Friday, August 29, 2014

O those O's Fans

On Thursday, Adam Jones was invited to a Q&A session with fans before the upcoming game against the Tampa Bay Rays.  Normally, these get togethers end with no real takeaways other than "That was pretty neat."

But this was a Q&A with Adam Jones, who is known for causing a stir with his words, and this was a Q&A with Orioles fans, who have proven to be, time and time again, irrational, over-reactionary, and take things way to seriously (God forbid you mention Ryan Flaherty to one of these people).  What's pullin' your leg this time, sports fans?

Q: Adam, what's your favorite thing about Baltimore?
A: The airport, because that means I'm leaving town.

Rational people: Oh, Adam.  Always a jokester.

Orioles fans:


(for mobile users: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLiqJ8-T75A)

Remember that time Aubrey Huff called Baltimore a "horse shit town" and meant it 100% (and then promptly hit 32 home runs that year)?  That is something fans should be upset about.  But this?  A light hearted joke?  Earlier today, a caller called into 105.7 The Fan claiming he attended the Q&A, and said that Adams tone was clearly sarcastic and joking.  But some fans did not pick up on that tone, and a Twitter wave of "How dare Adam Jones say such things!" promptly crested.

Adam Jones blows a bubble in your general direction!
If you want to be mad at somebody, fans should be mad at the promotion organizer that thought it would be a good idea to hold this event around 6 PM, one hour before Jones was scheduled to take the field to do his job.  Jones claimed that this was the cause for his short, seemingly uninterested remarks during the session, which induced more anger in the Twittersphere (If Social Media Night sparks a Tweetidemic, does that mean it was a success?).  The fact that Adam Jones even showed up so close to gametime should speak volumes towards his character and how he really feels about this city and team.


Off topic (but on topic), recall before the Jeter-Star Game, Joe buck entered the American League locker room to ask Derek Jeter some pre-game questions.  This is what followed:




(for mobile users: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcqPURUCJ8I)

First of all, I'd like to say that this was staged and dumb.  But the Twitterverse could not stop praising Jeter for being focused and intense so close to game time. What a class act by Captain Clutch!

RELEVANT:



Could you imagine if Adam Jones did that to Gary Thorne?  Good lord.


Another hot topic this week has been the low attendance throughout the Rays series.  In the four games, Camden Yards had a paid attendance of 15,000, 16,000, 20,000, and 17,000 respectively.  This is significantly below the average for this year of 30,000.  All over social media and on the airwaves, there has been a war of words as to why the attendance was so low.


The critics (many of which didn't even attend the games, effectively making them hypocrites), are baffled as to how fans of a team with a commanding lead in the division during a playoff run could possibly not pack the yard every night and back their Birds.  Those who defend the fans claim the start of school in the area is the main factor.  So why did fans not show up in big numbers this week?

The crowd needs to be at least...three times bigger than this!

Well for one, the defenders are correct in the fact that school started this week in the Greater Baltimore area.  Those who scoff at this excuse need to look no further than the historical attendance at Camden Yards.  In 2012, the August 27th through 30th series against the White Sox saw attendance of 10,000, 12,000, 13,000, and 10,000.  This time in the 2011, 2010, 2009, etc.  seasons was no different.  A statistical analysis of these numbers reveals a correlation of school starting and attendance dropping.  "But the Orioles were bad in most of those years!"  While that is true, drop in attendance from summer to fall is still blatantly present.  "But fans should still support the team!  They're in a pennant race!" In the aforementioned 2012, which proved to be one of the most exciting seasons in Orioles history, the O's were on a run, closing the 10 game gap that the Yankees had opened up in the division, and the attendance drop at the end of August was still there.

Don't forget that the cost of attending a professional sporting event is not ideal.  Sure, the Orioles have some of the lowest ticket and food prices in MLB, but it's still more than free.  In a country with a recession slowly fading away in its rear view mirror, people are not going to spend as freely as they normally would.

The cheapest tickets in the park, not on Ollie's Bargain Night or Student Night, are $10 a pop for upper left field reserve.  If a family of five wants to attend a game, that's $50 right off the bat, and only if they sit up top.  Add on the cost of any food or merchandise and the travel some families are looking at close to a $150 night out.  I have had my fair share of solo trips to the yard, and my wallet usually ends up empty (as do the big cans of Miller Lite), so I give my pockets a break for a few games.  Baseball games are not cheap events.  The frugal types will tell you, "Just buy $10 tickets, bring your own food and drink and you'll be fine!" That's admirable, but not something the general public does when they go to a baseball game.

"Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jacks..." IT'S IN THE SONG, PEOPLE.

Another factor?  The opposing team.  Let's be real, the Rays are not the most attractive team to see play a game.  They just traded their best pitcher to Detroit, and their best player is in a down year.  Also they have Sean Rodriguez.  These are not the Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals, Phillies, or any of those teams that have appeal outside of their own stadiums. (The Rays don't even have appeal inside their own stadium!)  Don't believe me? The Rays have the sixth lowest average road attendance in the league.  This weekend's visitors, the Minnesota Twins, are second to last in that category as well.  Once the big boys come back to town, the Yard will be full.

So while the Orioles continue to win games, win series, and run away with the AL East (knock on wood), Orioles fans continue to find something to complain about.  Upset with no runs with bases loaded?  Cool.  Irked by an inning ending double play? Yeah, that's rough.  But this?  A joke and attendance?  C'mon O's fans

This article will undoubtedly receive flak, which almost proves my point, but why don't we all sit back and enjoy the best Baltimore Orioles team in 17 years and not nitpick everything like your 12th grade economics teacher?

2014 is a special year in Baltimore, let's focus on that.


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