Team Pride vs. Trashiness

I'm a pretty big Indians fan. I love the game of baseball and I go to dozens of games a year. One of the things I love about Adam is that he's got an equal love for baseball and for his respective team, the Detroit Tigers.
Adam and I like to try to go to games together when our teams play each other. We went to two games just last week when the Tigers were here in Cleveland, and the experience was.... less than enjoyable.

Detroit Tigers at Cleveland, summer 2012

Of course we're going to wear gear for our respective teams; I had my Tribe shirt and hat on, and Adam wore his Tigers hat and Justin Verlander jersey.We were in our beloved spot on the homerun porch with some friends, and during both games Adam continuously endured jeering and disrespect from Cleveland fans whom I used to believe were classy. Now, I know that in Cleveland we've got a bit of a jaded spirit from not winning a baseball world series since 1948, but that by no means legitimizes your choice to bad mouth fans of the opposing team who are there to do the same thing that you're doing; WATCHING BASEBALL AND SUPPORTING HIS OR HER TEAM.

I've been to my fair share of Indians games in Detroit, and never once have I been disrespected based on the logo that is sewn onto my baseball cap. Who knows if it's because I'm a female, or because I wasn't being that raucous, but I can say that at this point, Detroit's got more class than Cleveland when it comes to having opposing fans in their home stadium. I'm not proud of that, and frankly, I'm embarrassed. When I have to turn around and give you the death glare because you just viciously yelled "Go back to F***ING MICHIGAN," amongst other things, at my boyfriend who has not said one damn word to you, we've got a problem. No, you've got a problem. You're an ignorant asshole who doesn't have the decency to accept other peoples' understandable love of their own sports teams. And based on that, I can only assume that you're probably a racist as well. Honestly, you're doing a disservice to the team by claiming to represent them. I could go on and on about these lame excuses for fans, but I don't want to get any more riled up than I am. It just makes me so mad, and is probably one of my biggest pet peeves.

Contrary to the assholes that we endured, there were also a good handful of fans that would jokingly poke at Adam, then start up conversations about lineups and players. It's a nice change of pace, and that's what I like to see; Good sportsmanship and camaraderie. We're all there for the same reason. We love baseball, it's America's past time and we all grew up on it. We love our teams, and we come out to support them no matter their wins or losses.

So next time that you're at your local sports game, accept the fans from the opposing teams and make them feel welcomed. Show them how great our city can be, and how inviting and CLASSY Cleveland (usually) is.

Unless it's a guy wearing a Lebron James Heat jersey. Get him the hell out of there.