A shame that Sox fans are treated like garbage in Tampa Bay

[SDL]

http://tbsnradio510.com/columns/levison/080427_redsox_fans_not_wanted.htm

[Jager]

I have to admit it had a chilling effect on us. Sure we were cheering, but you could sense a fear among some of us that if we cheered too loudly, we'd be hassled again and not so nicely asked to leave.

Whoever wrote that sounds like a big baby. He's obviously a drama queen, which is evident by the quote above. It had a "chilling effect" on them because they were asked if they would show their tickets a couple times? Is it a pain in the butt? sure, but a "chilling" experience? certainly not. If that's chilling to him, he needs to get out more, and see what's actually going on in the world.

[Pere]

Yes, Scott Levison is a big baby.

If the same guy asked me to show my tickets a second time (let alone a third) when I'd been in the right seat all along, I'd get his name (if he wore a tag) and snap a picture, and raise the issue with his boss later.

Even so, this level of "harassment" pales compared to some stories I've heard about the treatment of visiting-team fans (by stadium security, I mean) in Boston and New York.

[Eddiey]

Yes, Scott Levison is a big baby.

If the same guy asked me to show my tickets a second time (let alone a third) when I'd been in the right seat all along, I'd get his name (if he wore a tag) and snap a picture, and raise the issue with his boss later.

Even so, this level of "harassment" pales compared to some stories I've heard about the treatment of visiting-team fans (by stadium security, I mean) in Boston and New York.

I don't know about other stadiums, but you are right. If an employee is
abusive then turn him or her in to a supervisor. Its wrong to condemn
a whole organization because of the actions of one person.

[hellborn]

Boy, you'd think that the Rays would be thrilled to have some Bosox fans adding to what was one of the largest raw profits in baseball last year. Could they still pull that off just from revenue sharing if NOBODY came to their games?
I agree that a Rays fan in Fenway or Yankee could probably expect a lot worse, though.

[DoubleX]

Heaven forbid - A Red Sox fan having a hard time in a visiting teams stadium. I suppose every venue should be as welcoming and cordial to visiting fans as Fenway (and yes Yankee Stadium as well).

In all seriousness, I do see how it can be annoying for someone working at the stadium to repeatedly ask to see your ticket, but on the other hand, I can see why the Rays might want to do this. They're trying very hard to create a better image for their team and build a fanbase. They're tired of seeming like a joke, and it probably doesn't help to lure potential fans when they show up for a game they're surrounded by fans rooting for the opponent. There are better ways of going about it though.

[hellborn]

Even if it might be in the cause of building a fanbase, they can't take the Bosox fans' money and then harass them, though. Especially through an employee of the freakin team.
How about they use the Bosox and Yanks fans as a way to bring their own fans in? Make a big deal about the visiting fans being louder than the home fans, and challenge people to actually come to the game and shout them down (not beat them up). Give discounts to fans with FL driver's licenses, or even to people who buy their tickets at the box that day (somebody who is travelling in from up North is going to want to have tickets in hand ahead of time...at least, I would). Or just to people wearing Rays merchandise!
They could use this to boost sales if they worked it right. Even people who aren't Rays fans would respond to the challenge of making the Bostonites and New Yorkers shut the heck up (nonviolently).

[Yankeebiscuitfan]

I think you can compare this with people in former Communist countries in Eastern Europe. For decades they have worked in the Communist way. Now this era is gone, many of the workers still work in the same way.

This usher is the former Communist worker and the Rays are a former Communist country. The usher is still used to the old way of working...

[bigtime39]

I said it in their forum, and I'll say it here:

Nobody would care about visiting teams fans coming into our park(s), if those visiting fans didn't act like they were the Germanic tribes and the away park was Rome!
The bad feelings Rays fans have towards Yankee$ and Red $ox fans are nothing compared to those felt in Baltimore. We hate you...because you act like buffoons and morons when you come into our park. Show some respect. You are visiting another persons' "home". Act like you have the first clue about the concept of "manners", and we'll likely be quite cordial.

As far as chanting "Yankee$ Suck"...if they're not playing in the game at hand, it's true...but how is it relevant?

It's one thing to follow your team to an away stadium. Given the economics involved (a trip to Baltimore, hotel included, is often less than seats in Fenway, and easier to get) I can understand it. It's quite another to be a d!ck about it when you get there.

[SDL]

I said it in their forum, and I'll say it here:

Nobody would care about visiting teams fans coming into our park(s), if those visiting fans didn't act like they were the Germanic tribes and the away park was Rome!
The bad feelings Rays fans have towards Yankee$ and Red $ox fans are nothing compared to those felt in Baltimore. We hate you...because you act like buffoons and morons when you come into our park. Show some respect. You are visiting another persons' "home". Act like you have the first clue about the concept of "manners", and we'll likely be quite cordial.

As far as chanting "Yankee$ Suck"...if they're not playing in the game at hand, it's true...but how is it relevant?

It's one thing to follow your team to an away stadium. Given the economics involved (a trip to Baltimore, hotel included, is often less than seats in Fenway, and easier to get) I can understand it. It's quite another to be a d!ck about it when you get there.

I agree it's one thing to be a dick. But I can assure you that us Sox fans there werem't acting like it. Nobody was drinking. I was sitting behind the person who was hassled for allegedly swearing and I didn't hear anything. If anything he wasn't even talking that much to anybody. The tickets? Everytime the security guy checked them, they were the same. Seemed this security guy had his own agenda. I wish I had been able to get his name, but thet (as opposed to ushers) now wear ID tags on lanyards instead of being pinned to their jerseys and when it swings you can't get a good read...like if I asked "hey can I see your name tag" he was going to hold it and let me see it.

Seems a lot of this ill will comes from this guy on the radio down here (not going to give him any free publicity by mentioning his name) who several times a week goes into a tirade about visiting fans and how anybody who moves down here has to cut their ties or they should shut up and not wear visiting colors in public, or move back where we come from. This guy has a big following and he gets a lot of people who lap up every word. No doubt some people take their cue from him.

[Urbanshocker13]

AWWWWWW!!!!! Do you want me call the Wah-bulance??? So he got a prick Usher, why not go to Yankee stadium where the ushers are pricks to everyone! Come on give me a break!! What a baby! Why where they chanting Yankees suck at a Rays redsox game that's retarded!

If he wants something to complain about, why dosen't he go to a Glasgow or Brazilian Football game wearing the other teams color.

[hellborn]

If I pay good money to go to a game in an away city, I'm going to wear my Bosox stuff, cheer for the Bosox, and hoot and holler when the home team messes up. I'm paying just as much as the home fan in the next seat to see the freakin game...I'll enjoy it the way I want, but without harassing or insulting anybody around me. Sounds like some people think it's impolite to not cheer for the home team...is this North Korea??
If some teams had better management and better fans, their home parks wouldn't be targeted by fans of other teams for mass invasion due to economic or other reasons.

[SDL]

If I pay good money to go to a game in an away city, I'm going to wear my Bosox stuff, cheer for the Bosox, and hoot and holler when the home team messes up. I'm paying just as much as the home fan in the next seat to see the freakin game...I'll enjoy it the way I want, but without harassing or insulting anybody around me. Sounds like some people think it's impolite to not cheer for the home team...is this North Korea??
If some teams had better management and better fans, their home parks wouldn't be targeted by fans of other teams for mass invasion due to economic or other reasons.

Good point, hellborn.

Considering that the Rays have the Sox and Yankees (and the Cubs this year) as their "prime games" (tickets prices are jacked up) and those games sell out with mostly the visiting fans, no wonder. Before they started the "prime games" concept, sure it was mostly Sox/Yankee fans in the stands, but the fan ratio was closer than it has been since the institution of the "prime directive" (sorry, couldn't resist). Visiting fans come down, they bring the money, paying the prime prices. Economy down here dictates that lot of the locals don't. I personally only go to one game out the three the Sox play here each trip

[Williamsburg2599]

Heaven forbid - A Red Sox fan having a hard time in a visiting teams stadium. I suppose every venue should be as welcoming and cordial to visiting fans as Fenway (and yes Yankee Stadium as well).

They should. The Sox fans payed the money for the ticket, they should be treated like everyone else who bought one. They're customers of the Devil Rays, and deserve to be treated with respect. Should the Olympic ushers bother everyone who isn't Chinese this year?

They're trying very hard to create a better image for their team and build a fanbase.

Getting rid of the giant, pestering Mascot, dancing Banana costumes, aquarium, and rodents would be a start.

AWWWWWW!!!!! Do you want me call the Wah-bulance??? So he got a prick Usher, why not go to Yankee stadium where the ushers are pricks to everyone!

Because the game was in Florida.

Come on give me a break!! What a baby! Why where they chanting Yankees suck at a Rays redsox game that's retarded!

If he wants something to complain about, why dosen't he go to a Glasgow or Brazilian Football game wearing the other teams color.

If the fans treated him like crap, that be fine. But official employees who are being payed off of people buying tickets to the games (from both Home and Away teams) should treat the customers with respect.

[Evangelion]

I said it in their forum, and I'll say it here:

Nobody would care about visiting teams fans coming into our park(s), if those visiting fans didn't act like they were the Germanic tribes and the away park was Rome!
The bad feelings Rays fans have towards Yankee$ and Red $ox fans are nothing compared to those felt in Baltimore. We hate you...because you act like buffoons and morons when you come into our park. Show some respect. You are visiting another persons' "home". Act like you have the first clue about the concept of "manners", and we'll likely be quite cordial.

As far as chanting "Yankee$ Suck"...if they're not playing in the game at hand, it's true...but how is it relevant?

It's one thing to follow your team to an away stadium. Given the economics involved (a trip to Baltimore, hotel included, is often less than seats in Fenway, and easier to get) I can understand it. It's quite another to be a d!ck about it when you get there.

So, you see a couple of fans act like, then generalize the entire fan base as being moronic and rude while in a visiting park? I won't deny moronic and rude fans exist, but not all Red Sox fans are like that.

I find that chant to be innocent fun, when the Red Sox or another team playing the Yankees. When it's chant when the team isn't present, it's just irrelevant. Still, if people wish to chant that phrase while the Yankees aren't present, they're allowed to do it. There's no rules against. On a personal note, I find the chant to be irrelevant when the Red Sox aren't playing the Yankees, too.

At the end of the day, you'll find a person being rude, whether their a fan of your team or the opposing team. I found a handful of Red Sox fans that were just plain rude during Red Sox games. When I visited, I found Yankees and Red Sox fans being rude. Location doesn't exactly matter.