself, wish they knew how tough it is for us when we leave here [Fenway], we don’t want a face-to-face thing [and] we don’t want to eat here, we’re embarrassed...."
Embarrassed? Kevin Youkalis on the fans of Boston: "I'd rather have no one at the field than people booing me all day."
You can go on and on finding examples of Boston players who have gotten booed by fans. I don't care if you want to criticize Yankees fans for booing A-Rod - I for one agree that they shouldn't boo A-Rod, mainly because he has done well, and this talk of his "choking", his inability to come up clutch, is more a product of the press' attempt to take him down then it is of his actual performance. But if you are going to criticize the Yankees fans for booing, it's completely bullsh*t if you then try to hold Red Sox fans as the standard to strive for. This is a disguised column that is a blatant attempt to start the movement to get A-Rod to opt-out of his contract, in an attempt to create a season-long distraction for the Yankees, and possible force A-Rod out of NYC once and for all. Cbssportsline should be able to afford better "talent" than this....
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The racist history of the Red Sox is surely an important fact, but not necessarily one that has a lot of relevance with today's game or today's fans. Jim Rice and Bill Russell were a while ago, and I think most of us believe all of the treatment of black players was ridiculous and uncalled for, and we hope to keep that sort of thing in the past.
And I also think that you'll find that at any stadium (including Fenway and Yankee Stadium), the boos are coming from a minority of those in the stands. And it's not like those who don't want to boo can stop those who do. Neither set of fans has always been objective or fair or whatever, so I'm not interested in comparing the two.
All players get bood if they're in a large market. That's just the way it is. And I think Tavarez and Youkilis would find themselves getting booed in Yankee Stadium just as often. Or, if they played the way Tavarez did early last year, they're likely to find themselves booed in Tampa Bay or Kansas City.
Are Red Sox fans assholes? I don't know. I've sure met a lot of Yankee fans who could take that prize. But, again, I think in both cases we are talking about a minority. The majority of fans from both teams are baseball fans who know the game and want to see the players succeed.
P.S. I also think that because I am a Red Sox fan and most people who post here are Yankee fans, there is never really going to be much of a consensus. So, I'm not trying to start some big fight. If you disagree, let's try to agree to have different opinions.
I don't disagree with you - that was my point, in fact. I wasn't saying Yankees fans are better than Sox fans. I find that argument... unresolvable. And I think most independent fans think they are both equally bad (and self-centered).
My point was this guy is a douche for trying to argue that Yankees fans are jerks that boo, and that somehow Red Sox fans are better. That is what makes this article complete garbage. It's basically "Yeah, Sox fans are better than you". Please. Pot calling kettle black. Get a freaking clue....
Unresolvable is the right word, I think. I think if you're taking the lowest kind of fan from both camps, they're pretty equal. It's like the guy is saying there are no Sox fans who stoop to booing and disparaging the team, which we all know is untrue. And, really, why is this guy even bothering to write a column about this subject? It seems rather pointless.
Hilarious. I forgot what good fans Bostonites were and how well they treated their black ball players. Ask Jim Rice how much he loves the Boston fans. Ask arguably greatest Boston athlete of all time, Bill Russell. He came out and said that he won every championship for his teammates, NOT for the city of Boston. Just further proof that Red Sox fans are by far and away the most self-righteous assholes in all of professional sports. They tear into their players like the best of them, throw money around like its going out of style and adopt a holier than thou attitude towards the yankees and their fanbase. What a bunch of hypocrites. In a way, I'm glad they won their World Series. They're losing is no longer poetic. Now, they're little more than another winning ball club with a gigantic payroll. In other words, Yankees light.