Blue Jays Fans Lose Loud.
This afternoon was the last of three of three baseball game I’ve seen here in Toronto and, I’m pleased to report, the Red Sox won two of the three. They are now moving on tonight for three games in Baltimore, while I am moving on tomorrow (Friday) to New York City for two nights and then to Washington, DC, for my NARP meetings.
I was here in Toronto several years ago to see the Red Sox play the Blue Jays, but I don’t remember what now goes on inside the Rogers Center: the constant effort by the public address announcer and the giant electronic scoreboard to whip up enthusiasm and cheering by the crowd.
It’s really awful: bugle calls, rhythmic clapping, the scoreboard admonishing the crowd to “MAKE NOISE!!” and the crowd dutifully responding … even when there is nothing much happening on the field.
This is not football, for God’s sake! There is a lot of thinking required in the watching of a baseball game and all that noise and artificially induced enthusiasm is really just a distraction. In various situations, there’s strategy being applied and then, perhaps, countered. How can a real baseball fan contemplate the various options that might be employed in the next minute or two if people sitting all around him are shrieking as loud as they can hoping to breaking the record set on the Cheer-O-Meter?
This is a trend that has been going on for a couple of decades. I’ve been to several of the Major League Ballparks and have always thought the ballpark in Anaheim where the Angels play is the worst. I may have to\o change my mind after experiencing the home of the Toronto Blue Jays.
All of this just reinforces my opinion that Boston’s Fenway Park is the best venue for baseball in the country . . . by far! The Fenway Park crowd knows the game. They know that “making noise” is spontaneous and occurs involuntarily after an important run is scored or a great defensive play is made.
Would the public address announcer at Fenway Park shout into his microphone demanding that the 36,000 sell-out crowd “MAKE NOISE”? Not if he values his life.
Agree totally with you Jim. I love the organ music at the games. I will always remember Nancy Faust at Comiskey Park and Ernie Hayes in St. Louis who were the best. Since I have visited every ballpark in MLB the trend is to be closer to the NBA with the music between innings. This is to attract the younger fans, not aiming the game experience to you and me.
I use to consider these 5 classic ballpark experiences were Fenway, Wrigley, Yankee, Dodger, and Busch Stadiums. Now with the transition to new stadiums and major modifications I consider St. Louis and Boston to be the best. Why because of their fans. At Wrigley now there are two many who come for a party and seem to know little about the game.
Enjoy your trip, enjoy all your reports.