I am not an angry ranter. I am just not. A ranter? Yes, by all means, as you can see from my posts. But angry? No, I leave that up to my distinguished partner. However after a loss I will call the worst-feeling in five years of being a Rays fan, I need to vent. I honestly have never had as poor of an experience and felt as miserable as I did today after the Rays lost. Not only did the Bucs have a poor draft, not only did the Lightning get eliminated from the playoffs, but the Rays lost a 9-6 contest to Boston in front of a heavily-skewed Red Sox crowd after taking a 4-0 lead and taking a 6-5 lead into the ninth.
And it wasn't just the scoreboard that hurt. In fact, that was a small piece of it. I can take a loss, even one in the ninth inning, but listening to 20,000 screaming Red Sox fans was too much. If I had a dollar for every time a Sox fan said something to the tune of "Tampa Sucks", I would be able to buy Fenway Park, attach explosives to it, and blow it up with 35,000 of those morons inside. And believe me, thinking of it is appealing.
Seriously, I think 99.9% of Red Sox fans are idiots. That is not to say that all are. Sam Kilay, one of my excellent colleagues in the Rays blogosphere at Rays Talk is an example of a Sox fan who isn't. The people at Over the Monster, are other examples. But for the most part, I hate Red Sox fans. They are inconsiderate, moronic pieces of trash. I have met, in person, maybe one Red Sox fan at the Trop who is not an idiot and was polite. One.
Let me list what happened to me, personally, in order from the time I entered the rotunda....
- Repeated number of intoxicated fans wearing Red Sox clothing look at me in my Rays jersey and hat and yell "Tampa Sucks", unaware like most morons where the team actually plays. Further, two of these said fans actually did this in between chugs of alcohol, I kid you not.
- In a concession line in right field before the game, a Sox fan takes several minutes to order concessions, and when he finally decides on what he wants, he pulls out a $10 bill, $2 short of his sum total for the transaction. He proceeds to bitch and moan for awhile about how things are so overpriced nowadays and how he doesn't owe them a dime, while a line three deep forms behind him. He eventually gives the $2 to the clerk, and in his wallet I notice at least six $20 bills.
- I sat at a picnic table in right field. Around the 3rd inning, these two young, 20ish, Red Sox fans come up to my table, unannounced, move my stuff aside, and begin chewing loudly on hot dogs, talking as they chew and spitting out pieces of their meal as they speak. Most of their words are not English, however they mix in a few profanities directed at Rays players, and then leave the table two innings later, of course, leaving their trash behind.
- Around the 6th inning, a Red Sox fan asks me to show him where his seats are. I do, indeed, even though it is six sections away from my seat, and the fan does not care to thank me or even acknowledge my help as he goes to his seat.
- During the Red Sox rally, the loud group of fans next to me shrilly yells a string of obscenities at the top of their lungs at the Rays bullpen, stopping only for a sip of beer, which a vendor had sold them at least six of just before this incident.
- Lastly, after the game in the Budweiser Brewhouse, a fan tries to steal an inflatable bat that I had when I get up to throw something away. I had won the bat at a trivia contest, and when I return, these Sox fans are walking away with it. I confront them, and they actually have the audacity to defend themselves, issuing no apology and saying that I was gone "forever", which apparently spans 5 seconds nowadays.
Besides, the Red Sox fans locally are a bunch of bandwagon-jumping idiots who if you asked, could not tell you the name of Boston's career games played leader (Carl Yaztremski). They have absolutely no knowledge of their team, and come to the ballpark dressed in Red Sox gear and boo their real hometown team. I wonder if that makes these people feel good. To have absolutely no shame or loyalty whatsoever.
After tonight's contest, I became absolutely convinced. I hate the Red Sox even more than the Yankees, and it isn't even close. At least New York is classy on the field, for the most part, and their fan attendance stays consistent. I have had far less to gripe about with Yankee fans than Sox faithful, and I use the term "faithful" loosely, considering that most of these people don't know the meaning of the word. I can stand a Yankees-Rays game. These people spend their money, come out in droves, and while supporting their team, are not asses about it. The same cannot be said about Red Sox fans, who apparently think that one World Series title in the last 88 years entitles them to act like kings. I'm sorry, you are still a pathetic, inept excuse for a franchise on the whole. Your inept management over the last 88 years makes Chuck LaMar look like John Schuerholz, and you play in a dump for a ballpark that makes the Metrodome look appealing. Your "fans" are nothing more than pieces of trash dressed up in Sox jerseys that come out only when you win, and the fact that you, a team of $120 million, have Lenny DiNardo in the rotation is pathetic. Your manager is a fraud, ask any Phillies fan how good he did in Philadelphia over four years, and your team consists of hotheaded morons like Julian Tavarez, Curt Schilling, and Johnny Da.....whoops, nope, sorry! You let the face of your team go to New York because you were too inept to convince a man who was absolutely worshipped in Boston to stay over one year on a contract.
I will be sad when the Red Sox leave town. Sad that we missed our opportunity to create "accidents" at the Vinoy. Sad that we won't sweep these pathetic imbeciles out of OUR stadium. But most of all, sad that my area is so apathetic as to let a visiting team's "fans" take over our stadium.