On Booing and Rivalry

The last road game for a while, and a tough loss. I'm sure I shouldn't admit this...but I guess the Reds deserved the win. Sorry. We played well; they played better.

What really struck me today, though, was the Reds fans booing Encarnacion. I get it that he made a critical error, but he also hit the home run that put the Reds in the game. And, oh by the way, his 10th inning homer started the streak that won them the game.

So what's with the booing? Are Milwaukee fans just nicer? It's pretty rare to hear a Brewer booed at home, except maybe Turnbow. Maybe we're just more supportive of our team. Or, maybe I haven't been to enough games yet. We'll see.

I've also been thinking about rivals thanks to a post from "Ernie Banks" last week. He asked who Brewers fans consider to be our biggest rival. I guess it's the Cubs, but open for opinions.

I see what "Ernie" is getting at. Who thinks the Brewers are their biggest rival? We may hate the Cubs, but Cubs fans hate the Cardinals. So does anybody think we're a threat? Or in keeping with my opinion of Wisconsin in general, are we just too darn nice to make anybody's hit list?

Mr. Cub and I would both love to hear your thoughts.

Comments

[MSOBB]

Good points. I like the notion that it's a dialogue. And that it's about expressing love or disdain as incentive.

I'm not sure I want to think about baseball in the framework of a democracy, though. I feel about it the way I feel about the Presidential candidates: I want to believe they actually know more and know better than I do....not that they need my input as much as they need my support.

The politicians certainly aren't living up to that dream. I like that the ball players usually do.

[Matt]

The act of communicating with your team takes all shapes and sizes including the well placed boo.

As a member of the Red Sox Nation, it is hard to understand why a fan wouldn't express there love for their team by letting it members know when they are doing a good job as well as when they need to step it up.

I am not sure that not booing is an act of being nice as much as it is a lack of feeling that you as a fan have a piece of responsibility for the success of your team.

Giving voice to your feelings through rabidness cheers or disgruntled boos is the way democracy plays out in the stadium. It is better than abdicating your responsibility to be a fan and passively sitting on the sideline.