Javier Vazquez got booed during his 2nd start against the Angels. A blogger I read and enjoy, Craig Calcaterra, called those that booed "classless and ignorant". Not only is he right, I think he didn't go far enough. By the way, I was born a New Yorker, and I've been a Yankee fan since the early 1970's.
Let's start with a few "reasons" given by some that say it was okay to boo Javy Vazquez.
"He is performing badly, I should get to boo him!!"
At the time of the first boos, Vazquez had pitched a total of one game this year. Should someone really be judged/booed after one game? The boos continued after coming out of the game giving up 3 runs in 5+ innings (yes, 4 after all, but the fourth came after Al Aceves came in to relieve). So 3 runs in 5 innings is boo-worthy to some?
Ignorant Yankee fans 1, informed Yankee fans 0.
"He performed badly in the 2004 ALCS!"
Really? You think it's ok to boo someone who did something 6 years ago? Especially when I could name at least 10 players who had more to do with the collapse than Vazquez?
Ignorant Yankee fans 2, informed Yankee fans 0.
"I pay a lot for these tickets, it's my right to boo!"
Okay, Let's take something that is considered "classy," the opera. In New York, you can go see Der Fliegende Hollander at the Met. According to an online ticket site you can get tickets for somewhere between 42 and 595 dollars. Maybe it's not 1000s of dollars to sit behind the dugout in Yankee stadium, but $595 is not chump change. If the person playing the role of Senta, Doland's daughter (soprano), is off key a few times, how many opera goers are going to boo her? Zero, because they have class.
How about the Symphony. the NY Philharmonic is playing at Avery Fisher Hall, ticket prices up to about $200. If the trombone player, Joseph Alessi, gets out of time with the others for a few beats, will the audience boo him? No.
Classless Yankee fans 1, Classy Yankee fans 0.
"These athletes make a bajillion dollars, the deserve to be booed when they don't perform like I think they should!"
When Frank Sinatra performed live (how much was he making per year?), if he coughed during the singing of "New York New York" would a classy listener boo? No.
When David Copperfield performs in NY, he screws up a couple tricks, would a classy audience boo? No.
Classless Yankee Fans 2, Classy Yankee fans 0.
Lets go a little further. If you went to the premier of Rocky V and Sylvester Stallone was in the audience, at the end of the movie would you have gone up to him and booed him to his face? No.
Cowardly Yankee fans 1, sane Yankee fans 0.
If you had a VIP pass to be in the dugout during the game when Vazquez pitched, would you have booed him as he walked back to the dugout? No.
Cowardly Yankee fans 2, sane Yankee fans 0.
So, the totals here are :
Ignorant, classless, cowardly Yankee fans 6, informed, classy, sane Yankee fans 0.
I don't boo. The only time I would consider booing is if I know someone I paid money to see was not putting forth his/her best effort. I can't read people's minds nor know there current condition, so there's no way for me to know if a player is not putting out his/her best effort given his/her current physical or mental status. Therefore, I don't boo.
And really, what do people that boo, get out of booing? Vazquez gets pulled out of the game, he's walking to the dugout, you stand tall, boo your loudest, then sit down. Was it worth it? Do you feel better about yourself? Did you really "give it to him"? In the end, you sit back down, and the Yankees are still down 3 to 1. You've changed nothing. You said to him, behind the blanket of others booing (because you are a coward), "you have displeased me" or "you suck!!" or "I hate you even though you probably did your best, but you let me down because you didn't live up to my standards that (not all but you because of something that happen 6 years ago) have to throw a no-hitter each time out and then, maybe I'll cheer for you".
Wait, you will cheer for him once he starts performing better??? Well then, I think we can add one more thing to the list:
Hypocritical Yankee fan 1, knowledgeable Yankee fan 0.
There's a reason people don't throw rotten vegetables at actors in theaters any more. It's because those that go to the theater are no longer ignorant, classless, cowardly, hypocritical jackasses.
It's time to evolve.
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That's a great post, Mode. I really liked the Met Opera analogy.
ReplyDeleteLisa from Subway Squawkers
Boooo?
ReplyDeleteLol, in all seriousness, you are blowing this out of proportion. I hope you don't mind me polluting your air waves for a bit in rebuttal.
1. "He is performing badly, I should get to boo him."
If you go to a restaurant and they don't cook your dish correctly, do you eat it silently or speak up? If you experience poor customer service with some company, might you fill the satisfaction survey out with negative results?
Might it be plausible you wouldn't necessarily give a pass after 1 occurrence, even though the subject at hand might have a track record for success? Most people boo (complain) all the time. Lol exaggerated vocal chords work for some. Other medians work for others. That's usually the net effect of a difference in opinion.
2."He performed badly in the 2004 ALCS!"
Moot point. I'm booing now. Who said anything about 2004? Short term memories work both ways. You can't necessarily assume fans are unwilling to see beyond the 'what are you doing for me right now' mentality, and then also pin 6 year old grudges on them. By that mode of reasoning, some portion of the Booers should continue their dislike of Javy despite any success he may provide to the team. I guess time will tell how many of those folk are at the game.
3."I pay a lot for these tickets, it's my right to boo!"
Are we really comparing an opera house to a sporting venue? Whatever, I'll humor you. Plenty of people boo opera singers or artists. They're called critics. Guess what, the symphony keeps on playing. They got over it. So should you.
Additionally, as much as we hate to admit it, the Yankees organization are as much about selling a product and a brand name, as they are about the baseball. When guys like Big Stein rip on their own players' performance, it's no surprise the fans do it too. While that's not necessarily an excuse to boo, I think there is some validity in saying, "I'm feeling ripped off at the moment, and this is the best opportunity of expressing myself to X Player at any given time." I don't think they take it personally. Usually after those performances which warrant that reaction, they are equally disappointed in themselves.
4. "These athletes make a bajillion dollars, the deserve to be booed when they don't perform like I think they should!"
Lol I've seen David Cooperfield's act. It's good man. My favorite trick is the one when he made a car disappear. He put a sheet over it and then POOF. Of course, if the card hadn't disappeared when he pulled the sheet away, I would have laughed. Then I would have said, I paid how much for this? People can be accommodating to a point, but unless you agree to NEVER convey your disappointment, how is determining the timeline for a complaint not completely relative?
As far as being cowardly? That's hard to measure. I am a very blunt person. My friends come to me for an honest answer because I call it like I see it. If Javy and I were chilling in line for a coffee, and he asked what I thought, I'd tell he looked ugly out there and I regretted spending 3 hours of my night watching it. I'd also tell him, if he has a good day, I'll be the first to cheer him on. This is the same line I'd tell any of the other Yankees when assessing their individual roles.
The players understand it's nothing personal. It just is what is. Some people do it, some don't. I guess as long as we're keeping score though...I'll have to side with the classless churls of society.
To the anon poster: "I'd also tell him, if he has a good day, I'll be the first to cheer him on."
ReplyDeleteThat's called being a frontrunner or a bandwagoner. I wouldn't exactly pride myself on that personality trait, if I were you.
Lisa, thanks for the kind words!
ReplyDeleteAnon, I don't want to rebut each rebutttal, and I thank you for your reasoned response. However, I think you miss the point that it is distinctly the booing (a form of complaining, you're right) that I don't like.
Not blowing out of proportion, just venting on something I think is boorish at best.
Lol Squawker. What do you know about preferable traits? A bandwagon fan is one who follows the hot team or the popular choice with no sense of allegiance. That is not me. I haven't missed a game in about 10 years. With a full time job, that isn't easy. It is within reason to be critical of something. Although I support the yanks, I can still question the players. Frankly if you weren't critical of some of the players, I'd question your knowledge of the team (ie Pavano). In others keep on squawking (booing).
ReplyDeleteHey, Anon, don't hurt yourself patting yourself on the back there.
ReplyDeleteI was scratching my head trying to remember when I posted in my blog about Carl Pavano. Then I remembered that I mentioned him on Facebook yesterday, not the blog. So that means that the Anonymous poster read what I said there, yet I don't know who that person is. That's really creepy.
ReplyDeleteTo late "other" anon. I think I'm going to the DL! My ego suffers immensely from arthritis.
ReplyDeleteSquawker- Lol don't flatter yourself. Let me get this straight. Because I mentioned Pavano, I must have read your facebook? I mean, afterall, no one could mention a crappy Yankee player and NOT know you. Who could randomly mention a name and not have been exposed to the brilliance apparently exuded in some little facebook blog? That's really presumptious.