May 10, 2009

Those obnoxious, annoying Blue Jays fans




I like Jeff Passan. Enjoy his work. Been reading him ever since he joined Yahoo! Sports. But Passan doesn't feel the same way about me, or us. He thinks we - Toronto Blue Jays fans - are obnoxious, annoying homers.

About a month ago, while travelling the internetz, I stopped by a live chat being run by the fine folks at Big League Stew. Cliff Lee was the topic of conversation at the time and, as I involuntarily do whenever I read or hear Cliff Lee's name, I commented that Roy Halladay, and certainly not Lee, should have won the 2008 American League Cy Young Award.

That was enough to set off Passan. Here's what he had to say:

"I have a feeling that if the Blue Jays are ever good again, they're going to give Red Sox fans a run for their obnoxious money.

"I love Roy Halladay -- picked him to win the CY this year -- but come on. How can you make that argument?

"I'm just saying: Toronto fans are tremendously parochial, to the point that it becomes annoying. They are funny and cool and I'd definitely love to drink a beer with them, but their homerism is way over the top."

It's been a few weeks - I am arguably the world's greatest procrastinator - but allow me to respond.

Well, Mr. Passan, the Jays are good again. And while I'm the last person in Toronto to argue a charge of over-the-top homerism, to say that Blue Jays fans could ever be as obnoxious as the Massholes is flat-out fucking ridiculous. That's a whole other level of douchebaggery.

Oh yeah, Halladay. Look, Doc faced the Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay DEVIL Rays, and New York Yankees a combined 16 times last season. Six starts against New York, and five each against Boston and Tampa Bay. Cliff Lee faced those three teams four times. One start against Boston, one against New York, and two versus Tampa Bay. The only team Lee faced five times last season: the 75-87 Kansas City Royals.

I know the schedule is largely to blame, but that's why I can make that argument, Mr. Passan. Because that disparity has got to mean something.

But it's all good. The beer's on me, Passan. Enough about 2008, and Cliff Lee.

How about Brian Tallet? The much maligned J.P. Ricciardi has somehow put together an embarrassment of riches on the mound for the Blue Jays, and you probably won't find him getting much credit for it.

With guys like Casey Janssen and Ricky Romero set to return in a week or so, and Jesse Litsch not far behind, questions abound. Such as: how the fuck do you return Tallet to the bullpen?

And while I hate to overlook the second edition of Cecil Time this afternoon, Tuesday night looms large: Roy Halladay vs. A.J. Burnett. 

Be there. I need not say more.

UPDATE: I lied, I do have more to say. As bklades pointed out in the comments, and I fully agree with him, when it comes to Jays fans, pessimism reigns supreme.  Most casual fans are just waiting for this Jays team to struggle so they can say "I told you so!" Some advice: if you're going to depart the bandwagon, do so quietly. And use the door at the back, assholes.

17 comments:

bkblades said...

Maybe Passan should spend a minute listening to Jays Talk with Wilner one time. Homerism is not a label I hear often with Blue Jays fans. Fickle, overly critical, pessimistic - yes, yes, and yes. Homers we are not. Hell, look at the crowds in the Skydome and the message boards anytime the names JP Ricciardi or John Gibbons ever come up.

Anyway, I'm going to try my hardest to catch the game at the 'Dome on Tuesday and tip my hat for Burnett. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to tip it for spite though.

the expos said...

Your poll is awesome.

Navin Vaswani (@eyebleaf) said...

@ Expos: That's what she said!

Down Goes Brown said...

Calling a fan a "homer"? That doesn't even make sense. What's a fan supposed to be, an impartial observer?

mf37 said...

The jays have a fan base?!?

looshV said...

Jesus, the guy should meet Leaf fans.....he'd fuckin kill himself. Homerism is one thing as DGB points out, but obnoxious? You can hear a pin drop at skydome for god's sake and to even compare Jays and Yankee/Boston fans is an apples/oranges debate to the extreme. Rios is certainly rounding in to form and Marco Scutaro just impresses me so much with his all around heads-up approach to the game. And all credit to that pitching staff is due to JP. That's one area that he has been extremely efficient in over the years. Just a side note of curiosity: what ultimately happened to Russ Adams? And another guy I always liked when he had a brief stint with the Jays was Chris Latham, curious if you know where he ended up as well.

Escaped Lab Rat said...

Cecil time was good today. Albeit, the A's aren't exactly a murderers' row.

Navin Vaswani (@eyebleaf) said...

@ DGB: I guess our homerism is just too over-the-top. I wonder which fans Passan considers not to be homers.

@ MF37: We're a small, but passionate, group, my friend.

@ Loosh: Like I said, to compare Jays fans to Red Sox fans just can't be done. There's no point. It's a flat-out wrong comparison. As for Rios, what's amazing is that this team has the AL's best offense, and Rios has really done nothing to help it. Once he gets going, and he will, we're going to be that much better, b/c we're going to have a threat in the 3-spot. And I was saying during the off-season that Scoots was not an issue. Dude can play. Viva Venezuela!

Russ Adams is down in Vegas with the 51s. I think we outrighted him, but no one claimed him, so he's still chasing his dream in AAA ball.

According to my good friend Wikipedia, whom I met through Google, Chris Latham has retired.

@ Escaped: Hey, competition be damned. Cecil looked great, and it's good he got a win under his belt. Has he just climbed over David "Can't Throw Strikes" Purcey in the rotation?

looshV said...

Stunning! I never even thought Wikipedia would have such a player in there. I have to say that I was quite impressed with the right-up as well. Turns out his best season WAS with the Jays during those 73 at bats!!! HAHA. I guess he left an impression on me,.....seemed like it was longer. I can remember when the prospect of Russ Adams/Aaron Hill combo showed promise and then Russ forgot how to play baseball. Thanks for the info.

Navin Vaswani (@eyebleaf) said...

I feel for a guy like Adams. He's just grinding away in the minors. I guess he'd rather be playing minor league baseball for a living, than doing something else. And while the minor league lifestyle certainly isn't glamorous, here's hoping he makes it one day, even as just a utility man or something. I don't know, something about a guy who plays baseball his whole life, and has so many expectations placed on him, becoming a victim of the game just doesn't sit right with me.

Tao of Stieb said...

Nice take down...

Anonymous said...

Passan loves antagonizing an entire fanbase. Some of his columns are just bait for hatemail.

Nice rip on the Royals. Did you know that Passan is from KC? He stopped being a homer for the Royals when he moved to Chicago.

Now he's a Cubs fan! Let me know when Blue Jays fans come close to being as annoying as them.

Anonymous said...

I wish I could say I'll be watching from somewhere behind the plate but fack...the closest they have is Row 20 in the 500 level. Nevertheless, Aisle 106. Row 7. Seat 101. That's where you'll find me. Navin, where you sitting homie?? Dev is probably gonna reach with me.


In the infamous chant of Rick the Drummer........Let's Go Blue Jays!!!

Thank you!!!!

Junior said...

Brutal. DGB nailed it. Fan="homer"; that's the point. Remember when T.O. fans of all persuasions got regularly ripped by the media for being passionless drones? Cross-reference with "Winfield Wants Some Noise!"

And eye? No way do you beat me in a procrastination contest, because I wouldn't even get around to entering.

Archi said...

I wish I'd said it first, but I totally agree with DGB.

What the hell is wrong with being a homer? We're FANS, not journalists. We're supposed to be homers. We're supposed to think our guys are better. That's why we go to the games, and thats why we cheer for our guys against the evils of the world like the Yankees.

This 'impartial' crap is overrated.

Navin Vaswani (@eyebleaf) said...

@ Tao: Respect.

@ 12:14 Anon: Cubs fans are kind of cute, sort of like how Red Sox fans used to be. Here's hoping they win a title, but don't turn into the scum of the earth in the process.

@ 1:06 Anon: Bro I'm going to be up in the 500s. 524, I believe. I can't fucking wait.

@ Junior: Yeah, I don't think Passan has his pulse on the Jays fan base. Saying that Doc should have won the Cy Young doesn't make us idiots. It just makes us right. And well played on the procrastination bit. That shit is a disease.

@ Ar-Kee: DGB's always right, that bastard. As for me, I am a journalist, I just don't cover sports, so I can homer it up to my homer heart's content.

Go Jays.

PLAYOFFS!!!!1 Followed by a pennant, of course.

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