Tuesday, June 14, 2005

The Foul-Weather Fan

Everybody knows what a fair-weather fan is. The Johnny-come-lately who only cheers for a winner - while they're winning. And he does so usually in a good deal of ignorance. When it comes to a game I don't like, such as basketball, I freely admit that I'm a fair-weather fan. But...

Contrast that with the "foul-weather fan." This fan shows up no matter how badly his team is or is playing. Or how bad the weather is, for that matter. Unknown to fair-weather fans, the foul-weather fan receives many benefits. No lines for food or beer or restroom. No ballpark traffic. He virtually has his own personal vendors. Great seats bought at the last minute. He can wake up in the morning and say, "it's a great day for a ballgame" and then go. He gets to see a comedy of errors every day. Not only can the visiting left fielder hear his heckling from the bleachers behind him, but the crowd is so small he can hear him when he's in the dugout.

At the time of this post, the Giants and A's, in the midst of long losing streaks, have only about 4 teams worse than they. Attendance is already down, and I'm wondering if it might continue this way. It's been quite a few years since Bay Area baseball had two losers, but if we're heading toward the bottom of the barrel for a few years, I'm ready to have a different kind of fun that I haven't experienced in a long time.

1 comment:

  1. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were wishing ill will on my boys in black! Although, I must admit, the ability to get seats at Pac Belle these days is nice. Plus, watching Ellison, Linden, Niekro, heck, even Shabala, has been a pleasure.

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