Tonight we took in the M’s home opener. The M’s couldn’t muster anything resembling an offense, and they spoiled a really great start by King Felix. In between bouts of mild nausea and feeling pretty exhausted, I couldn’t help but notice two things while at the game. As a warning, neither of these observations are going to be particular popular, but I’m tired and don’t feel like censoring tonight like I normally do.
1. It’s hilarious how easily sports fans can become smug. The A’s fans present for the game were swaggering around and hi-fiving like a team they were on had just won the World Series. That’s funny, because, A) They aren’t on a team that did anything, they just cheer for guys in a particular uniform, and, B) The A’s win was in an early April contest between two teams that will almost definitely finish the season with two of the five worst records in the American League.
2. Mariners fans are some of the worst in baseball. I’m sorry Seattle friends, you’re really awesome at rooting for the two types of football, but even with a near sell-out crowd tonight, you’re really lame fans. Not as lame as Rays fans, who, even with a team that is a perennial World Series contender, still can’t even show up for home games. At least M’s fans show up from time to time. Yet, not once, but three separate times, during key moments in the game, the fans weren’t watching the game, but were doing the wave. They didn’t even cheer a big play because they were too busy waiting for the wave to come back.
Cardinals fans are continually praised by unbiased folks as the best fans in baseball, and I think that is fair in a lot of ways. And, say what you will about the infamous drunken belligerence of Phillies fans; the vulgar and obnoxious arrogance and douchbagery of Red Sox fans; and the smug, cocky “we deserve to sign every player in the universe” elitism of Yankees fans; at least the fans of these teams care about the game, and show up talking about baseball on every pitch.
I understand that the M’s are really bad, and that makes it hard to get excited, but it must be hard for a team to be in a big spot, and instead of their fans trying to will them on to victory, they’re half ignoring that there is a baseball game going on at all.
And sure, maybe I got spoiled in the fact that most of the games I’ve seen in my life were at Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park, where opening day (and most of the days after) always have the potential to be electric.
I’m sure that if the M’s got good again the love of the game would return. And I also understand that since most Seattleites are transplants, the M’s are most people’s second favorite team. Either way: the wave should be banned from Safeco. Forever.
