Yankees vs Red Sox

So I am a very unique baseball fan who is a Yankee fan and a Red Sox fan 
https://www.mlb.com/.  I grew up in Western Massachusetts, and most of our baseball exposure was to the Red Sox, and when we went to watch major league baseball, it was at Fenway Park.  But, because of the way television was back then, we received broadcasts from Connecticut, which were often Yankee broadcasts. So, I grew to be a fan of both teams.  And have never changed my fanship.

Tonight, I have been watching the third of a three game series between the Yankees and Red Sox in New York. The Friday night game was not televised in my area; the Yankees won.  I watched last night to see the Red Sox win. When people ask me how I cheer for the Yankees and Red Sox when they play together, I say I want a close game, or better still, an extra innings game, and may the best team win.  

That is what is happening  tonight.  Love it!

Texas Tech Basketball Fans

I went to the Texas Tech Men's Basketball game against number 1 ranked Kansas on 1/9/16.  There was a good turnout, including a lot of Kansas fans.  I was really disappointed by the Texas Tech fans.  They started out the game booing the Kansas team. There was no call for that.  I would like to think Texas Tech fans had a higher character than what was displayed by the booing tonight.  As far as I can tell, there was nothing bad that happened at the game, although 2 Kansas fans were escorted out of the arena.  I just do not believe in booing the other team. 

The Red Sox, James Taylor and Music

James Taylor http://www.jamestaylor.com/biography/ is an amazing singer, song writer and performer.  He debuted a song tonight Angels of Fenway http://news.yahoo.com/james-taylor-debuts-song-fenway-fenway-003657561.html at the Red Sox  http://boston.redsox.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=bos vs Yankees http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=nyy game on ESPN.  During the seventh inning stretch, he sang  America the Beautiful.  He gave an interview to ESPN during the game.  He is a Red Sox fan.

A Red Sox vs.Yankee game is always exciting, The rivalry is legendary.  The fun added by a celebrity appearance and performance just enhances the level of fun and excitement.

When a Fan Misbehaves, Should the Athlete Pay?

It happened at the Texas Tech Men's Basketball game at the United Spirit Arena in  Lubbock, Texas, in a game against Oklahoma State University.  It was a full house and it was a hotly contested game.  The Red Raiders won, upsetting a ranked team.

During the game the Lubbock announcers were decidedly negative about the arrogance of Marcus Smarts. However, the "unwritten rule" is that an athlete never goes after a fan, no matter what happens.   The history is that Marcus Smart has had problems with his behavior in the past.  But on February 8, 2014, he shoved a fan http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/eye-on-college-basketball/24437173/video-marcus-smart-shoves-fan-near-end-of-osu-loss-at-texas-tech.  It is never appropriate for an athlete, amateur or professional, to go after a fan.  Sometimes, it happens.  And, unfortunately, the young man involved in this incident, will be suspended for the next three games his team plays. He apologized in a statement on Sunday http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-the-dagger/marcus-smart-apologizes-altercation-accepts-three-game-suspension-234016680--ncaab.html.  I say unfortunately because he is in a way paying for the inappropriate behavior of the fan, as well has his own inappropriate behavior.

The fan is Jeffery Orr, described as an "uber fan," a Texas Tech graduate who travels to all the games. And, according to the Lubbock media, has had problems as a fan in the past. The editorial comments on that http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/lupica-fan-smart-article-1.1608035  indicate as much.

Mike Holder, the Athletic Director for Oklahoma State University made a statement http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/10428708/marcus-smart-oklahoma-state-cowboys-suspended-3-games-shoving-fan that really indicated an awareness of the need for the young athlete to grow, not be marked for one mistake, and that more forces than a young athlete were in play in this incident.

Is this fair?  We put athletes in fish-bowl pressure cookers in sporting events, expecting ultimately very mature behavior from still young people. We blame them if they are not emotionally involved enough in their sport, and castigate them if their emotions overtake them . They may be getting an education paid for but they are not other wise compensated for their hours of effort.  And, they become heroes or scapegoats, depending upon their performance and the ultimate performance of their team.

This is a lot to put on a still  young adult.  Maybe we have some unrealistic expectations of these young people, who, on the whole, perform outstandingly in the mature behavior sportsmanship category.   The consequences for negative behavior from a player can be penalties in a game, ejection from a game, very drastically, forfeiture of a game, and suspension.   If serious enough, the negative behavior could affect the athlete's scholarship and academic standing.  These could be life changing consequences.

And, let's face it, what are the consequences for a fan: to be walked out of a game, to be banned from games, and notoriety that they otherwise would not receive if they were well behaved.  People who behave as did Orr probably eat up the notoriety.   Or at least, do not let it influence or affect them negatively.

The decks are skewed, against the player, who may really not be as much to blame as the fan. 

I am glad the consequences for Marcus Smart are what they are.  I am sorry that there are not some criminal charges against Orr.  I am not trying to be vindictive or retaliatory, but really an adult needs to be held responsible for the consequences of his behavior.  The behavior of Mr. Orr could have dragged Marcus Smart into some serious, harmful behaviors, which could have scarred his future. We are grateful that it seems the consequences will not do that. Let us hope.

A Remembered Compliment

Although I have followed the Lady Raiders Basketball team since the late 1980's, I only started attending the Texas Tech Lady Raider Basketball http://www.texastech.com/sports/w-baskbl/text-w-baskbl-body.html games semi regularly in 2005.  Some years, I am a season ticket holder. Some years, I just go to the games, look for promotions on tickets, and if I get discouraged with the performance (and I have) I stay home and watch on TV or listen to the games on the radio.

When I first started going to the games, the Texas Tech Lady Raider team was considered a basketball powerhouse and the arena was always crowded.  Even if the uppermost tier was not full (which it often was in 2005) the lower seating was full.

I am a very vocal fan.  I yell and scream and chant.  I cheer the cheers, and do the claps, the "Guns Up" and sing the Matador Song at the end of the game. I yell "Raider Power" depending on what side of the arena I am sitting.  Even though I am not a Tech graduate.  I am a Tech employee. And a fan.

Well, years ago, I remember at one game, I was doing my usual yelling and cheering and exhorting, and a gentleman in the row in front of me turned around and told me he liked the way I cheered. One of the players had done something incorrect or bad on the court, and instead of disparaging the player, I yelled a positive "do" statement.  He was right.

I do not disparage the players.  My cheers are things like:  "Get some points!"  "Hold 'em!" "Get the stop!" "You can do it!" "Defense!" "Good hustle! (including when good hustle does not turn out well)" "Score!"  "Go, Lady Raiders!" "Rebound!"

I cheer the Court Jesters http://www.orgs.ttu.edu/goinband/courtjesters.asp 

The most negative thing I do is scream a protracted "Miss it!" when the opposing team is shooting free throws.

Other than that, I do not usually boo or disparage the opposing team. The exception was when Brittany Greiner of Baylor University took a roundhouse punch to Jordan Barncastle http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtaPtQnu370.  That was inexcusable, and frankly, I think the sanctions against Brittany Greiner were too mild.

I rarely boo the officials, although I will admit that I do, on occasion, when the call is so blatantly bad.  And this year, at least twice, when a player has obviously been hurt (Tech or opposition) and the officials have allowed play to continue.  What is that about?  I would think one of the most important responsibilities of the officials is to make sure the players are safe, and if you have an injured player on the court and do not stop play, that is criminal.

And kudos to the ball girls.  They are very well trained.  They get out there and wipe up the areas of the floor where there is moisture, and they keep their heads up in case play comes back there way.  The ball girls are young. They look to be elementary or junior high age. But guess what.  When I compare their performance to the performance of the "ball boys" or assistants at the men's games, the ball girls' skill, agility, and game awareness are far and away better.   Go Lady Raider ball girls!

Lady Raider Basketball

I have been a fan of Lady Raider Basketball http://www.texastech.com/sports/w-baskbl/text-w-baskbl-body.html since the late 1980's.  I listened to the games, or, rarely, watched them on TV, because they were rarely televised, but did not attend them.  I discussed the games with friends and colleagues. 

In 1993, when the Lady Raiders won the National Championship, I of course watched the game. There was a ceremony at Jones Stadium for them, when they returned to Lubbock, and I attended that. I continued to follow the Lady Raiders, and went to an occasional game.

In the spring of 2005, I started attending the games fairly regularly.  Marsha Sharp ended her coaching career the next year.  Kristy Curry took over as head coach of the Texas Tech Lady Raiders in March 2006. She continued as coach until the spring of 2013.  I was never a Kristy Curry fan.  There was something about her that made me not be a fan of her.  Her teams were inconsistent. They played well and then went cold, all in the same game.  The marketing for the games was geared to small children.  I just was not a fan.  But, I tried to continue to support the team.

In the spring of 2013, Candace Whitaker http://www.texastech.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/052013aac.html was selected as the head coach for the Lady Raiders Basketball team. She pledged that she was here to stay.  I do not think she understood just how decimated the Lady Raider Basketball program was.  There is little community support and less student support. I blame the lack of student support on a problem that occured with the Saddle Tramps that has never been resolved.   And, I blame the lack of community support on the exorbitantly high cost of season tickets, and the poor performance of the teams.  Candi Whitaker remembers the glory days of the Lady Raiders when there was mega-support. She willl not recoup that without a winning team, and a dedicated fan base. She is trying to recoup that. She has re-instituted the"Run and Gun Club" that provides interaction with the team after the game. 

I would have liked to stay for that tonight, but I had other obligations after the game.  And, I knew if I had stayed, my night would have been later than it already is. 

Maybe I can stay for the "Run and Gun Club" some other day.

Mostly what will build the fan base for the Lady Raiders is winning.  But the other thing that will build the fan base is outreach to the students, mending fences with the Saddle Tramps, and personal outreach to the community.

Conflicted Fans

I have written before about being a conflicted fan when the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees play together.  It is easy to cheer for my two favorite teams when they play other teams.  But not when they play each other.

My brother shares that he has lots of teams that he cheers for, so I would just say that he is a big baseball fan.

He tells me most recently his grandson was confused when the Boston Red Sox played the Arizona Diamondback, because he did not know which team to cheer for.  Well, I can relate to that.  I am 60 years old, and just this year, decided the best way to handle the Red Sox vs. Yankee dilemma was to cheer for a tied game with lots of extra innings.  After all, that has happened before, more than once.

Jackie Robinson Day 42 and

The first Jackie Robinson Day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Robinson_Day was celebrated by Major League Baseball in 2004, and was designated as a celebration annually in 2005 http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130410&content_id=44442254&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb. This year, Jackie Robinson Day is 4/15/13.  If teams do not play on 4/15/13, they celebrate the next day.  If they are not in their home stadium on 4/15/13, they honor Jackie Robinson at their next home game.

If you do not know who Jackie Robinson is, he was the first Afro-American baseball player, hand picked, to play in the major leagues.  This occurred in 1947, and frankly he faced a lot of racism as he traveled with his team and played baseball across the country. He handled the situation with courage, grace, respect, and dignity. 

His number, 42, was retired in 1997 by Major League Baseball, but Mariano Rivera of the New York Yankees, whose number is 42, was allowed to continue to wear the number, as he did before the number was retired 

In 2007, Ken Griffey Jr. asked permission to wear 42 on Jackie Robinson Day in Robinson's honor.  In 2009,  all players were allowed to wear the number on Jackie Robinson Day. Now, everyone wears 42 on Jackie Robinson Day.

The movie "42 The Jackie Robinson Story"  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0453562/  has a line: "Someday everyone will wear 42."  The point is symbolic: if we are all 42 we are all the same: race, creed, color, whatever, we are all the same.  The movie was nationally released 4/12/13, timing it to coincide closely with Jackie Robinson Day 2013.

I went to see the movie today.  I wanted to get to it early in its showing in Lubbock, because Lubbock is not a baseball town, and I did not think it would stay around long.  I was surprised by the crowd, including many women, even solitary women as myself, without a companion, in the audience. During the movie, when there were good baseball plays, the audience clapped (I did) like it was a real game.

I appreciate the struggle and pain Jackie Robinson went through as the first black player in Major League Baseball. But I can not imagine what that was. 

I am glad Major League Baseball recognizes him. And, that Major League Baseball (the national past time) recognizes its role in the integration of our nation.

I have to wonder what Thomas Jefferson, Jackie Robinson and Martin Luther King, Jr. would thing about Barak Obama being the President of the United States of America.

If anyone says that sports does not have an impact on our culture, they are wrong.  And, while it is not the end all and be all of integration, sports has had a very large impact on integration in this country.

Loyal Fan Customer - Not!

I have to admit that I am not a loyal fan customer.  Just because the Texas Tech Lady Raiders http://www.texastech.com/sports/w-baskbl/text-w-baskbl-body.html, or NASCAR http://www.nascar.com/en_us/sprint-cup-series.html, or NASCAR driver Joey Logano http://www.joeylogano.com/ or NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick http://kevinharvick.com/ promote a product or service, I do not use that product or service. 

I do not make my decisions about products or services based on heavy advertising.  I love the GEICO http://www.geico.com/ commercials. They are so much fun, but I do not think I want to try GEICO insurance. I love the Liberty Mutual  Insurance commercials http://welcome.libertymutual.com/campaigns/search/v1/auto-insurance.html?cmpgncde=289&keyCode=ISPMA0G0&src=im-dpds-aut-ggl1208125038&s_kwcid=TC|17321|liberty%20insurance||S|b|16571841427 that demonstrate responsibility. They demonstrate "pay it forward" and "what goes around comes around."

But as much as I love those commercials, they do not convince me to switch from my tried and true insurance company that has come through, time and again, when I needed it to. You can not substitute cute commercials for tried and true service. Or, you can, and take a chance on what you will get.

The same is true for other products and services. If I have a positive history with a product or service, I am hesitant to change for the unknown, no matter what the advertising says. I am much more likely to give credence to an endorsement from someone I know and trust than a professionally produced commercial.

So, not matter how much advertising I see, I make my choices based on more personal experience.