"Peter Schmuck" haha

Large in number, Sox fans show a limited vocabulary

Originally published Apr 10, 2006

Peter Schmuck

One of the real joys of watching a game between the Orioles and Boston Red Sox at Camden Yards is listening to the boorish Sox fans sitting right in front of the press box.

Never mind how they always get a big group of prime seats right behind home plate on the field level - they must know how to use the Orioles' Web site better than you do - but wouldn't you think if you were going to drive this far to watch a ballgame you might bring along the rest of your vocabulary?

I haven't heard this kind of crude language since the last time I asked Peter Angelos what he thought of my radio show.

(OK, I never really asked Peter what he thought of my radio show, but if I did, I'm sure he'd use a lot of words you can't print here.)

Stay calm. I'm not going to go off on another don't-sell-your-tickets-to-Red-Sox-and-Yankees-fans rant. Been there. Done that. Nobody listened.

The way things are going around here, the Orioles aren't exactly in a position to turn their noses up at any enthusiastic customers, even if they are more enthusiastic about the 5-1 Red Sox than the 2-4 home team.

Heck, there was a guy in Atlanta Falcons garb in the same section. I don't even know what to make of that. He must have taken a wrong turn on Peachtree Boulevard and ended up in the Scalp-free Zone.

I guess I just expect more from Boston fans, who hail from an area that is home to Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Of course, the Boston area also produced Ben Affleck, so you can't really generalize, except to conclude that they must be using a tougher version of the Wonderlic Test to decide who gets tickets at Fenway Park.