Fans

I thought today I would write about fans. Go to any ballpark on any day and you will find a cross-section of America.  Fans of all sizes, shapes, races, and religions.  Big, small, short, tall. They all come to the ballpark.

Some are laid back, some are knowledgeable, some barely know the game, others can quote the rule book. Some know stats, some do not. Some come for the game, and others just to take in the atmosphere.

Some are quite rabid, others not so much. Some are as rowdy as they come, and others just yell when the scoreboard pleads for noise. Some come in their team’s favorite colors, some in plain T shirts. There was a time though when the men dressed in suits, and the women in their Sunday best.

Most are anonymous to the players. Some they know by name. And some even gain national recognition for things they do at the ballpark. Brooklyn’s most famous fan was probably Hilda Chester. Hilda had a voice that could be heard all over the ballpark. She was a fixture at Ebbets Field for many years. She also carried a cowbell. It was her signature.

In LA for years there was Frances Friedman. She always sat in the LF Pavilion way over towards CF. When the opposition would start a rally, Frances would start twirling a bag of garlic to put a hex on them. Very colorful character. She would always be wearing her Dodger cap that was covered in pins, and her Dodger warm up jacket. Unfortunately, finding a photo of her is practically impossible. At least I could not find any.

And there are as always, the celebrities who frequent Dodger Stadium. Other ballparks have celebrities also. But Dodger Stadium draws some biggies. Sinatra, Hope, Danny Kaye, even Cary Grant were spotted there in the early years. Doris Day was a huge fan. When Nick Punto came to LA, he immediately became Danny DeVito’s favorite. DeVito could be seen often in his #7 Punto jersey.

 For the last several years you would see Mary Hart on the 3rd base side of home plate, and one we will miss now that he has passed, Larry King, who was in about the 3rd row behind home plate. Occasionally I would see Jacklyn Smith sitting close to Hart. Kobe came to some games, and of course, the occasional Dodger great like Koufax would be in the stands.

Some fans of the other team come to Dodger Stadium, but it is usually a sea of Blue. I have sat with fans of other teams during the games. The exchange’s usually were cordial, but once in a while you would run into one who was convinced his team was the best there is. Sat among a couple of Braves fans like that back in the early 90’s and also among some Reds enthusiasts during a game in the 70’s. The Reds were coming off of back to back series wins, so they had some reason to gloat. But it did not last long, I remember the Dodgers coming back to win that game, and eventually went to the Series in 77.

I have gone to games in Arizona, Denver, and San Diego. Only other parks I have had the chance to visit, and it was old Qualcomm Park in SD when I went there. Only about 6,000 in the stands for a game against the Cubbies, and Rick Monday was still with the Cubs, so that gives you a timeline. I got about 6 baseballs that night. Just walked around to LF and picked them up. No one out there during batting practice and the Cubs were crushing balls into the seats.

Arizona seemed like it was full of Dodger fans. But it was probably more like 70-30. Same thing in Coors. Az fans were at that time about as laid back as Dodger fans feel at the Stadium. But they would come to life if the D-Backs started a rally. Fortunately for me, both of the Dodger games I went to were Dodger wins, and one of them a blowout.

I have been to 6 Dodger games at Coors. And to this point, they have not lost any of them. One was an epic comeback after blowing a 7-0 lead. The Rockies scored 5 in back to back innings, and then the Dodgers scored 5 off of Jake McGee to win the game 12-10. I was sitting in the 5th row, right behind home plate. Best seats I have ever had at a ballgame. Oh yeah, Friedman’s mistake, Kazmir started the game and blew part of the 7-0 lead.

Some fans literally HATE the Dodgers. And many of them wear Orange and Black. But lately Yellow and Brown have joined them in their vocal vitriol against the boys in blue.

 Now I know there are some who say Yankee fans are the most obnoxious fans in the game. Yet, the Yankee fans I know are pretty knowledgeable about the game, and only rag on the Dodgers when they play them. Otherwise most of their ire is directed towards Boston.

I know some Giant and Dodger fans do get along. I have a musician friend here in Colorado who is a die-hard Giant fan. And when they were winning their 3 titles, he would razz me some. But since LA started winning the division over and over and the Giants have not really been heard from since 2014, he has backed off a lot. What was nice was that I got an email about 5 minutes after LA won the series congratulating me on the win. Like I actually had anything to do with it.

On the other hand, when the traitor is in your family, it can be a little different vibe.

My daughter married a Giant fan. When she was a kid, she was a Dodger fan. But she joined her hubby in his allegiance and following her were two of my granddaughters. The youngest also became a fan when she got old enough. So all of my 3 granddaughters crossed over to the dark side. My grandson remained loyal to the blue, as did my oldest daughter, and my son.

My son and I have attended games at Coors together: Him sporting his Kemp jersey, and me any one of the 6 I have. Rockies fans only gave us grief if the Rocks happened to score, or take the lead. But we still emerged victorious.

I am looking forward to seeing fans in the stands again. They make the game that much more exciting.. Seeing guys lose their beer to try and get a baseball, or risking injury diving after a foul ball. What I won’t miss is people spending more time on their cell phones texting at the game than watching the action.

  The smells and sounds and atmosphere are something I really have missed. As a fan of the game, the best part to me was walking through the tunnel, and seeing the field again. That sight never leaves you. I would really love it if the family of LADodgertalk could all meet up at the Ravine sometime. Won’t happen in this climate though. But somewhere down the road, that would be awesome. Because, no matter what our differences might be on any other subject, we all are after all, just fans.