Tuesday, August 14, 2007

A Couple of Moronic "Angels"

I heard that there was some serious Red Sox fan bashing happening over this past weekend. Baltimore radio announcer Joe Angel was really offended by all the Red Sox fans in the stands at Camden Yards, and that some people referred to the beautiful ballpark in Baltimore as "Fenway South." He in turn called Fenway Park on the air "a toilet."

As thoughtless, and as stupid a remark as that is, Gary Matthews of the Los Angeles Angels absolutely went Angel one better. He gave an interview to a reporter about Red Sox fans, and it left me just shaking my head. Here is some highlights, courtesy of The Boston Globe.

"They're loud, they're drunk, they're obnoxious," Matthews told a cluster of reporters, according to Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.

"They're one of the few places you'll hear racial comments . . . it's just different."

Matthews, who actually said he enjoyed playing in Boston and was smiling through much of his riff, was responding to a question about why the Angels have fared so poorly on their visits here. Since May 18, 2003, the Angels are 4-15 at Fenway.

"It's different from New York," said Matthews.
"Yankee fans are passionate about their teams, but they're a little more couth. They have a little more class than Boston fans. At least in New York they appreciate guys who play the game hard and play the game right and they let you know it.

"In Boston, they just smack you for three straight days. They're just dogging you there the whole time. It's a different place."

This interview makes me wonder if Matthews was drunk when he gave it. Matthews is entitled to his opinion, but this was truly strange. And the part about the comparison of Red Sox and Yankee fans was so totally off-base I had to re-read it. Many times I have read the exact opposite when it comes to a comparison of the fan bases. Red Sox fans are the ones more knowledgeable, and who appreciate good play even from the opposition team. Every team has their louts (and the Sox have theirs), but in my experience at both parks, it's Yankee fans that have less couth than Red Sox fans. By far.

And "Yankee fans are more passionate (and classier) than Red Sox fans?" Who the hell is Matthews trying to kid? That statement is so lame it is beyond ridiculous. Red Sox fans are by far the most passionate fans in all of baseball, and Yankee fans aren't even close.

I can only imagine Matthews has had some bad experience at Fenway in the past, and hasn't let it go. And I really wonder why he picked now to give such an interview. The Angels come to Fenway this weekend, and if he thought Red Sox fans were rude and uncouth, he's now in for a weekend at the park he probably will never forget. The fans aren't going to let Matthews forget those steroid rumors that surrounded him earlier this year.

He may want to invest in a pair of earplugs. He's probably going to need them.

5 comments:

Jere said...

Okay, I have some minor dirt on this. I was at Fenway when the Rangers were there last season. June 10th, 2006. It was Lester's first Fenway start. Ironically, I'm typing this on the day of Lester's first post-cancer Fenway start.

Anyway, I had sweet seats that day, by the visitors' dugout. See my photo galleries section at my blog for pics. I noticed something that day that I couldn't explain. Every time Matthews would come back to the dugout, this group of college-age guys would be all over him. My girlfriend and I couldn't figure out why. But they really gave it to him, all night long. It definitely wasn't random.

I just figured there was something I should know, but didn't. But I never did figure out what it was. I later heard Matthews' name connected with a steroids story. But as I search it now, that didn't come out until February 2007.

So I don't know what happened that made these guys so mad at Gary. It's hard to believe it's that incident that made him say what he said. So I'm guessing he did something to piss off the fans at Fenway, leading those guys, and most likely others, to taunt him, leading him to say bad things about Sox fans.

Xeifrank said...

I don't see anything bad or wrong about what Matthews said. He is just speaking from his own experiences. I just don't see what the big deal is. You may not agree with him, but I would think he would be more of an expert on this matter than you or I would.
vr, Xei

BklynSoxFan said...

Thanks for that story, Jere. I knew that had to be a backstory to this. Matthews' comments were so ridiculous that there had to be something that happened there to him in the recent past.

Get ready for a weekend of "steroids" chants....

BklynSoxFan said...

I was more put off by Matthews' comments comparing Red Sox fans to Yankee fans, Webmeister. Having grown up around Yankee fans all my life, calling them more "couth" or "passionate" than Sox fans is totally ridiculous. I know I come froma totally different viewpoint than Matthews. Like I said to Jere, there's a whole backstory to these comments...

Michael Leggett said...

Only if the Yankees are winning, are Yankees Fans, passionate:

Fenway a Toilet?

How much is Steinbrenner's Minions paying Joe Angel?

Wait! Didn't Angel do a Season in The Yankees Booth?