I'll save my thoughts on Strasburg for another column, but what I will tell you is that something finally hit me last night, and no it wasn't a foul ball.
Looking around at the near sellout crowd of 12,000+ at Frontier Field, I noticed all the different demographics of people that were at the ballgame. Kids, teenagers, adults, senior citizens. People from Rochester, people from other parts of New York, and people from out of state. All sorts of different people, with different backgrounds, from different places, in one venue.
I've been to professional baseball games before. I've been to two Yankees games, one Mets game, and a handful of Rochester Red Wings games before. I love going to professional baseball games because baseball has been a passion of mine since I began playing at the age of five. What I realized at the Red Wings game the other night though, was all the different types of people you are bound to meet when attending a professional baseball game.
So what's the point I'm trying to make? My point is that whenever you attend a professional baseball game, there are six different people you are bound to encounter at the game. I realized this when I encountered all six of these people at the Red Wings game the other night. These six people are, in detail..
The Constant Mover
When I say constant mover, I do not mean that they are always changing seats in order to get a better view. Instead, I mean that this person is constantly getting in and out of their seats. Whether it be to go to the restroom, go get food, or anything else that they feel they must do, this person is constantly on the move, thus they are The Constant Mover. The person I'm talking about in particular sat two rows ahead of me and must have left his/her seat AT LEAST fifteen times during the game. When I sat down in the top of the second inning (Yeah, we got there late), I did not get up again until we left to go home. All I needed was my ranch sunflower seeds, a bottle of water, and my communication devices. Besides that, I was set to kick back and enjoy the beautiful game of baseball. Apparently, some people have more "needs" than myself. Stay in your seat people. You're there to see the game after all...aren't you?
The Know It All
This is the fan that knows more than you. More than the umpires. More than the managers. More than Abner Doubleday. If this guy was the manager, he would make all the right decisions. This guy often heckles the manager for any decision he makes and the umpires for any call they make. Whether it be the manager bringing in a new pitcher, the umpire calling a runner out at home, or someone in the stands chewing ranch sunflower seeds rather than original, The Know It All will disagree with everything anyone does, because after all, he knows it all. Hell, why even have umps anymore? This guy knows it all.Next time a decision needs to be made by a manager or a call needs to be made by an umpire, just run up to Section 215, Section C, Row F, Seat 5 and ask The Know It All!
The Die Hard Fan
Ah, yes! My personal favorite! This is the one fan that tries to start the chants at the game. This guy sings along "Take me out to the ball game" louder than any fan in the stadium. He is often decked out in his newest team apparel, covering his entire wardrobe with his teams logo. This fan has more passion than you, and he knows it too. It's okay, not all of us can be die hard fans, but we can all strive to be. So next time you are sitting there with your bag of peanuts and drink closely watching the game, watch out for The Die Hard Fan as he may be the guy who is screaming "Lets Go (Insert your favorite teams name)!" so loud that your eardrum bursts.
The Chatty Kathy
If you're as unlucky as I tend to be, this individual will sit in the seat directly behind you, which was my case two nights ago at the Red Wings game. This person either A.) knows nothing about baseball and continues to rant all game about hooplah or B.) actually understands the sport of baseball, but does not shut up. Either way, you as the suffering fan, are getting screwed over. I happened to have choice A. The person behind me did not stop talking all game. Not once. Not ever. They would blab on and on about someone who just called them, how someone they knew got hit in the face with a basketball while driving (I'm not making this up, people) and other hogwash. I mean I just wanted to focus on the game, is that too much to ask? Pipe down, Chatty Kathy.
The Drunken Fool
This guy may be the most infamous of the six. In fact, he's so popular, you can see numerous drunken fools at not only pro baseball games, but mostly any sporting event! This particular fool that I saw two nights had probably four to five beers too many. He was yelling at Strasburg and even posed the bold question "What is the umpire Strasburgs dad?". How did he know!? In fact, the International League scheduled Strasburgs dad to umpire in Rochester on the EXACT day that his son Stephen was pitching. The drunken fool was right! What a genius! Nothing gets past the drunken fool! While some of the things The Drunken Fool can be entertaining, we all know that he will likely spend his night with his head in his toilet. Poor guy.
The THAT'S GONE guy
Everyone knows this guy. This guy either struggles with depth perception or obviously is in need of a pair of glasses. Or maybe both. Anyways, this guy feels the need to scream "THAT'S GONE!" every time a ball is hit in the air to the outfield. I mean, I understand sometimes a ball is hit to the warning track and it someone yells "THAT'S GONE!", but when you say it every time a ball is hit in the outfield, you probably deserved to be punched in the neck. Just saying.
Now it might sounds like this column is just one big complaint, and maybe it is, but the morale of my story is that these six people are the reasons that I love attending professional baseball games. Seeing pro hockey, football, or basketball games in person are all very COOL experiences in their own right, but in no way, shape or form do they compare to the ballpark experience. I don't care how popular football or any other sports is in America, baseball is and always will be Americas pastime.
These six people only make the ballpark experience a better one, if they don't get out of hand of course. In closing, I would like to thank these six people for all that they do, because without you, seeing a professional baseball game just wouldn't be the same.
Oh man, I think we've all had experiences with these 6 people. I REALLY liked this blog. Funny stuff.
ReplyDeleteyeah seriously nailed all 6 of those guys, you forgot the DIE HARD guy always keeps score at the games too. you gotta have at least 2 or 3 brews at a game though, its unamerican not to!
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