In one of the most thrilling games I've watched in the new millennium, the Jays pulled off a 5-2 win over the Orioles last night in the AL Wild Card game. Seeing Edwin Encarnacion run around the bases with his imaginary parrot along for the ride brought a smile to my face that I hadn't felt since last year's playoffs.
However, I do want to address one thing that happened last night, and that was the beer that was thrown onto the field late in the game by a fan at Orioles left fielder Hyun Soo Kim.
Was it a shameful and deplorable act? You better believe it. I still can't believe that stadiums sell cans of beer that can easily become instant projectiles.
Should the guy be charged? You better believe it. It's assault.
Should Toronto fans be lumped together with the one last night, along with the crazies that did similar shit last year? No. Because 99.9 % of sports fans in Toronto are caring, decent people that wouldn't think of trying stupid crap like what transpired last night.
Yes, I'm biased. I'm from Toronto. I've been to the SkyDome during the AL Playoffs, and the fans can blow the roof off the place given the chance. The atmosphere is beyond belief. The passion is incredible.
But I think it's high time that teams, especially the Blue Jays, step up security during the playoffs. The frenzy that surrounds these games is so intense, it causes certain people to snap. This has been magnified the last couple of years in Toronto, because the city is starved for another major championship, something that hasn't happened since '93. I know this because I'm starving along with everyone else in Toronto, even though I'm about as far south as you can get in the contiguous 48 states.
So the next time you go to trash a country because of the actions of a few, remember that the majority of fans that cheer the blue and white teams from T.O. are people like me. Crazy fanatics that enjoy seeing their team win. Without launching projectiles. Remember, this could happen at any stadium, at any time.
Because nowadays, you just never know.
Bring on the Rangers!
thanks for reading, Robert
I agree. Can't lump all Jays fans - or any team for that matter - together based on the stupid actions of one person.
ReplyDeleteI know a lot of the national writers that I read were trying to get people to take it easy on the Jays fans. It was one idiot. WVU always gets a bad rep for doing stuff like this.
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ReplyDeleteI wonder if social media was around when some of the incidences in Philadelphia happened if the uproar would be the same.. Fans throwing batteries.. Booing Santa Claus, etc..
ReplyDeleteInstead, Philly is known for its "Rabid fan base" while Toronto is being painted as having dangerous idiots for fans.
I tell my students the same thing my parents told me when I was a kid... "you're accountable for your actions". It's a shame that this guy chose to endanger Hyun Soon Kim and possibly alter the outcome of the game... but at the very least I hope this brought awareness to sports fans around the world (although... it pretty much falls under the common sense category).
ReplyDeleteAs for placing blame... only one guy shoulders it. Not the other Blue Jays fans in attendance. Not Blue Jays fans in general (although enough people have thrown stuff @ games over the years that unfortunately... they're starting to get a reputation). And certainly not every sports fan who attends games.