Cheerleader Wannabes

[gingi79]

I remember when I went to my first game with my dad. I saw a very young Ryan Sandberg with the Cubbies come to Queens to beat the NY Mets in 1985. There wasn't a whole lot of noise or distractions in the stands, Bloopers and stats on the Jumbotron and "the wave" was the only thing I did with the crowd. It taught me at age 6, to sit still and enjoy the pleasures of a picnic like atmosphere with fans just enjoying the game.

In this overstimulated age of cell phones and handheld video games, the internet, HDTV and even video learning in all schools, people are incapable of just doing one thing, namely enjoying a hot dog and a soda with your dad. Many of my favorite memories of my father and certainly the best conversations we ever had were in Shea Stadium (or the Nassau Coliseum).

Add me to the list of people who think Baseball is catering to this generation of fans at the expense of the old guard.

[godwulf]

It could be a lot worse, I guess...we could be Baseball fans in Japan. I happen to be re-reading You Gotta Have Wa, and the author describes the huge crowds, whole sections full, of organized, uniformed home team fans who start screaming and cheering at the tops of their lungs an hour before the game starts, scream and cheer throughout the game, and sometimes continue screaming and cheering after the game is over. Think about that the next time somebody starts the Wave.

I'm sometimes annoyed by the loud music they play over the loudspeakers pre-game to the extent that I give up trying to watch BP and just retreat to the suite level, find an easy chair and wait for game time. It's like the team suits don't think anyone is going to know they're having a good time without some kind of kickass soundtrack.

The other day, I sat behind what looked like grandpa, son, and two grandsons, the latter maybe 11 and 13. The son and 11-year-old spent the entire game playing with their smartphones. Then, there are the people who run their mouths for literally the whole game about personal matters, work, etc, and make you (or me, at least) want to ask them, "What are you even doing here? Why did you come to a Baseball game, when you could be having exactly the same conversation at Denny's and not annoying me?"

The only thing worse that that is sitting in front of (or, really, anywhere near, but they always seem to end up right behind me) a group of middle-aged women (there are usually four, for some reason) who each have one beer or glass of wine and then start believing that anything said by any member of the group is hysterically funny. They spend the entire game engaged in what I can only imagine they think is "witty banter", each moronic statement or sentence fragment punctuated by insane giggling.

[sox83cubs84]

They're not cheerleaders, but one group of fans I find annoying is anyone who realizes that they're on TV while seated behind the plate due to a center field camera shot, whips out their cell phone, calls someone to tell them to turn on the game, and then waves at their out-of-stadium associate. Buddy, it's about the Cubs and Cardinals, the Yankees and Red Sox, or whomever, NOT YOU!! SIT DOWN AND WATCH THE GAME!

Dave Miedema

[Tedw9]

They're not cheerleaders, but one group of fans I find annoying is anyone who realizes that they're on TV while seated behind the plate due to a center field camera shot, whips out their cell phone, calls someone to tell them to turn on the game, and then waves at their out-of-stadium associate. Buddy, it's about the Cubs and Cardinals, the Yankees and Red Sox, or whomever, NOT YOU!! SIT DOWN AND WATCH THE GAME!

Dave Miedema

That's funny because as I sit and watch games it's annoys me that people are sitting there on their cell phones talking when a schmuck like me would KILL for those seats. And I wouldn't even bring a cell phone.

But there was this one time I was watching a Red Sox game and it was the bottom of the 9th, 2 outs, 2 strikes.....and this beautiful young lady decided to whip out her......well, let me just say it wasn't her cell phone!

[camarokids]

That's funny because as I sit and watch games it's annoys me that people are sitting there on their cell phones talking when a schmuck like me would KILL for those seats. And I wouldn't even bring a cell phone.

But there was this one time I was watching a Red Sox game and it was the bottom of the 9th, 2 outs, 2 strikes.....and this beautiful young lady decided to whip out her......well, let me just say it wasn't her cell phone!

What did she whip out? Did you get pictures???

[Tedw9]

There is a Zapruder like video out there, about the same quality.

[jppopma]

Darn that loud rock and roll music...

We need to buy Jeff a bubble seat for the game. )