Well, they can't say they were not warned....

by San Diego Smooth Jazz Man on Oct 16, 2007 10:54 PM CDT Comment 10 comments

Since the fans of the Cincinnati Reds were so accomodating to Cubs fans during the last weekend of the season, I thought they should, at the very least -- know what's ahead with their new manager.

Canary In The Coal Mine

It's the least I could do, after all.

And, remember one-line diaries are prohibited. I doubt if this is a one-line diary, but that's what the software is telling me. I'm giving it more thought.....there! That'e enough thought.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Al Yellon, managing editor (unless it's a FanPost posted by Al). FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.

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Reading their comments

They all seem to be in as much denial as we were in the spring of '03.

Poor clueless souls.

For a franchise that's been around so long, it's a shame that it's gone down the toilet. I don't know any Reds fans, so I don't know what their mentality is - are the fair weather (show up when the team's good) or die-hards (supporting the team no matter what), but I've been to four games at the GAB of the course of the last three seasons and I've been surprised at how few Reds fans I meet (not surprised at the low attendance considering the teams the last few years, but surprised that I met a bunch of Cub fans, BoSox fans, Pirates fans...)

by HectorVillanueva on Oct 17, 2007 8:41 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Disagree 100%

Reds fans are pissed. Their comments on various message boards when rumors started coming out that Dusty was Cinci bound were largely negative. Polls on the Enquirer website were almost 2/3 against the hiring of Baker. Comments on the Red Reporter and elsewhere showed that Reds fans saw what Dusty did in Chicago, know his weaknesses and are as pissed as I've ever seen a fanbase towards a new manager.

When Dusty was hired here, Cub fans were delighted. It was the dawn of a new era. I can't see nearly any Reds fans who think this is an excellent hire.

DmL

by dmlichte on Oct 17, 2007 9:42 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm sure

a lot of them are, but the comments I read from the link above sounded pretty antagonistic towards Cubs fans. These particular fans didn't appear pissed about Dusty, they seemed mad at Cub fans for giving them warning - like, yeah whatever, your team sucks, leave us alone.

by HectorVillanueva on Oct 17, 2007 1:47 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well..

.... Reds fans have always had a strong hatred towards Cubs fans; not quite sure of the reason, other than perhaps resenting the fact that we take over their ballpark several times a year (similar to Brewers fans).

Hey, whatever. They'll find out. We did.

The flip side of this, I suppose, is the fact that fans of ANY team want to think that when a new manager is hired, things will get better. It was that way with just about every new Cub manager who's been hired in my lifetime -- even Preston Gomez, who had had bad losing records with the Padres and Astros, but was hailed as being a "breath of fresh air" when hired to manage in 1980. He barely lasted past the All-Star break, though it can be said that his record (38-52, .422) was better than the guy who replaced him (Joey Amalfitano, 26-46, .361).

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Oct 17, 2007 4:00 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

where?

I don't mean to be pushy about this, but there were a small handful of replies to the "canary in a coal mine" thread. Not sure any of them were antagansitc. On the other hand, the few main Dusty Baker is the new manager threads have hundreds upon hundreds of posts and responses. I don't even think 5% of them are positive.

Reds fans know what they have coming. As someone who was in the pro-Dusty camp, which most of us were in, this is the polar opposite of how Cub fans were.

I have been quite impressed at how attuned to the Dusty situation Reds fans are.

DmL

by dmlichte on Oct 17, 2007 6:30 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Maybe

It's just the tone I interpretted, perhaps there was nothing outwardly antagonistic in there. I've been a little sensitive ever since that last weekend in Cincy. I just went to have a good time and celebrate my team, taking my parents (who are the most passive people you could imagine) to see what a fun Cubbie road trip is like. The few Reds fans we ran into were brutal and it took me by surprise.

Of course every team has it's share of idiots and jackholes in their fan base, but I thought Cub fans were fairly innocent. I've never understood (except St. Louis) why other teams fans hate us. The team isn't usually that good, so it can't be a we're sick of you winning like the Yankee's thing. Most Cub fans are happy go lucky, glad to be at the ballpark kind of folks (I've had great experiences at Cub games in Denver, Houston, St. Louis, Milwaukee, Atlanta {in the playoffs even}, and Pittsburgh), and never have I encountered the level of animosity that I did last month in Cincinnatti. I keep my mouth shut at other teams stadiums, going out of my way to be respectful of the home fans, yet on several occassions over the weekend I was attacked. Jeez, my 60 year old mother was verbally abused by a flock of Reds fans. I just don't get it. A bit of razing and sarcasm and funny jabs are cool, but offensive and mean spirited nonsense is uncalled for.

So, I probably have a bit of that venom left in me and read into those comments more than I should have.

That said, I liked the GAB. I thought the Reds HOF was cool, and I love the statues in the entryway to the stadium, the mosiac murals of the 1800s team and the Big Red Machine, and the view of the river. On an ingnorance scale though, my experience with Reds fans is just a notch above Sox fans. BTW, this was my third trip to GAB over the last few seasons, not the first time I've encountered this type of garbage there.

by HectorVillanueva on Oct 17, 2007 7:43 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Unfortunately...

... this is the trend in sports fans as a whole these days. Fans have become increasingly hostile towards their own players, towards each other, and towards fans of opposing teams. I am a season ticket holder for University of Wisconsin football and it embarrasses me, at times, to see how some of our fans treat visiting fans. And Wisconsin is tame considering some fans. A friend of mine got me a ticket to go to the Wisconsin football game at Ohio State in a few weeks. I have been told, for my own safety, to remove any Wisconsin stuff from my car and to wear any Wisconsin gear under a sweatshirt.

I had a long conversation with a friend yesterday as I drove him to Milwaukee to pick up some stuff for his apartment. One of the things that we talked about was this, and he agreed that fans have become more hostile. One of the things that he surmised was that the goings on in the world and what not have made people derive more emotion out of their sports teams. As a result, when the team loses, fans get more hostile. Fans get more emotionally amped up, etc. I'm not sure if this is an accurate hypothesis or not, but sports fans in general can display some really crappy behavior.

DmL

by dmlichte on Oct 17, 2007 9:15 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Remember

this is ALL about race. If Dusty were not African American, Cinci would have no issues with the decision. "This is what we are talking about here right?"

MMMMM...Fernandos fajitas and margaritas

by Kinky Reggae on Oct 17, 2007 11:49 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs