That Bootleg Guy's 25 Worst Fans in Sports: Epilogue!

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Wow.

I made a similar comment over on the reader forums, but, really”¦wow.

Thanks to everyone who made The 25 Worst Fans in Sports feature such a success for Inside Pulse, our forums and, for me, personally. I’m doing my best to respond to everyone’s emailed and IM’d opinions, individually, but I thought it would be fun to throw out a handful of reader responses and bring a little closure to some of the more frequently received comments from y’all.

The emails below are, in my opinion, a fairly representative array of reader’s thoughts, so don’t be surprised at the lack of unreadable, all caps criticisms filled with a phalanx of four-letter words. To the credit of the readers, I didn’t get too many of those. (And, if you get rid of the ones I did get from Lakers and Red Sox fans, then the number would be next to nil.)

By the by”¦I did make a few edits to some of the emails below, in the interest of clarity, but otherwise, these appear here just as I received them:

Hahaha”¦yeah, it’s really easy to take shots at Laker fans. Who’s your NBA team? In fact, who are ANY of your teams? I bet none of them made it onto the list. I been a fan since I was 2 years old and I know more about basketball that you probably forgot. I’m not going to waste no more time with someone who doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

Andy M.

No edits here, kids. Where to begin”¦where to begin. First off, the tired cliché you were looking for is actually “I’ve forgot more about…” Ah, forget it”¦it’d take me another two pages to explain it to you. And, it is easy to take shots at Lakers fans”¦um, that’s kinda why you were number one. Oh, and I don’t have a favorite NBA team. See, when I was 2 years old (or, as you would say “this many”), I was only a fan of graham crackers and apple juice. Just like you.

Hmm”¦just one letter in and I’m already alienating random fans. Meh”¦might as well keep it going. Segue!

I’m pretty sure that I’m not the usual demographic for a wrestling website (41-year-old conservative father with five kids), but I had to respond to your “worst fans” feature. Being born and raised in and around New England (and currently living in Warren, RI), I felt compelled to defend Red Sox Nation. Then, I re-read what you had to say and found myself nodding in agreement. There is a growing segment of our fanbase that is EXACTLY as you described. Mostly college-aged kids (no offense, if this applies to you) who think just because their parents told them about Bill Buckner, that they’re entitled to label themselves as “long suffering”.

Trust me, during the Yankees run in the late ’90s, the rivalry was made more compelling by the Sox’s status as underdogs. So, they signed Manny and threw money to other FAs and, eventually, became the Yanks. It frustrates me that NO ONE will admit this and argue semantics, but if the Yanks payroll is a zillion dollars, then the Sox are a zillion minus $10. Most of us are great fans, but our membership is getting more and more polluted by the bad and I’m sick of them, too. Great job”¦

Mark P.

Not surprisingly, I received the most responses from Red Sox Nation on the Worst Fans feature. But, what did surprise me was how many actual Sox fans felt the same way I do. Lots had examples to share, as well:

I’m a proud member of Red Sox Nation and while I disagree with your generalizations of Sox fans, I can certainly understand where you’re coming from. I was at a game at Fenway in 2002 where a section of fans rode Oakland outfielder Terrence Long with a racial epithet chant and then, I was booed when I asked security to intervene.

At a game against the Yankees (this time in New York) last year, the two most popular chants (for Sox fans) were “Pay-Rod Sucks” and “Checkbook Bitches” (directed at Yankee GM Brian Cashman during BP). Anyone check our payroll, lately? The imbeciles you speak of (in the feature) aren’t THAT prevalent, but they’re out there and they’re in our fanbase and I can see how the actions of a few can reflect on the whole.

Stephen W.

Glad we can agree to disagree on some points, Stephen, which is cool. And, speaking of disagreements”¦

I’m not even a Red Sox fan, but I had to say that for you to bring race into the argument for them having the worst fans was weak. You could make the same case for nearly every town you covered. When you think about it, this country isn’t that far removed from slavery and Jim Crow. Yet, you don’t mention racial issues about Braves fans in Atlanta? Why the pass for the deep south which has a much worse record on race relations than Boston?

James C.

Well, James, I don’t think you’re comparison is all that valid, since I was attempting to tie the racial component with the Red Sox fans and organization, as opposed to the entire city of Boston. Whether or not Atlanta has a “worse record on race” is really irrelevant.

Let’s not look too deep here. Besides, read Part Five again”¦I used race, in some way, with four of the five entries that day.

So, let’s see if I got this right: you’re an Oakland A’s fan and a BIG one from what I’ve read in the bootleg, but you don’t think a’s fans deserve to make this list? They didn’t even draw 20,000 for ANY of their games against the Angels during the final week of the regular season, except for their free hot dog night on Wednesday. If fans that don’t come out and support the team don’t make the list, then it’s a list that’s not worth much.

Mike P.

Ah”¦this was a familiar lament and my response is pretty simple: fans go to the games, non-fans don’t. The A’s have been right around the league average for attendance for the last several years, which is pretty good for a team that plays in a dump without any of the amenities to attract the casual or corporate fan (who actually makes up a fair share of any attendance figures).

Good stuff, AJC and thanks for some of the more unique entries like “Olympic Viewers” and “Poker Fans”. I don’t want to step on the toes of the young men who frequent Inside Pulse, but I’m surprised you didn’t make room for fans of the X Games. I’m not one of these middle-aged white guys that’s afraid of anything involving teenagers, but who can possibly watch the commercialization of their underground culture (skating, BMX, etc.) and be happy about it? These kids are being assimilated into the ESPN corporate collective and they don’t even realize it. Or do they really think that Linda Cohn knows what’s she’s talking about when she’s anchoring all the action?

Paul Y.

Well, aside from the Linda Cohn bashing (which you’d better retract, mister), I can’t say that I disagree with you. Unfortunately, I can’t say that I actually know any X Games fans, though. Yet, ESPN continues to trot it out every year to crazy ratings and increasing coverage, so someone must be watching.

I know that the primary point of this list was to be funny and you absolutely succeeded”¦but, I’m a little taken aback by your shots at women sports and women in general. The whole “WNBA” thing has been beaten into the ground, but I don’t see how anyone who supports women’s hoops (college or pro) is a bad fan? The fact that it’s not “good” basketball, shouldn’t diminish the fact that there are SOME hoops fans who have tired of the thuggish posturing of the men’s game and want an alternative.

Alyccia M.

But, that’s just it”¦you seem to understand where women’s basketball places in the sports pecking order. It’s not good basketball, but many women’s hoops fans will tell you that it is and try to compare it to the men’s game, when the only thing similar is the ball and the hoop. If you don’t like dunks, fine, but check some of those WNBA FG percentages. Sorry, but it’s ¾ of a sport at best and the fans need to get that.

NOTHING on men’s college basketball? Come on, Cam. Sh*tting on the women’s game is like shooting fish in a barrel. How about Duke Blue Devils’ fans (hey, The Cameron Crazies!) who’ve been known to get into chants about a guy’s race, GPA and family drama. Or, even worse, University of Kentucky fans who’ve worn out their welcome on the national stage quicker than Ashley Judd did. Otherwise, great series, Aaron!

Thomas W.

Man”¦I’m kicking myself for leaving out UK fans. Easily one of the most mentioned by readers for the write-in nominees. And, I’m still pissed at Ashley Judd for that Double Jeopardy movie. Terrible. I mean, she fired a gun, while inside a locked coffin, to escape. How could she hear after that?

I’m a fellow San Diegan and even though I’ve supported the Chargers for all of my 29 years, I’ve got to say that your take on bolt fans was on the mark. I hope you’ve enjoyed using taxpayer dollars to buy up unused tickets, just as much as I have over the last five or six years. One thing you didn’t point out was that the “criminal” element is seeping its way into Qualcomm (Stadium), as well. Gang members with wispy mustaches and tatted up necks alongside the 619 chapter of the Hell’s Angels. Didn’t a Jaguar fan get stomp by Chargers fans last year? Family fun!

Donnie P.

Yep”¦four Charger fans stomped out one Jags fan. It was like that episode of Oz where the bruthas initiate Method Man’s character. Too bad the Chargers didn’t have that kind of kicking at the end of the playoff game versus the Jets. HAW!

Loved the whole “worst fans” thing, Mr. Bootleg Guy, but I’ve gotta ask where in the hell are Chicago Cubs fans? The whole “persecution complex” that the Red Sox fans had patented was apparently acquired by Cubs fans once Boston won it all. There’s no such thing as a “lovable loser”, guys. Losers, like Cubs fans and their team, deserved to be mocked and even moreso when they were their mediocrity like a badge of honor.

David P.

Not a lot of Cubs love from the readers, either. They were another frequently nominated group, as y’all were able to cut through the romanticism and call ’em like you see ’em. And, for the record, Red Sox fans, he bashed your team in his email. I just included it here.

Well, I was born and raised in the Dallas metro area, so I guess I should be glad that my teams escaped your wrath. Still, I’m as hardcore as any other fan out there and I would’ve liked to have seen Texas A&M fans qualify for the list. While Longhorns fans have national championship aspirations year in and year out, Aggie fans would be (ignorance is) blissfully happy if they beat Texas and lost the rest of their games. They should accept their place and make sure they keep my tires clean when they’re washing my car after they graduate.

Bill H.

Zing! I loved all the “unbiased” nominations that I received. Admitted White Sox fans bashed Cubs fans. Tarheels fans bashed Dukies. Yankee fans wrote in to bash Boston fans and vice versa. Hey, case in point”¦

Yankee fans, but no Mets fans? You’re killing me, Bootleg Guy, you’re just killing me. If anything, you should’ve moved Jeffrey Maier’s crew into the top five and put Mets fans about where the Yanks were at. They’re an insecure, obnoxious lot with their TWO world titles in fifty years. And, none of the kids rockin’ the Pedro jheri curl wigs even remember 1969 or 1986. I hope this was an oversight and you’ll release an addendum or something. This can’t be happen soon enough.

Alex B.

Ah, Yankee fans. Gracious winners, to the very end. Oh, and credit for the proper spelling of “jheri”. It only took white folk twenty years”¦which seems about the same length of time for y’all to realize it was spelled Papi, not “poppy”.

Sports Talk Radio bashing! Nicely played, Cam. I read that Jim Rome got his start in San Diego, before he went national, so my apologies to you and your family for having to endure him years before he polluted the rest of the country. Rome and the rest of his kind hide behind their mics and rip athletes, then when they get the same guys on the air, there’s not enough ass to kiss. The fact that their fans have put talk radio guys on television is just brutal. You think Jim Everett would be willing to finish the job for $20 and a TV dinner?

J.C.

Intriguing. For an extra $10, you think we could have Everett take out the panel on ESPN’s Sunday Sports Reporters show? (Or maybe we should just wait for Jason Whitlock to devour them all, like he did to Bill Conlin.)

Hey, I hear there’s this athlete who keeps his nose clean, lives a good moral life, has no out-of-wedlock kids, wins all the time and is respected by his fans and peers. But, anyone who supports Tiger Woods is a punk? I don’t know who you think you are, but it makes me sick when writers (even hacks like you) bash the “quiet” athletes like Woods and Tim Duncan, but celebrate the nonsense of guys like T.O. Get your priorities straight.

Julian S.

Um”¦who was “bashing” Tiger Woods and/or “celebrating” Terrell Owens? It wasn’t me. Could you have me confused with Stephen A. Smith? It’s because we’re both Black, isn’t it? Isn’t it?!

You got the wrong Toronto team, AJC. I’m going to assume that you don’t make Maple Leaf hockey a part of your winter viewing schedule, but if you did, you’d find the absolute worst fans in all of sports. Their fans wear that “original six” nonsense on their sleeve like they were all alive back then. They look down their noses at the rest of the league as if they were NHL royalty. Hockey fans live and die with their teams, but Leaf fans think they’re on the team. To say nothing of Toronto’s perception of themselves as the “Centre of the Universe” and their “Leafs TV” package, which force feeds their b*tch brand of hockey down the throats of Toronto until their spirits have been broken. The end result should’ve made your list.

Brian L.

While I can’t say that I’ve known many Maple Leaf fans, they can’t be worse than Mighty Duck fans can they? Think a crosschecking Kerwin White that knows nothing about crosschecking. Go Ducks!

Any list of bad fans that doesn’t include Millwall fans can’t really cut it for me. The only team in any sport that you can always guarantee a fight with. Or the horrific racist fans in Spain who booed and made monkey noises at black England players. Or on a happier and more in tune with your column note, Manchester United fans, who just like Yankees fans or Lakers fans are hideous bandwagon jumping scabs who turn traitor on their local team at the drop of a hat, but unlike Yankees fans never actually seem to come from Manchester. Or Australian cricket fans, so used to winning every time that the first taste of loss has caused more sour grapes than the great Grape Disaster or 1893.

Will G.

And, that about covers the rest of the free world”¦!

Us south side Chicago Sox fans can be number 1 right? We beat up random members of the Royals coaching staff!

Michael K.

To everyone who took the time to share their thoughts on this feature, let me again say “thanks”. This was more fun for me than you can imagine”¦and, I eagerly await my next opportunity to piss y’all off.

Aaron Cameron writes The Friday Music News Bootleg in Music every”¦uh, Friday and is a senior contributing writer emeritus for IP Sports”¦occasionally.