By adamg - Thu, 06/26/2008 - 9:48am.
Absolutely right
30% (93 votes)
In desperate need of a real life
59% (180 votes)
Not something I have an opinion about
10% (32 votes)
Total votes: 305
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Escape to the theatre!
Buy 1/2 price advance tickets to theatre, music, and dance at bostix.org.
Member:
It's your basic summertime-is-slow story
The Globe revives the issue.
Whiny Little Babies
Oh great, mister anecdotal evidence/household despot gets another fifteen minutes of infamy to rail against pink hats, as if they're the only ones talking on cell phones at Red Sox games. This is simply a way of trying to establish "true fan" cred by demonizing someone who dares to cross his notion of what true fandom entails. As to bostnkid, I just love people who tell stories without having a shred of evidence. People with blackberries and pink hats took all the good seats? Really? You did a survey? Why, start a blog and complain about pink hats and maybe you'll end up in the Globe too!
I can just hear the both of them: "Ohhhh...they don't know what it is to be a true fan...they don't remember Dwayne Hosey...waaaaah waaaaah waaaaaaah."
Well, I do remember Dwayne Hosey and I am feeling inspired to buy a pink hat today......
I thought
we BEAT THIS DEAD HORSE already.
Pink hats are the reason
I cant afford to go to a game anymore.Dummies with pinkhats and blackberrys take all the good seats.Ace tickets has a deal with MLB sharing 20% of the profits.I will not be attending any games this year for the first time since the mid 70's.I LOVE the Red Sox but I almost wish they would lose for a few years to weed out all the pinkies.Where were the pinkhats in the Butch Hobson era? At least then I could get into a decent seat at face value.Did anyone with a pinkhat ever hear of Rick Burleson?
The Pink Hats Ate My Homework
Boo Hoo.
is bostnkid serious?
i can barely follow bostnkid. what do pink hats and blackberrys have to do with ridiculous ticket prices at ticket brokers?
Ticket brokers are for people who want convenience and are willing to pay more for it.
The sox have a ticket release every week for upcoming games, usually very good seats... not to mention, day of. Plus, it's pretty easy to score tickets for face (or less) from people who can't make it to the game... see:craigslist- day of.
I still haven't paid more than face this year for tix and we're going on a dozen games... all of which i scored after the season started. If you're such a big sox fan, quit crying, and get off your lazy arse and do something about it.
Weekly ticket release?
When is that?
varies
it varies i think. it's always a few days before the series starts... what happens is they hold a bunch of tickets for family and friends of the opposing team. the team calls with the number they need, the sox release the rest.
i check the website around 10 o'clock every monday morning -then, i check back during the day throughout the week. I've hit a few times on monday mornings with awesome seats-loge/if gs/roof box etc. usually later in the day/week you can only get singles and/or standing room.
stevedweeb
the point i was trying to make is that many of the "newer" fans are only at the game for the scene.ticketbrokers suck.the reason ticketbrokers thrive is because of the "look at me, im at a red sox game" crowd.i referenced blackberrys and pinkhats because i am constantly seeing 15 yr old girls sitting in the best seats text messaging.they are in these seats because daddy, or whoever, is willing to shell out three to five hundred a whack so little katie can check out jacoby ellsbury's ass.
i have been going to games for years and i even worked in the clubhouse for a time.i know that the crowd you find at sox games now is the same crowd you saw at celtics games during the bird era.the look at how important i am crowd.back in the 70's and 80's you had a lot of old guys smoking cigars and the families that were taking their once a year trip to fenway.
i want to go to the game to watch a game, not sing sweet caroline.i cannot afford it anymore. i will be heading to pawtucket this summer to see some baseball without all the bells and whistles.maybe i can save up a few hundred bucks and take my kid to the picnic in the park next summer.$600 for both of us to meet luis tiant should be well worth it.
eat me
Text messaging, cellphone using, etc. at Fenway
Could it be that some of the folks you are complaining about are liveblogging or photoblogging the game? Like this person, for example?
nope
nope
settle down
that may have been the point you were "trying" to make, but that's not how you came across.
I agree ticket prices are much more than most people would like to pay, but so are gas prices and everything else, especially compared to "the good ole days". Inflation over time - read up on it, it happens.
As for the annoying little girls on their blackberrys, I'm with you. They piss me off in general, so when they're at a sox game, my annoyance carries over...
I personally can't afford to sit in field box/dugout box seats/monster seats, etc. And while that sucks, I'm not going to cry about it. I don't need to be on the field to enjoy the game - as a TRUE FAN, i'm just as happy to be there, even if it means taking it in from the crappy cheap seats (which run as cheap as $12)..
Says It All
The pair in pink hats who left after "Sweet Caroline" was over. Instead of staying to watch Lester finish his no-hitter.
Get a grip
They also sell pre-scuffed hats. So is anyone with a scuffed hat a poseur as well? My nearly eight-year-old has been a fan her whole life (of both pink and the Red Sox). So are kids not allowed to games because they haven't suffered enough to earn them a spot?
Money spent on gear of any color supports the entire enterprise.
fwiw--my hat is new (because I lost the old one) and blue (because I don't like pink).
We attend minor league games because it's cheaper and there's less attitude.
Anyone with a pre-scuffed hat...
...is not only a poseur, but was probably a Yankees fan ten years ago!
Pre-scuffed=bad
I'm with you. I think prescuffed is ridiculous. I meant you can't tell the depth of the fans heart by the condition of their hat.
Maybe RSN cards should all come with a date
Like AAA cards: "Loyal member since 1918" or whatever.
Oh, wait, only poseurs join RSN, right?
I'll just slink back to New York and put my Mets cap back on :-).
Take the good with the bad
It's a little tough to have a $135,000,000 payroll without some bandwagon fans.
Spot on comment
Spot on comment
Thats my problem with our
Thats my problem with our current state of affairs when it comes to major league sports and popular culture. I dont see why I should get worked up over a team made up of people who come here from other areas, who will most likely leave town when offered more money, and whose seats are as impossible to get on a rainy Tuesday as it is for the world series.
22 Million to throw a baseball? Im not knocking it, Im sure these people are good at what they do, but they arent getting my money. Id rather hit the minor leagues, and check out a high school/college game every so often. At least when your watching the students play you know they are in it for the game and not for some huge sum of cash ( I realize some plan on being in the big leagues one day, and some are doing it to get into college, but most of them are smart enough to know that there will not be a big payout someone day for playing their sport.)
There is obviously a demand out there for more teams, its too bad the leagues are all monopolies...
I never hear people whine about TV/movie stars
Yes, I think we can all agree that a lot of people in professional sports get paid a lot of money, and some make an obscene amount. How many times have you heard the classic whine "I can't believe he gets paid $X million to throw/catch a baseball/football". Oh well.
But, I don't think I've ever heard a similar whine about other entertainers, like those in movies and TV. What's so special there?
Look, this is a free market, and if someone wants to pay an athlete/entertainer a ton of money, well good for them. What's important to me is, what good is this person doing with their millions? Who are they helping? What have they done to try to make the world a better place? If the answer to those questions is "not much", then I'll judge that person accordingly.
Your post would be
Your post would be applicable at any point in time for any professional sport. Not knocking it, just saying I don't think this is really a sign of the times.
Demand for more teams?
Since MLB very nearly contracted the Twins out of existence, I'm not sure there's demand for more teams. A few weeks ago the then-first-place Tampa Bay Rays got only 12,000 fans for a home game against the White Sox (another first-place team).
NYC seems to be capable of
NYC seems to be capable of supporting the Mets and the Yankees. I think New England could handle another team, that way there would be a true underdog for all of these guys who love rooting for a loser. That way all the "pink hats" can switch sides whenever one team was up or the other was down.
I realize that baseball is having a hard time in some cities , thats why you should expand in the areas where its vibrant. Baltimore always has an empty stadium yet MLB felt the need to create the Nationals go figure.
Maybe there should be some real national teams. Elevate the Red Sox, Yankees and a few other uber teams to national status and replace the Yankees and Red Sox with more locally relevant teams.
Sarcasm aside...
I argued long & loud a few years back that the Expos should move to Boston. Naturally, the Sox would *never* allow such a move, but I think an NL team in Boston would be excellent, particularly now that the regular folk can't afford to see more than a couple of games at Fenway. A man can dream, can't he?!
Two-team cities
Until the early 1950s, there were two teams in Boston, Philadelphia, and St. Louis (and three in NYC).
It ain't just the payroll
To get a ticket to any concert or sporting event these days, you have to pay:
The Cover Price
The Service Fee
The handling fee for the service fee
The service fee for the handling fee company
A credit card fee
An internet print out fee or mailing fee ...
The
Orpheum Renovation Fund FeeDon Law Pocket Lining Fund FeeAnd the fee disambiguation fee
And that is if you buy them at the box office!
The official ticket prices are up, but the range of stupid fees that no other industry seems to charge (UMass excepted) keep getting pricer and keep getting more complex.
And it's not really a free
And it's not really a free market, as there are no other substitute goods or services to purchase.
Whats the alternative, go or stay home? That's a monopoly, so it should be better regulated to ensure fair prices that don't price out people who can't bid up.
Not-so-tickled pink
I get upset about pink hats/jerseys for a different reason.
In many places, the only sports paraphernalia available in women's sizes are pink. This is especially true of football, but happens in baseball too.
If I want to buy a jersey, I often face a choice between a pink jersey that fits or a regular colored jersey that's way too big.
I think pink is tacky, but I would criticize the designer, not the wearer.
I think there is definitely sexism at play among those who think people who wear pink hats aren't "true fans." Who wears pink hats and jerseys? Women, by and large. When you attack people who wear pink hats, you are attacking women who are interested in sports. It's hard enough being a female sports fan - whether a die-hard or a bandwagoner - and this headgear double standard doesn't make it any easier.
As for me
If it had been two gentlemen who were wearing pink hats and left after "Sweet Caroline" while Lester was throwing a no-hitter, I'd have as little respect for them as I did for the two ladies who did the same.
In any case, to most of us, "pink hat" is a metaphor for the clueless n00bs who descend on Fenway to sing along with Neil, start the wave, get on TV, and who will flee like cockroaches at the first sign that Fenway is no longer the cool place to be seen. Of both genders.
Maybe it's a bit unfortunate that these bilge rats started coming out of the woodwork the same time that pink hats became widely available and so the label stuck, but c'est la vie. And my mom, sister, and several other legit female fans I know, who can remember the days before Yooooouk and Papelbon, I think agree with me.
Not Just Pink Hats, Of Course
The problem some have isn't just with folks wearing pink hats. Fashion isn't the real issue here. It's the fact that there are so many people attending games that have little or no knowledge of the game. And those who wear pink hats are singled out because they are the most easily identified.
The lack of knowledge, in and of itself, needn't be a problem, either. Everybody, at some point, knows relatively little about some sport or activity, and what better way to learn about it than to attend an actual event? There are, however, some "fans" who are there not to see the game, nor to learn the game, but (it would seem) to be seen on TV, talk to folks NOT at the game via cel, drink copiously, do the wave, and a whole bunch of other behaviors that would tend to piss off a "serious" fan; someone who came to Fenway Park solely to see an athletic competition of high caliber.
Personally, I don't give a rat's ass. I love baseball, and I root for the Sox, but I know damn well that going to Fenway now is not even remotely like it used to be - like I used to enjoy - nor do I have any reason to expect it will be again, so, if I go, I never go into it ignorantly, ending up being disappointed by the behavior of those who don't conform to what I'd prefer. Times change. If I choose not to change with them, then I have to deal with it. It's not up to others - pink hats or otherwise - to give a rat's ass about me, either.
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
So where were all these
So where were all these "real" Red Sox fans before John Henry bought the team? I remember walking up on game day and getting good seats with no problem back in the '80s. They weren't selling out back then. It seems to me that a lot of these "real" Sox fans are just as big bandwagon riders as the pink hats are - they only come out and express their fan-dom when they're guaranteed to be watching a winning team. Put the Sox in last place for a year, and how many "blue hats" would be buying seats every game?
the real red sox fans...
...have become bruins fans... a team that hasn't won in decades - the pain is immeasurable... like the old sox... and they can actually get tickets...
who are the bruins? you know, they play hockey...
hockey? anybody?
Hockey?
Isn't that what happened at Fenway the
last time the Tampa Bay Rays were in town?
Bruins Tix are Pricey
Are you kidding me? The Bruins have the most expensive tickets in the NHL (or this year they were near the top of the list). They have priced out their fans, just like the Red Sox.
Two Related Things
1) The pink hats stylistically are horrid, but just wearing the hat doesn't make you a "pink hat". Too general. However, if we narrow the definition of pink hats to being those people that suck up tickets and don't show, show in the 3rd and leave in the 7th, can't name any players, or otherwise go to games simply because it is the bandwagon thing to do, then we can get to point two.
2) I've been a sox follower and fan since I was 8 (etc etc yada yada) and have always gone to as many games as I could. The past 5 years though, it has been near impossible to get tickets without a second mortgage. I am talking even a single ticket for me to go alone - sold out all through the Cardnials series last week. Which is great, sellouts are fine. But what irks me, is looking out my window (I live a block from Fenway) this past Sunday, to see throngs of people LEAVING A TIED GAME IN THE 11TH INNING. I mean honestly. I understand it is a long game, but you are leaving in the god damned 11th of a tie game on a Sunday afternoon? It isn't like it is midnight on a rainy Tuesday here. And it wasn't a few, it was hundreds of people leaving, presumably to "beat the traffic!".
So it does piss me off that those people took my seats that day. And fuck them, because they missed an amazing finish (A walk off HR).
So basically, it's arrogant to stereotype a whole hat color, but if the above behavior is pink-hat behavior, than I am anti pink hat.
---------------
www.andrewteman.org
Pretty much this. I know
Pretty much this.
I know several women who wear a pink hat, and arguably know more, and follow the game more then I do.
The term isn't meant to group them in, but rather the majority notion that most of the women wearing pink hats don't have a clue about the game, and only go for the social status of, "hey look at me, I'm on TV, I'm at the game, check me out, I'm wicked cool!"
There plenty of male ink hatters in the stands too, but they blend in more because they buy the jerseys and regular hats.
they're pink hatters because they're worse then bandwaggon fans. At least bandwaggon fans might have loosely followed the team, and then learn about the team. Pink hat'ers are only there because of the social capital it produces them. half the time they're staring off into space, or calling everyone they know to let them know where they are.
Authenticity
Trying to figure out who and/or what is "more authentic", in any arena of life, is an excersize in futility.
Maybe I'm just boring....
...but if I'm going to wear a team hat, I'm going to wear a real team hat.
A few years ago, my wife bought me a blue "Red Sox" hat, but it had some goofy logo on it, not the red B. I never wore it.
Pink hats? Not for me, but if others like 'em, fine for them. I've seen plenty of non-pink-hatters spend most of the game on their cell phone, so I'm not going to jump on someone just because of their hat.
This logo, maybe?
Does it look like this?
It may be a real 1901 logo (I'm not sure), but the team wasn't called the Red Sox then. They were the "Boston Americans". So the hat is at most semi-authentic.
No, there was some kind of emblem
I'll give it to anyone who wants it. ;-)
hats of all colors
I especially like the green ones, but just today I saw a Clemson-orange hat with a blue "B" at an UNO's in Myrtle Beach, SC.
Can't it be both?
I happen to agree with the pink-hat critics (I don't take issue with the pink hats themselves, but I wish bandwagon fans didn't make tickets so scarce), but I also think they need to get a life.
But really, all those "die-hard" sox fans need to follow their own advice. Were you really a celtics fan a year ago? I don't just mean you cared about the celtics, I mean you follow every game, scour other team's rosters for potential trades, know what the celts can do via free agency, etc. I'm a casual celts fan (went to a couple of games in the 06-07 season, watched the draft lottery with bated breath, and screamed and kicked some stuff when it was over) but not enough of a fan to justify kicking some die-hard out of his seat.
Worst Pink Hat Experience at Fenway this year
Beautiful little nine year old kid comes out to
sing the Star Spangled Banner, everybody standing
respectfully. She's halfway thru, and it's Aretha
Franklin-esque.
From behind us: "Hello? Hello. I'm at Fenway now.
Oh my God, it's so AWESOME!"
And she would have yakked all the way through the
rest of the song if someone hadn't told her to
shut the f' up and end the call.
I ain't asking for the horse troughs back in the
Men's room, but Tony Massarotti, who coined the term,
is pretty much right about this.
If men wore pink hats ...
would there be so much pink-hat hatred?
I'm sure there are male bandwagon fans with poor manners, too.
By focussing on the pink hat phenomenon, these discussions invariably reek of "OMFG! There are GIRLS in MY ballpark!!! Get them out! Get them out!"
Should I just
repost what I wrote at 12:43?
Ain't a male/female thing for me
It's equal opportunity yahoo-ism. Was at a post-season
game a few years ago, two guys beside me decked out
in $500 worth of team apparel, and beyond clueless.
Had no idea what was going on at any given moment.
But it must have been real cool, because they spent
so much money to be there!
try again, never was a
try again, never was a gender thing.
Guys just don't stick out because they buy the normal apparel, but they're still called pinkos too!
Then why call them "pink hats"?
I would think "ass hats" would be more appropriate, if one wishes to be inclusive. Otherwise, there is the implicit implication that pink = female = frivolous fan.
No fair
The first, second, and third presidents of the He-Man Woman Haters Club all agree that bringing gender into this is No Fair!
Hey, is that a pink hat on Darla?
I'd rather sit next to a
I'd rather sit next to a giggling gaggle of 14 year olds in pink hats texting on their blackberries than the drunken loud-mouth heckler in the 'real' hat babbling incoherently through all 9+ innings.