I just read an article by ESPN's Jim Caple telling Red Sox fans to shut up. (Read it here) He also wrote a blog on his page that reads "The Devil wears Red Sox" which is a take off of his book "The Devil wears Pinstripes". Now after reading what this guy had to say I felt it my responsibility as a fan to give a little return feedback.
I consider myself to be a big fan of the Red Sox, I'm not what you would call an Uber-fan, unfortunately since I have moved to Florida I haven't been to a Sox game as I haven't had time or money to attend even one. I also don't have the finances to pay for the "Ultimate Baseball Package" through my cable provider so I can't watch all the games on TV. I do however go to the website and use the "GameDay" browser to watch the simulation of each pitch and read the play-by-play. I truly, enjoy the game, it is one that I can get into, I have been a fan of baseball my whole life and I have always been a fan of my home team.
So much like everyone else that was cheering for the Sox in 2004, I was glued to my set to see every game, and nothing could tear me away from the play offs or the series. To watch them win was the greatest experience that any fan of the team could ever have. Since that day we hold that win close to our hearts and like any true sports fan we hope to see it happen again.
The problem that I find is that there are people like Caple who are now saying "Shut up" or "This is getting annoying" and they still want to consider themselves true fans. This guy now speaks of the Sox as a team that he is proud to watch, but it is almost as though he wishes that the win would have made the team disappear. Its as though the rivalry of the Red Sox and the Yankees would die after the Red Sox won one series and then we could go back to being a mournful group of fans with our catch phrase of "wait till next year".
He even says that calling ourselves "Red Sox Nation" is getting worn out. How pathetic is that? Every time the Sox play whether it be at home or away the seats are bombed with many Sox fans eager to watch their team play. And then you have this ass clown that is saying "I'm a Sox fan, and I think you should celebrate like the White Sox do, quietly." Unfortunately this guy is the worst kind of Sox fan, he isn't a die hard fan, he isn't a band wagoner, he is a self loather, the kind of fan that doesn't like other fans because he thinks that their actions reflect poorly on him. Well let me be the first to say if our fans want to stand in the crowd waving signs and drawing attention to themselves then so be it! I would prefer to see the fans in the crowd having the time of their lives. Passion is one thing about a game that makes it what it is, the Red Sox fans have always been passionate, and while there are many of them that have bailed out when the team does bad, the true fans are the ones that will remain in the crowd watching until the final pitch is thrown and cheering for their team even if they are losing horribly.
He rips on us for still calling ourselves Red Sox Nation, obviously he has never been to a game outside of Fenway because half the crowd is cheering on the Sox, you can't go anywhere that the team is playing without finding a massive onslaught of Sox fans showing up to cheer them on. That is why we are Red Sox Nation. There are Sox fans everywhere because they care about the team. He may call himself a fan, but if he keeps posting things like this, he should hand in his nations citizenship and go root for a team that will stay nice and quiet the way he likes. People in the public eye that will bash the fans of the same team he roots for should quit whining because by bashing the fans you are effectively betraying the team.
So Jim Caple, Shut up, you're embarrassing yourself.
No comments:
Post a Comment