Bill Simmons Displays Same Hypocrisy Of Many Red Sox Fans
Uncategorized September 20th. 2010, 11:30am
During the September 14th episode of “The B.S. Report” with Bill Simmons, the Sports Guy admits that he hasn’t watched the Red Sox play since August…
I have not watched the Red Sox since the now-famous Tampa Bay Saturday night loss (Ed. note, this was August 28th, the night Dan Johnson won the game in the 10th with a home run) when Clay Buchholz tried to pick-off Carlos Pena, who was a foot from the bag, and is one of the slower guys in the league. And JD Drew caught a foul ball that allowed them to score. And then Francona did not bring Bard out for the 8th. And somewhere along that sequence of events, I realized I was watching the last meaningful game of the Red Sox season.
So the Sports Guy bailed on his team in August, more than a month before the end of the season. Whatever. If he wants to jump off the Red Sox bandwagon, that’s cool. But what gets us, is that later on in the podcast, Simmons rips the Tampa Bay area for not supporting the Rays…
It’s ugly. It’s really ugly. They had some big Red Sox games, and then like, I think, the next night they had like 12,000. It’s really bad. With all due respect, they probably shouldn’t have a baseball team…Do you think there should be a rule that if you finish the season 30-games over .500 but you can’t draw like 1.4 million people or something, you lose your team?
Let’s ignore for the moment that the Rays are going to draw more than 1.8 million fans this season. And let’s ignore that the Reds and Padres are also potential playoff teams with attendance comparable to the Rays.
Instead, let’s just point this out for what it really is. A typical Red Sox fan that has no idea that back in 1986, the Red Sox had 13 games in which they failed to draw 18,000 fans (50% capacity) and only drew 300K more fans (2.1 million) than the Rays will draw this season. A typical Red Sox fan that talks like they are god’s gift to fandom, but will bail as soon it looks like they won’t win.
In other words, a loudmouthed hypocrite.
Best Post Over!
Or ever.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Cork Gaines, Toby Srebnik, Tampa Bay Rays Buzz, Tom Kopacz, David Bloom and others. David Bloom said: RT @RaysIndex: Rays Index: Bill Simmons Displays Same Hypocrisy Of Many Red Sox Fans http://bit.ly/azOf7t #Rays [...]
Preach it, Rev. Corky!
Such a case of “sore loser”. I hope he’s a least a little embarrassed.
It goes back to the childhood behavior that goes like this:
You can’t think of anything bad to say about another kid, so its “Your mother wears combat boots” remember?
Well… what can he say bad about the Rays play (record)
so its reporting attendance figures and says ” they
(the Tampabay market) shouldn’t have a team”
About par for Red Sox/east coast mentality!
Fantastic post. Posts like this is why i love this blog and read it everyday. Cork and co. make intelligent arguments to the big market bias out there and often times make them look quite dumb. Great job CORK!
Simmons is super-lame! He was talkin shit on twitter during the game until DJ blasted that homer, then crickets. hhahahhahah!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Michael Weber and Victor Amuso, Patrick. Patrick said: RT @m_weber: Hey #RedSox fan >>> http://bit.ly/9m6ZqS << Good example of #RedSox nation hypocrisy in action! @RaysIndex #Rays [...]
I love it Cork. Enjoy Simmons, but his hypocrisy here needed to be called out. I remember listening to the podcast and I was fuming after that segment. If they didn’t have Jersey Shore analysis coming up, I definitely would have just turned it off, haha.
Can I get an amen, brothers and sisters?
I’m not a Simmons apologist, but….
He’s right.
What Rays fan didn’t “check out” of our season last year in mid-August? Raise your hand, and you’re a liar. So no one should be running around pointing fingers at Sox fans just cuz they’re doing the same this year, no matter how loud mouthed they are. Then we’re no better than them.
And sure the Sox and Yanks for that matter had periods of crap attendance in the 80′s or whenever. But they also had losing teams. What’s our excuse this year?
Honestly, teams with potential to win a WS only come around once a decade for small market franchises like us. The fact that we don’t show up for games is rather pathetic. We can bitch about national media giving us crap all we want but when it comes down to it, they’re right!
And everyone else on here is bitter for having to hear people tell it like it is.
If you go to games, then good for you. You’ve prolly had a lot of fun and are obviously excused from the argument. Personally, I have been to 6 games this year, and that’s not bad imo, considering I live in Gainesville. But enough is enough. Excuses are just that– excuses.
If a city can’t support a team well enough for them to at least moderately maintain the talent level when they are winning, then by definition the city cannot adequately support a baseball franchise.
If you’re offended by my post, then good, and I’m not sorry. Prove me wrong or show me up by going to more games. The parking is free and you can bring your own food, and tix are as low as $20 or so. I have a 2.5 hour commute to go to games and a college student budget but have still gotten it done, so what’s your excuse people?
Sox went to the WS in 1986, the year Cork’s post refers to. They also only had 2 losing season in the 80′s.
Leighroy,
Comeon now think about what youre saying, this team, had no fan base built in its first 10 years. And in the first year(2008) it brings back more fan it is in the midst of the biggest economic decline since the 1930′s.
If your implying that walk-up sales should be bringing in 30k plus, than you really have no idea what youre talking about. WE NEED more season ticket holders, and that isnt done by just winning games. This is a young franchise, that has just started to win back a city, that has staidium issues, and is the 2nd worst hit sports city economy(detroit #1). there are a lot of things working against us at the moment.
and out of your “6 games” how many were on a monday night against the royals, indians, athletics, or orioles? Im gunna bet they were all on the weekend and or yankees/sox/bigmarkt, where ticket sales have been good.
andThe TV ratings show the interest in this team. They arent just good, they are extradornairy. The support is here in the tampa bay area. Its finding the write formula and the right business decisions to make it work.
Some people have families to support and with the unemployment rate at 11.7% in the Bay area, above the national average, I think people are doing the best they can to get to games. When your house is in foreclosure, which you probably don’t know about since you’re not in the real world yet, it’s hard to justify going to a baseball game.
So lame that we’re still talking about this.
When I was in College I went to 6 night clubs a week…
you lead a dull life buddy….baseball…..
Bill Simmons is a schmuck.
Just like most Red Sux fans. lol
Why care about what a single Sox fan thinks? Enjoy the great year your team is having.
what an idiot *facepalm*
Can u get an original thing to say BS? I guess he is jumping on what yraditional media says. By the way, its pretty easy to get a ticket to Atlanta games..
[...] for last night’s potential playoff-clinching game. But don’t let any Red Sox fans (like Bill Simmons) try to tell you that means the Bay Area doesn’t deserve baseball. Because if [...]