Neyer Defends Yankees Fan's Passion

ESPN's Rob Neyer wrote about an article posted on NBC Sports' Hardball Talk, where writer Craig Calcaterra calls Yankees fan "classless" and "ignorant" for booing Javier Vazquez. At the end of his article, Calcaterra asks "Anyone care to defend the boo-birds here?" Here's Neyer's response:

Sure. I'll take a crack at it. Sort of.

Passion cuts both ways, right? When I was younger and Kansas won a big basketball, I was over the moon; when the lost a big one, I might grab a baseball bat and whale away at some innocent tree for a few minutes. When the Royals beat the Yankees in 1980, I was the happiest kid in Kansas City. When the Yankees beat the Royals in 1977, there was a salty discharge from my eyes.

I'm not that passionate about my teams anymore, and I'm glad; there's something a little ridiculous about sulking for hours because a bunch of massive people wearing purple shirts lost to a bunch of massive people wearing black shirts. But I do miss that passion, a little.

And I admire it in others. One thing about passionate sports fans: They tend to have long and intense memories.

He then goes on to tell a story about a game in Fenway Park in 1999 where Red Sox fans booed Jesse Orosco because he was the guy on the mound at the end of the '86 series, 13 years earlier.

Granted, six years isn't 13, but I'm still impressed with the intensity of the Yankee fans' collective memory.

Now, the article wasn't full of praise for the boo-birds. He did say that while booing shows passion it may not show intelligence, in fact, he called it "stupid". He argues that reminding a Vazquez about 2004 isn't the best way for him to start 2010. While he does have a point, if Vazquez can't handle that reminder than maybe New York isn't the best place for him. But we're stuck with him so let's hope he's not a little girl and can move past a few boos.

After the game, Vazquez told the media that he felt the boos were "unfair because [2004] was so long ago.” Not really the kind of response you want to hear from a guy who currently has a 9.82 ERA. Something he'd probably be booed for even if 2004 had never happened. Next time he's asked about being booed it would serve him well if he just said that the fans in this city are passionate about their team so I understand their frustration. Feeling sorry for yourself and saying it's "unfair" will only make things worse.