Earlier today we wrote about Peter Gammons’ (incorrect) comments about the local ratings for the Rays and the Yankees. We reached out to Gammons to see if his thoughts on the Rays had changed now that he knows his information was incorrect. They haven’t. And in fact, his response was even more derogatory towards Rays fans.
Here is his response:
The radio ratings thing was presented to me at the end of April, and I now believe they were mistaken. But the fact remains that they are arguably the best team in baseball, certainly the most exciting, and the 18000? [Ed. note: we pointed out to Gammons that the Rays drew 18,000 for a Monday night matchup with the Indians after he commented that the Rays might draw 20,000 for the Yankees] fans should be angry that they don’t support the team well enough. The players are very good, the starting pitchers brilliant and management from the dugout to the front office is as good as it gets. In my mind it’s shameful that they aren’t getting 30,000 a game.
Rays attendence is up. The ratings have doubled. And just last week, Gammons himself wrote that attendance overall in baseball could be down as much as 20% this year. How is 18,000 on a Monday versus the Indians “shameful”?
Clearly there is a diconnect between Gammons and what is going on in the Bay Area. The growth of the Rayshead Army is slow, but it is growing. And rather than looking at that for what it is (good for baseball), Gammons continues to play off of old stereotypes.
And that is disappointing. We expect better from Gammons.
I would like to present the newest member of The Rayshead Army, Hannah Elizabeth Gaines. Born this morning at 10:17, weighing 9lbs 2oz. Mrs. Prof and Baby Prof are doing great.
In what will be the first of several contests this season, we are giving away two tickets, as well as consolation prizes to some Rays fans.
The Rayshead Army Photo Contest
THE CONTEST: We are looking for your best Rays photos. There are four categories including…
Tampa Bay Rays (photos of players, coaches or front office personnel). Photos can be action shots, funny, professional looking…whatever. If you think you have a good photo of the Rays we want to see it.
The Rayshead Army (photos of Rays fans). Photos can be funny or just a bunch of people wearing Rays gear having a good time or somebody trying to prove they are the biggest Rays fan. If you think you have a good photo of Rays fans we want to see it.
Photoshop (photos of Tampa Bay Rays with your best/funniest Photoshop adjustments)
lolRAYS (photos of Tampa Bay Rays with your own captions…if you are not familiar look here.)
Photos for the first two categories (Tampa Bay Rays, The Rayshead Army) must be your own photos. Do not just pluck images off of Google Image Search or Flickr. Photos for the last two categories (Photoshop, lolRAYS) can be photos found on the internet.
You must be a member of The Rayshead Army facebook group. If you are not a member, do not fear. It just takes an email address, sign up and then go to the group page HERE and click to join. Don’t worry, we won’t bombard you with emails. In the past year, there might have been 3-4 emails from us and there might be a way to block those.
On The Rayshead Army facebook page, just click “Add Photos.”
In the caption of the photo, enter which category the photo is to be entered (ie. Photoshop or lolRAYS)
The contest will run until the end of April.
A panel of judges will determine the winner of each category.
Only give us your best photos. Don’t upload 500 photos.
The winner of the grand prize will be selected at random from the winners of each category.
The grand prize winner will win two (2) tickets to a 2009 Tampa Bay Rays regular season home game. The winner will be able to choose from a handful of games.
So let’s see ‘em. We know a lot of you have great photos of the Rays and we want to see them.
We don’t need a ‘Nation’…We don’t need an ‘Empire’…All we need is a cold beverage, good music and better baseball. We are THE RAYSHEAD ARMY.
We have a day job, we have a wife and we have a dog. Which means if we are to justify the amount of time we spend in this here corner of the interwebs, it helps if we generate a little income, even if it is just enough to pay for our beer on the weekends. And thanks to everybody that bought t-shirts season, we bought a lot of beer. Thank you!
This season we have made a few changes to the Rays Index Store. We have pared down the inventory to the most popular models and even added a couple of new selections. We also switched to a standard-weight t-shirt (as opposed to the heavyweight T’s we used last season). This seemed to be the preference of many and it has the added bonus of being cheaper. This year the shirts are about $4 cheaper. Yay! Everybody wins!
So have a look at the different styles below (click on any image to be taken to the store) or click on the link to the store in the side panel. And as usual, we accept requests.
We caught up with Michael Aguis and asked him a few questions about the home run that pissed off the Red Sox Nation.
RI: Monster seats are among the most coveted seats for a Red Sox game. How does a diehard Rays fan end up with Monster seats for an ALCS game?
MA: The guy sitting to the right of me (who dropped it) is a good friend of mine (and a Red Sox fan), and he had a connection to get them. We had gone up to Fenway about 4 years ago to see a D-Rays/Sox game, so he knows I am a real fan.
RI: Did you attend the game with the Red Sox fans sitting next to you? What was their reaction to you ending up with the home run ball?
MA: Yes. They thought it was pretty funny. They are not typical chowds. I stayed with the couple to the left of me.
RI: What was the reaction of the Red Sox fans near you? Any memorable one-liners?
MA:All of Fenway that day was very low-key, but the Green Monster Seats had a very corporate crowd. MUCH nicer fans than the bandwaggoners who come down to the Trop, I think either they didn’t really care about the game, or were too pissed to be down 5-0 to worry about me. I have felt more intimidated at a UF-Vandy game in Nashville! BTW: Speaking of the bandwagoning Pink Hat Nation, look at the third picture down on this old Sports Guy column from 2002 blasting the D-Rays. The seats are empty. BUT NO RED SOX NATION, either!!
RI: One Red Sox website was upset with how much fun the lady next to you seemed to be having during the game and questioned her loyalty…Any chance we can get her to wear a Rays cap and a blue scarf next time?
MA: I saw that site. Her and her husband share season tickets with friends down the 3rd base line. I can call her and ask her to…She is a good sport.
RI: When did you first realize that you were a story that lots of people were talking about?
MA: Within 30 seconds, I got about 10 texts. I knew the cameras would be up there if one was hit.
RI: Were there any stories about you and the home run that you thought were particularly funny/weird/memorable?
MA: The funny story is that I told everyone for a week that if a Red Sox player hit a HR up there, and I caught it, I, in my Rays jersey, would throw it back, and give some attention to the Rays and our fans. I was warned by my friend on the train ride up not to do it. I think this was better.
RI: Since the national attention, do you now regret not having a mohawk?
MA: I regret not staying in Boston last night for the real beating.. I’m not sure a Rayhawk would fly at work, but I am growing a lucky beard – stopped shaving the day we clinched. I grew one for the Gators when they won the BCS, the Final Four, and for the Giants when they won the Super Bowl. I call it the Billy Barool, like Judge Smalls’ lucky putter in Caddyshack.
Is that the sweetest image you have ever seen that doesn’t involve Salma Hayek?
We have to admit, for all the knocks against Rays fans this season, we are severely disappointed in the Boston “faithful”. We have been to regular season games at Fenway versus the A’s that were louder than the crowd in games 3 and 4. We already learned this morning that premium seats were easier to obtain at Fenway than at the Trop. Add to that the early exodus of pink hats from Fenway, and we feel that Red Sox Nation is in turmoil.
Guess that is what happens when the fan base just assumes the Red Sox will win the series.
After seeing firsthand how loud and rockin’ The Trop was in games 1 and 2, we have never been more proud of The RAYSHEAD Army.
Sometimes the stars align in such a manner, that we all have to just sit back in awe and admire the power. The Rays are in the ALCS against the hated Red Sox. This was the perfect time to conduct a Hajj and journey to our Mecca.
The good news is we will be in attendance for both games 1 and 2. The bad news is that there will not be any Live Blog-A-Baloos unless Marc Topkin let’s us borrow his laptop.
ROADTRIP TO THE TROP! And all RAYSHEADS are welcome to join us.
WHEN: Saturday October 10. ALCS Game 2 versus the Boston Red Sux
In celebration of the Ray winning the ALDS and advancing to the ALCS, we are adding a couple of shirts to the Rays Index Store, and lowering the price on an old favorite…
Click on any image to be taken directly to the Rays Index Store.
We are at Austin City Limits all day today and tomorrow, so no “Hangover” today and tomorrow is up in the air at this point. Until we come back, we will leave you with our anthem.
