From: nittmo@buhub.bradley.edu (Christopher Taylor)
Subject: Miscellaneous Ramblings
Organization: Bradley University
Date: Fri, 10 Apr 92 20:42:01 GMT

<Babble mode on>

Just some thoughts on current topics here on the net:

1)  Those 'Mega-woofing' Blue Jay fans.
    These people give us other Toronto fans a bad rap.  The Jays win 4-2
    on opening day against Detroit and guys are talking about winning the 
    World Series already.  Why even play the rest of the season?  Sounds
    like the attitude of Chicago fans to me.  
    I don't buy this crap that the Jays are just going to walk all over the
    AL East, and then kill the AL West champs and then sweep the World Series.
    We've already seen a rash of injuries in Toronto and there are 159 games 
    to go.  And while Toronto probably has the best talent in the division, 
    they are going to get stiff challenges from Boston and possibly Baltimore
    (if the young pitching holds up) and Detroit (all the power can overcome
    some large deficits--as we almost saw in game 2 against Toronto when the
    Tigers closed an 8-1 deficit to 1 run.) and even if they survive the       
    division they will face an even tougher challenge in whoever comes out
    of the AL West.
    This group is going to be sickening for the entire season because every
    time the Jays win we'll have some clowns woofing about going 160-2 or
    something and every time they lose we'll have most everyone else saying
    that Toronto is choking.  Let's talk baseball here and you obnoxious
    Blue Jay fans can have a flame war with the Sox fans, etc. somewhere else.

2)  Biased announcers (mainly 'Hawk' and 'Wimpy')

    While I agree that every team's announcers are biased (heck, it's part
    of the job description and something they're paid for) the Sox duo has 
    to be the worst.  If it's not their cute-ass nicknames or 'clever' 
    terminology (What the Hell is a duck snort?) it's their total refusal
    to acknowledge good performances by opponents or something else.
    With most broadcasters a fan of the other team (or of some other team
    not even playing) can actually enjoy the broadcast to some degree, but
    with 'Hawk' and 'Wimpy' if you don't bleed White Sox black (or blue or
    red or whatever the heck their colors are this year) you can't enjoy it
    at all.  Thank God for the mute button!
    Nicknames are fine (to a degree) but I don't think they need to be used 
    on every Sox player for the entire game.  And even I'll admit it's nice   
    to hear some new terms instead of the old cliches, but these guys don't 
    make sense with stuff like 'duck snorts'.
    As for the incessant 'YESSSSS' and 'Grab some bench' the only one I like
    is 'Put it on the board'.  In fact this is the only one they'll use against
    their beloved Sox.  And they always seem to use 'Grab some bench' when some
    guy makes the third out of an inning.  He isn't going to the bench--he's 
    going to the field!  If you want to look so smart 'Hawk' you should at 
    least get the facts right.  
    It wouldn't be so bad if they gave credit to the opponents when the Sox
    we're losing or acknowledged that the Sox had actually received some lucky
    breaks, but they absolutely refuse to do this.  I remember one game last
    season when the Sox were getting pounded and the opposing pitcher was  
    throwing a really good game and all 'Hawk' and 'Wimpy' could say was that
    the Sox must have been suffering from 'mental fatigue'.  Come on, the guy
    was throwing a good game--how tough is that to admit?  And another moment
    I remember was a game last year against Boston that went extra innings only
    because of a Boston error late in the game.  The White Sox got screwed on
    a 3-1 pitch in the 10th inning and eventually lost and all 'Hawk' could talk    about was the bad umpiring.  He neglected to say the Sox were lucky to even
    be in extra innings and should have lost in 9 anyway.  
    I guess when all us non-Sox fans realize that 'Rock', '1 Dog', 'Hammer',
    'Sweet Swingin' Robin', 'Ozaroo', 'Saxie' (Isn't that cute?), 'Big Hurt',
    'Kark', 'Pudge', 'Black Jack', 'Lil' Bulldog', 'Rad', 'The Pope',  
    'The Thigmeister', 'Deacon' etc. are gods we'll get along just fine with
    'Hawk' and 'The Wimparoo'. 
                                                                             
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