The Rays won last night as they needed to do and are now even going to Philadelphia. Some people are concerned that the Rays won't be able to put up with the pressure that the Philadelphia fan base can put on a visiting team, but I don't buy it. The Rays have spent plenty of time playing in New York and Boston, which have a very charged, belligerent fan base fueled by rage and alcohol. I suspect Philadelphia is fairly similar. The only people I'm worried for are the unsuspecting Tampa fans who make their way up to Philadelphia for the game. Tampa Bay fans are largely new fans, and by new I mean people who started rooting for the Rays over the last couple weeks. Philly fans are typically life long Philly fans. I hope they don't eat the Rays fans alive. Literally. Philadelphia has been known for canibalism in the ball park. Just ask some of the Mets fans that showed up there throughout the season, or rather ask their families because they themselves were eaten. But that's how Philadelphia gets down.
By the way, have you guys ever noticed at Tampa games there's one guy who heckles throughout the entire game. You can't understand a word he says, but he's always there throughout the season, and when the Rays were at game 7 against the Red Sox, he was there too. The notorious heckler is a real Rays fan. I found this article about him written in 2003, and he even has a wikipedia entry devoted to him. I noticed him years ago when the stadium would be empty and all you would hear is him heckling every visiting player. I salute this one true Tampa Bay Rays fan. There may be others out there who have been supporting this team for a while, but none are as vocal as this guy. If Tampa Bay wins, they need to give that guy a ring too. He deserves it for sticking with this team all these years.
Speaking of the Rays, don't ask me why but I still remember when they started cowbell night in their park. I thought it was a good idea because all the Rays fans, which numbered in the hundreds at that point, could make quite a bit of noise with those things. They banged away all night. I don't recall if they won or not, but its now a mainstay at the stadium. Apparently, the SNL cowbell skit is what inspired it. I suspected that was the case, but it makes it that much better to know its true.
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That Rays heckler is truly bizarre. I went to a few series at the Trop last season and he sits there with his son and yells stuff at opposing players, as you said. He never stops (except to stuff his face with hot dogs). I remember when he was riding Abreu one night. Abreu turned around and gave him such a look.
I love the guy. He says that he doesn't swear or say anything personal, he sticks to their recent playing performance. Have to admire anyone whose been a fan of the Rays for this long.
I remember Michael Kay (that's almost my name!) pointed him out in a broadcast once with Singleton. The camera zoomed in on the guy, and Kay said something sarcastically to the effect of, "What a great influence on his kid". Then I believe the next game he went into an entire schpeal about how anyone could stand his heckling. I think this is useless information, but I thought I'd share it!
I just don't understand the correlation between heckling and being a bad influence on children. If he really doesn't swear and doesn't make things personal then really he's just effectively getting under players skins while keeping his content PG, and getting under a players skin is what every fan wishes they could do when they yell "you suck!" because they have nothing better to say. I think Kay is just bitter that no one heckled him like that. That would be kind of funny though, if while Kay was announcing someone sitting near the YES Network booth was just sitting there heckling him.
I'm not sure the Rays heckler's kid will be that proud of his father when his school mates keep asking him, "Hi, why do we always hear your dad heckling on TV?".
I really hope Jamie Moyer, the oldest player to be making his World Series debut, pitches like Mike Mussina tonight.
Sorry, raven. I really hope the Rays crush Moyer like they crushed Wakefield. (No disrespect to Moyer; I'm just rooting for the Rays.)
I'm rooting for pitchers over 39 years old, animal loving second basemen who consumes a whole bottle of hair gel every day, and first basemen who make the Big G look like a Gold Glove winner.
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