The enterprise. [volume] (Harlem, Mont.) 1899-1926, 1913-06-19
FANS
Mot1o May the best team win; But ours is the best
BY Hugh S. Fullerton,
(Oopyright, 1918, By W. g. Chapman)

Wow! Wow!! Great eye, Eddie!
Make him put 1t across! Bust a
fence! You can do it! Wow! Wow!!
Wow!!! ROBBER! All right Tough
luck, Eddie. Two and two. Make
her be over. Home run, Eddie, old
scout. Break the gate. Wow! Vow!
Wo-."
The red-faced, apoplectic young
man in the front row made a trumpet
Of his hands and yelled until the
veins in his neck turned purple. In
the middle Of the final wow" he col
lapsed, looked Disguised and turning
to me said:
What do they keep that hunk Of
cheese for? He can't hit. Never
could. Striking out in a pinch like
that!"
The fan, bowling encouragement or
bawling abuse at the ball players Is
the spirit OF the town. Just how
great an influence this spirit exerts
upon the playing strength Of the team
representing the town or city is i'm
possible Of calculation, but 1t is GER
teAAA tAAat ~ 40 Q0lt Va IAO AdIIOA0A
game. He and his fellows exert al
most as much influence upon the team
as does luck, and this spirit is SO in
extricably mixed with the element Of
luck that 1t is impossible to deter
mine cause and effect. There are
cities in which the loyalty of the fans
has waned and turned to gibes, and in
these cities no player does we'll
There are crowds that remain loyal
in victory and in defeat. These in.
lspire the players to give their best
efforts to win. Ball players will tell
you that teams invariably play bet
ter with friendly crowds applauding.
The fan invariably will respond that
he would be loyal provided the club
would win games enough to Justify
loyalty. The players accuse the fans,
the fans accuse the players. and both
are In a measure right. The major
ity of patrons will root when the
home team is winning. Any team will
play better ball and win oftener If
the patrons are loyal. The fan. voic-
ing the spirit of the town, is a pow
or TOT Victory or Qefeat.
Conditions in different cities com.
'prising the circuits of the major
leagues assert a powerful influence
over their teams. Players will tell
you they would rather play for the
Chicago White Sox or for the New
York Giants than for any other teams.
They will assert that twenty Cobbs
could not win pennant for Cinctl,-
natl under conditions which the man.
agement is now striving to change.
The fanatical loyalty of the White
sox rooter and the Giant patron, the
angry abuse of players by the an.
nually disappointed Cincinnati pub
lie, the sarcasm and raillery Of Wash
ington crowds, trained for years to
expect nothing but defeat, have an
immense effect upon the players and
teams. They make or mar players,
and weak men win for one type while
brilliant ones fail and lose for the
other.
The baseball fan is an unique Amer
lean species and the most rabid of all
enthusiasts. Compared with him the
golf fan, the bridge fan, even the
bowling fan are mild. Baseball is
the most serious pleasure ever in
vented.
i Probably the most blindly loyal
crowd in the world is that which fol-
lows the fortunes of the Chicago
American league team, and to one
who Is disinterested the Chicago sit
uation is acutely funny. The White
SOX park ia located on the south side