Friday, September 07, 2007

Why do Camden Yards ushers treat opposing fans better than O's fans?

I know I've heard similar complaints before so this is probably beating a dead horse, but I need to vent.

Five of my friends and I have a 13 game plan in section 85 at Camden Yards, and that plan included last night's Orioles vs. Red Sox game.

So we were surrounded by BoSox fans (not surprising) and decided pretty early on that we needed to be vocal. So we were booing when the Red Sox fans cheered and all that crap ... nothing offensive. We took some good-natured ribbing from a few Sox fans around us, but by the 9th inning we were running out of steam and not really saying much.

So when Jason Varitek singled in the go-ahead run the stadium went wild and a friend of mine yelled something innocuous like "Go back to Boston" or "Sit down." And a few alleged Sox fans in the section in front of us turned around to rub it in a little. Again, not too surprising given the general "we run this joint" attitude that visiting Red Sox fans always seem to bring.

The one dude who really wanted to get some shots in is decked out in red and blue -- but not for the Red Sox. For the Phillies. This clown was wearing a Phillies jersey and Phillies hat and for some reason was there rooting on the Red Sox like he grew up trolling Yawkey Way. He yelled something to the effect of "What now!?" at us, so my friends and I can't resist.

"YOU'RE WEARING @#$%*ING PHILLIES GEAR AND YOU'RE TALKING TRASH!? THEY'RE THE LOSINGEST FRANCHISE IN THE HISTORY OF SPORTS! YOU'VE LOST 10,000 GAMES! THAT'S OVER 60 SEASONS WORTH OF LOSSES!" etc. etc.

It really is amazing how much sports trivia you can randomly access from the recesses of your brain when you're pissed off.

Profanities were exchanged but honestly I doubt too many people heard us over the Sox fans' jubilation.

The stupid trash talk was dying down when the usher for our section came to us -- not the Sox/Phillies fans -- and said to sit down and keep our mouths shut, and if she heard anything else she was going to kick us out. Not a word to the Sox fans. So we told her to go give them the same warning, and she said, "They're not the problem. It's you" (paraphrasing).

Of course the Sox fans had a field day with this.

I'm fine that she told us to shut up, but don't act like it's a one-sided affair. Especially when they were at our yard looking for an argument.

Were we being obnoxious? Sure. But it wasn't any worse from our end than theirs, and for some reason the usher acted like we were a bunch of grown men punching babies, going so far as to sit next to the PhilSox fans and assure them the "situation" had been taken care of. She even hung out for the remainder of the game and shared a few laughs.

This isn't the first time I've heard of OUR ushers bending over backwards to please the visiting team's fans in spite of Orioles fans. Why in the world would ushers treat opposing fans, who come to one or two games a year when their team is in town, better than partial plan holders?

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