Guest Services discourages cheering?

by sslinger on Aug 31, 2006 9:46 AM PDT

There have been a few diaries recently commenting about poor experiences with Guest Services at the ballpark. I will reiterate what many have said, that service in the Ticket Services office is exemplary, but I too have had my share of recent interactions with ballpark services people that have left a bad taste in my mouth. I have attached a copy of a letter I just sent to Customer Service about something that happened at Tuesday night's game. I'll be interested to see the reactions from all of you.

Oakland Athletics Customer Service

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing to express my concern over an episode I witnessed at Tuesday night's (8/29) game against the Red Sox. I was sitting in the upper portion of section 125, and late in the game, I believe the 7th inning, with two on and two out and Mark Ellis at bat, two A's fans below us stood up to cheer for Ellis. Apparently, someone behind them complained and asked them to sit down, and soon a Guest Services person went down to tell them they had to sit. By their body language, their response seemed to be surprised and they motioned for others to stand but no one did, except a Sox fan standing next to them. Shortly thereafter, Security personnel arrived and quite clearly were motioning for the "standers" to come with them. They were not there to talk to them, they were there to remove them. After some resistance, the three "standers" were ultimately taken away, and presumably thrown out of the stadium.

I must point out that at no time were these fans acting threateningly, or taunting other fans, and unless I didn't notice I don't recall that they had been acting up throughout the game in a way that was purposely disruptive to the fans around them. I've seen that happen, and this wasn't one of those cases. I also recognize the need to provide a safe and comfortable environment, and generally appreciate the effort that both Guest Services and Security people put forth in sometimes-difficult situations. But this situation did not involve a dispute or taunting - as mentioned, there were two A's and one Sox fan that were standing and cheering. These fans simply wanted to stand up and root on their team, and for that they were thrown out of the game.

I may not have been so disturbed by this had I not witnessed a similar event a few weeks ago, when a couple stood up in a similar situation - late in the game, close score - and without even anyone complaining the Guest Services person quickly went over to tell them to sit down.

I had a lengthy conversation with the Guest Services person and another Security guard (not the one who did the tossing) after the event on Tuesday, as a number of us watching this whole process transpire were vocal about the unfairness of the treatment of the fans. He indicated his discomfort with the situation, and said he was only acting upon policy. When I mentioned the prior event that I witnessed, and that I had never seen this before at games, he agreed that as a long-time employee he had never seen this happen before this year.

So it appears you have a policy whereby fans are not allowed to stand up to cheer if no one else is standing around them. Or, that if someone seated complains about someone standing in front of them, Security can make the person in front sit down. I would be curious to know how this is defined - is there a threshold above which you can't complain, such as if no more than ten people are standing, those behind them have the right to make them sit, but if 11 or more are standing that constitutes a legitimate "rally cheer" that can't be opposed? Can fans complain about people standing in front of them to do the wave when there's no real rally going on?

Given the difficulty in attracting new fans to attend games, this heavy-handedness applied recently would seem to be a counterproductive policy that discourages fan support. I know if I were one of those three fans that got thrown out for standing up and cheering for Ellis, I would be reluctant to ever spend another dime at the stadium. This policy, however it is written, needs to be eliminated or, at the least, modified to allow for judgment in the case of late inning rallies.

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Comments

i agree totally with article

we have been sitting in 231 this year as we got tickets as a gift. i guess the rules about standing only apply to more expensive seats. lol there are times in upper deck they should have said things to people hanging on the railings and dont.

by smasfan on Aug 31, 2006 10:06 AM PDT reply actions

Amen. The promenaders ruin...

...the 200 sections. There's an usher at every tunnel, but they do not hold up strollers 'til breaks in the action--so it's a constant parade. It even looks like some of them are up there trolling for foul balls--they race along the aisle and compete for chances. It'll be worse than annoying when they knock some kid over the side.

As for people standing/blocking down below--I think if your view's not blocked and you'll block someone else, you oughtta stay down and just holler, instead. The vertical waves tend to happen before a critical pitch or at-bat, so everybody has a chance to get up. If somebody was yo-yoing in front of me, I wouldn't like it.

The reaction of Security to the incident you describe sure sounds excessive, however, assuming nobody's heritage was impugned, and <horrors> nobody threw a visitor's homer back on the field.

"You go with your feelin's, Johnny--right or wrong, you go with your feelin's." --Dan Dority

by The Dogfather on Aug 31, 2006 10:21 AM PDT up reply actions

Seriously.

I've seen guest services just watch people who stand there for five minutes at the railing, yelling to a friend in the lower deck to get their attention while blocking the view.

But if someone wants to block my view to cheer? Hell freakin' yeah, it just means I'll get up and cheer too!

"This must be heaven," he says.
"No. It's Oakland."

by Kyli on Aug 31, 2006 10:43 AM PDT up reply actions

Im with you

Except i come to a slightly different conclusion than "This policy, however it is written, needs to be eliminated or, at the least, modified to allow for judgment in the case of late inning rallies."
Mine is more like "Remove that policy completely beause i paid for my seat and have the right to stand in front of it when i wanna cheer for my team"
The A's orginization hates its fans...well at least guest services does.

BRING BACK MIGGY!

by Ionnes on Aug 31, 2006 10:10 AM PDT reply actions

I don't think renting your seat...

...gives you a license to consistently block the view of others, which reduces the value of their "fan experience." There are many ways of annoying fellow fans--air-horns, sign-waving, beer spilling, constant coming/going, chronic flattulence (otherwise known as the "let's go redsox" chant), etc.

When lots of people are packed together in close quarters, in emotional circs, common courtesy is called-for. So all, or almost all that stuff is okay, but only in moderation or at appropriate times.

I do hope that someday, in the late innings with the A's comfortably ahead, I get the opportunity to civilly disobey the stoopid "no homer throwbacks" rule. It'll be well-worth the ejection.

"You go with your feelin's, Johnny--right or wrong, you go with your feelin's." --Dan Dority

by The Dogfather on Aug 31, 2006 10:41 AM PDT up reply actions

You may not want to stand for a nice catch,,,

But i stand up and cheer when i see something i like. I would throw a homerun back in a heartbeat. I have just as much a right to stand and cheer as anyone has a right to sit. Why go to a baseball game if you want to sit quietly in your seat? Go sit field level at a giants game if you wanna be part of a morgue.

BRING BACK MIGGY!

by Ionnes on Aug 31, 2006 12:36 PM PDT up reply actions

Giants games

I love being the loud & supportive A's fan at Giants games. It confuses their fans. i.e. "Dad, why is that man making noises by hitting his hands together quickly?"

by KrautBall on Aug 31, 2006 5:22 PM PDT up reply actions

Dad's reply:

"Shush Jimmy! Can't you see I'm on the phone?!?"

A's 2006 record when I attend: 10-7

by peanut gallery on Aug 31, 2006 5:25 PM PDT up reply actions

QOTM!

"I think every memeber of AN should send every memeber of LL 20 bucks." ~ Goose on LL

by AsGirl on Aug 31, 2006 5:59 PM PDT up reply actions

You and I aren't that far apart on the facts...

...I'm just too old to care much about your chest-thumping exposition of your "rights." I'm one of the louder fans in 119, and I've been known to lead the vertical wave and leap up on a long fly ball.

But I try to do it considerately--is that too much to expect of others? Methinks not.

"You go with your feelin's, Johnny--right or wrong, you go with your feelin's." --Dan Dority

by The Dogfather on Aug 31, 2006 7:25 PM PDT up reply actions

Cheering at a ballgame

that is just something that people going to the ballpark should expect to happen. Telling people not the stand up and cheer at a ballgame, is like telling people not to Pit at a Metal Show. Its just what happens so either go with it or leave.

Bring back the Bash! Bring back the Mustache! Go A's in 2006!!!

Death To The Angels!!

by Shippee33 on Sep 1, 2006 12:38 AM PDT up reply actions

too old...

Whatever is clever.
Chest thumping...very cute.
I love it when people are so civil with their condecending remarks haha. Is that even how you spell condecending?
Who gives a shit.
Go A's is the bottom line on this end.
Chest thumping aside.

BRING BACK MIGGY!

by Ionnes on Sep 1, 2006 1:26 AM PDT up reply actions

Amen to line 5.

And gawd bless row 21 (nobody in front).

Oh yeah, and "no" to line 3 (how's that for condescending?) ;-)

"You go with your feelin's, Johnny--right or wrong, you go with your feelin's." --Dan Dority

by The Dogfather on Sep 1, 2006 9:45 AM PDT up reply actions

WOW.

I have actually asked people to sit down at the bottom of 7th if they're still standing for no apparent reason a couple of pitches after the 7th inning stretch, or if someone on a cellphone gets up at some random time to do the "can you see me?" wave across the stadium while there's a batter in the box... but if people in front of me stand up to CHEER, I'll either stand up too, or just lean to see around them.

The only thing I can think of that would be a good reason for asking people to sit while they're they only ones cheering would be if you are physically unable to stand. This actually happened to us when I took my nearly-wheelchair-bound mom to a Giants game at Phone Co. Park. I was very polite, even apologetic when I asked, but the people in front of us were really rude until I pointed out that my mom couldn't stand, and that was the first time she'd been able to go out to the park to see her team play. That guilted them into sitting for a short time, at least... but, obviously, when the people in front of THEM stand up, they also need to stand, so it's pretty frustrating -- but nothing worth calling security about, and eliciting an ejection!

I'll be interested in hearing if you get a response to your letter...

They're urban raccoons, and they're not afraid.

by Poppy on Aug 31, 2006 10:13 AM PDT reply actions

I'm with you

I don't mind people standing up & cheering but it irritates me when people stand talking on their cell phone or just standing oblivious to the fact that a game is being played. I'm surprised that these 3 people were kicked out. Most of my interaction with Guest Svcs has been great. It does help that you get to know the regular ushers.

by oaklandbbfan on Aug 31, 2006 12:30 PM PDT up reply actions

it was especially disturbing Tuesday night

because some of the Sox fans, knowing that the next meaningful game they play will be in 2007, were especially drunk and loutish, IMO.

But maybe I'm just bitter because Guest Services wouldn't allow us to use our special green-and-gold painted, 47-mouthpiece hookah in 228 after the big sac fly gave the A's the lead they would never relinquish.

1972...1973...1974...1989...2006

by emperor nobody on Aug 31, 2006 10:45 AM PDT reply actions

They have a 24-mouthpiece hookah limit

Unless you're in the designated Hookah Zone, in which case you need to have a $58 Personal Hookah License.

"You can throw your cocks if I don't care!" - Iggy Pop

by AlamedaAphid on Aug 31, 2006 1:26 PM PDT up reply actions

I can't tell you how many times ...

... I've woken up wasted after a night of smoking in Austin, TX.

Those days I call "Hookah Morns."

A lonely monkey is a spiritually dead monkey. -- tankerraid @('.')@

by monkeyball on Aug 31, 2006 3:18 PM PDT up reply actions

Down In Front!

by BleacherDave on Aug 31, 2006 11:22 AM PDT reply actions

People who stand bug me

Not that I don't stand and cheer myself in High Drama situations, but there are some fans who feel the need to stand at every high drama situation. Then they flap their arms trying to get everyone to stand with them, making it worse for people directly behind them. Those people are usually drunk and/or rude!

In the lower field level, the seats are not as raised from eachother as in the other sections. So when someone stands in row 3, it is almost impossible to see around them. I have told a number of people to sit, averaging on once a game. Most people are very kind and will sit if asked. Most will even check behind them before standing, to see if anyone else is standing or if they are blocking a view.

I have never heard of people being removed for standing. I have see security ask them to sit, and I have often thanked them for that, but I have never seen someone be removed for simply standing after being asked not to. (Most times they are VERY drunk and rude and that was the last straw.)

I understand people are inclined to stand and cheer. I do that myself. But let the situation decide. And if people around you ask you to sit, please sit, don't try and encourage others to piss this person off by standing also. That is just rude! If you are the only one standing and someone behind you cannot see, just sit.

"This is the best hug in the major leagues, right here!" - Swisher Pics

by BobbyCrosbysGirl on Aug 31, 2006 11:38 AM PDT reply actions

Totally agree...

There's a huge difference between standing and cheering for the moment. A homerun or big play, you stand, you cheer, you sit back down. There's no reason to stay up and block the view of the people behind you. You have no real reason to stand and cheer for every pitch unless you're wasted.

The only exception is when we're a strike a way from winning the game in which case, if everyone else is standing, it's fine to stay up. But if you're the only one standing, sit your ass down.

by DMOAS on Sep 1, 2006 9:53 PM PDT up reply actions

Nice timing on this

Yesterday at the game, me and my buddy were in 116, row 20. With 2 out, 2 on and an 0-2 count against Pedroia, my buddy stood and started clapping. He was told to sit down by guest services.... We were pretty disgusted. How can you ever hope to shed the rep as being bad and lazy fans who don't care if we never show up and don't take part in BASIC BASEBALL FAN DECORUM such as cheering in big moments in a ballgame? How can the A's ever hope to have any sort of home filed advantage when there's a Coliseum full of people sitting on their hands, and apparently being encouraged to do so by the staff. We're trying to help the team! PLayers are human beings, do you think they don't get extra fired up when everyone's into it? It was absolutely ridiculous, and letters will be written.

I'll try not to swear.

by Tony on Aug 31, 2006 11:40 AM PDT reply actions

Agreed

I think we should put it into our hands. Guest services cannot tell 50-100 people to sit down, and you know that when 50-100 people stand, other people will stand too. So when their are 2 strikes at the end of every inning, I say everyone from AN stand. Give the A's pitchers some support. Hopefully this will get the disgruntled Guest Services off the fans.

by asyouwish33 on Aug 31, 2006 11:59 AM PDT up reply actions

Must suck to have standing-room only tickets.

"The first night, we were right there," Bradley said. "All we needed was a couple of touchdowns, and we would have had them."

by jeepers on Aug 31, 2006 12:00 PM PDT reply actions

I almost got the boot for singing:

"You picked a Fine Time to leave US KENNY"

Back in 2001.

I was sitting in my old seats, 107 row 2, and Kenny, that red ass, tried to have me kicked out!!!

HE IS SUCH A JERK!!!

My cocktail and I thought it was hilarious, as did all of the fans around me.

This has a ton to do withe why I sit in 135 and band a drum now!!!

"I think we just feel that now is our time." - Nick Swisher

by saint @ Athletics Nation on Aug 31, 2006 12:05 PM PDT reply actions

You know what I saw the other day

I was at the Tuesday BoSox game and the coffee guy was going hella crazy! He was like "Come on, LETS GO OAKLAND" and dancing and waving his arms all over the place. It was tight. Never seen that before.

by ConditionOakland on Aug 31, 2006 12:43 PM PDT reply actions

I think Coffee Guy is chugging the merchandise

He gets pretty wound up sometimes... racing for foul balls, too... LOL

They're urban raccoons, and they're not afraid.

by Poppy on Aug 31, 2006 12:45 PM PDT up reply actions

Coffee Guy rules.

He has me on a schedualed delivery in the bottom of the seventh.

by Duke of left field on Aug 31, 2006 1:03 PM PDT up reply actions

One night...

...he got to 216 and the chain was across the walkway, with no usher in sight. So, instead of just undoing the chain himself and walking through, he tried to go under it -- I sat watching him and thinking "This isn't gonna be pretty..." Sure enough, he managed to get under the chain, but the coffee urn got stuck when he stood up, and some fans that were sitting in that row had to help him disengage...

They're urban raccoons, and they're not afraid.

by Poppy on Aug 31, 2006 1:21 PM PDT up reply actions

Yup,

another reason why East Coast baseball is so much better -- don't get me wrong, I'm a lifelong A's fan and I love our (true) fan base -- but being asked to sit down during an appropriate time to cheer is ridiculous.
I'll never forget the first game I went to in Boston in '02 -- third inning, Sox up 6-0, Pedro on the mound, "game over" basically -- the Sox get a leadoff double, and the crowd stands to cheer the guy for hitting a ground ball to the right side! Unbelievable. Outstanding.
Some get upset -- not just in Oakland, all over the West Coast -- if you cheer too loud for cryin' out loud.
Repeat after me . . . ballgames are for standing, cheering, and getting loud. No one should have to listen to swear words or abusive language, but anything else goes. This is not church, and by the way, just leave your stupid cell phone in the car.
The thing that really ticks me off is that some of us who think standing up and cheering is "just rude" will be the first idiots to stand and do the Wave. Now THAT oughta be grounds for life-long banishment.

VacaAsFan

by Vacafan on Aug 31, 2006 1:40 PM PDT reply actions

when you said that about the wave

i have this picture in my mind a guest service person running along the aisles telling everyone to sit down and it makes everyone stand up and do the wave and they collapse from having to run around the coliseum

by smasfan on Aug 31, 2006 1:52 PM PDT up reply actions

Sounds like a job for Coffee Guy! ;)

They're urban raccoons, and they're not afraid.

by Poppy on Aug 31, 2006 2:11 PM PDT up reply actions

good

Your post sounds the most like I know. 90% of the games I've seen are in Yankee Stadium or Fenway, and I'm used to standing for nearly all the key parts in the game. A ball is hit hard? Time to stand. It sickens me to hear that the A's are encouraging passive fandom...

by SeanR on Aug 31, 2006 4:32 PM PDT up reply actions

I don't know

I was once attending an A's game in Toronto and sitting in the lf bleachers. An A's player hit a homer that landed near us and I cheared very loudly. A guy in a Yankee hat (?) told me that I was being too loud and that his ears hurt. I was dumbfounded...... I just kept right on cheering and ignored him.

Rickey Henderson: 35, 24, hall of fame!

by Athletics fan and runner on Sep 1, 2006 10:23 AM PDT up reply actions

his ears

probably hurt from all that loud booing when the yankees loose

by smasfan on Sep 1, 2006 11:05 AM PDT up reply actions

I wouldn't mind this so much

if I didn't know that the same usher wouldn't do anything if people sitting in the middle of a section decide that two on, two out, and a 0-2 count is a great time to head for the concessions stand. Say what you will about Pac Bell Park and I'll usually agree with you, but at least their ushers make an effort to hold people at the top of the aisles while a play is in progress.

"The theme of the day is murky." -- Ken Macha, August 11, 2006

by Englishmajor on Aug 31, 2006 1:59 PM PDT reply actions

Agreed

While the first time I encountered this at the Big Phone I was a little annoyed, I've come to appreciate the fact that they don't let people walk down the aisles during an at bat.

by sslinger on Aug 31, 2006 2:58 PM PDT up reply actions

Uncle

I tried for three years to get them to understand this fact. I sat on the aisle between 116 and 117, 7th row, and my entire view of the batter's box was blocked off each time someone walked down the aisle. I took it as high up as Dave Rinetti, and basically they tried it for a game or two, got complaints from the people above the walkway that their view was blocked, and gave up. I was told that there just isn't enough room to hold people up at the top of the walkway, like they do in so many other ballparks I've been to. So, I asked to be moved, and that's how I ended up in 117. I'm much happier now.

That said, it bugs me when someone with front-row seats thinks he has to stand up for every great play. As noted earlier, the seats in the lower bowl aren't pitched as steeply as the ones up above, and it's frustrating when you can't sit in your seat and see the game because people in front of you are standing. As one might say in another context, your right to stick out your fist ends at my face.

"It's like the only thing they know how to do is win." -- Baseballdad, 8/5/06

by skigurl on Aug 31, 2006 3:47 PM PDT up reply actions

Does the right to stick out my face...

end at your fist?

"the reason why hitting the ball on the "sweet spot" of the bat feels so good is that the ball is contacting at the bat at a vibrational node." - salb918

by McFood on Aug 31, 2006 4:20 PM PDT up reply actions

Dear skigurl

it "bugs you when someone stands up for a great play??!!" Please tell me you're not serious. That's like saying it bugs me when I go to a concert and someone starts singing, or it bugs me when I get on the freeway and cars start moving fast.
I'm not trying to be a jerk -- I'm smiling when I write this -- but what the heck do you think the game is for??!! I've got a hint for you skigurl . . . get your butt out of your seat for a great play and you won't miss it!!!!! Unbelievable.

VacaAsFan

by Vacafan on Aug 31, 2006 5:19 PM PDT up reply actions

Dear Vacafan,

Nice try. But I said "the guy in the front row" and "every great play", not just a great play. Yes, I do stand, as a reflex reaction to a great play, but when I do I'm aware that the people behind me can't see, so I sit down quickly. I'm talking about every strike, every play at first, every long fly ball out. Mostly, I'm talking about consideration. Believe me, you won't find a more passionate fan, but, having been on the other end of the stick (fist?), I try to be aware of those around me who can't see when I stand. I can fully enjoy a great play without jumping out of my seat each time -- I save my "ups" for the true Holy Toledo plays, which, Bill would remind us, are few and far between. I bet most people stand because the person in front of them stands and they can't otherwise see (the "vertical wave" effect). And when you're in the front row, there's no such excuse. Hell, I've even been asked to sit down (or move over) between innings because the guy behind me is a scout who happens to be clocking the pitcher's warm-up throws. No problem (especially since he asks with a smile).

"It's like the only thing they know how to do is win." -- Baseballdad, 8/5/06

by skigurl on Sep 1, 2006 9:00 AM PDT up reply actions

Point taken, I guess

We're just not on the same page on this . . . I think people should come to the game understanding that a large number of plays will be missed if they don't stand up. This is not a "consideration" thing in my opinion. It is a "ballgame" thing. It is what happens (or should happen) many, many, many times during the course of 9 innings.
For whatever it's worth, this conversation wouldn't be happening back East -- they stand far more often than they sit. I don't know, I just think they appreciate the game and understand it better than we do.

VacaAsFan

by Vacafan on Sep 1, 2006 3:46 PM PDT up reply actions

I lucked into some great seats in 122 early

in the season against Cleveland, and those season-ticket-behind-the-A's-dugout folks are generally upset by anything louder than polite applause. I now live in LA (as you may have guessed) and so most of my memories of the Coliseum are from my younger days, especially the 80s and 90s in the old bleachers, which, as many of you probably remember, were even rowdier and louder than Mt. Davis is now.

In any case, there were some other serious A's fans who managed to get some tickets in that section, and they were yelling like they were in the old bleachers, which is how I think a baseball game should be: loud, fun, a little crazy, and exuberant. They were cheering on their team. Well, the Blackhawk CEOs sitting near them were rolling their eyes at the Montclair Internet tycoons, and eventually one of them offered the two loud fans their unused seats behind home plate! After the loud fans left, the mild mannered bridge circle in 122 politely applauded the generous ingenuity of the man who got the real fans to move.

Moral of the story: cheer like hell!

"The guy's Far Eastern. Psychic. He knows what the hitters are looking for, and he relays that to me," Zito said.

by LAXile on Aug 31, 2006 4:16 PM PDT reply actions

I had basically the same experience....

during the 2000 playoffs. Scored some sweet singles a couple rows behind the A's dugout, and made a ruckus the whole game. Chanting, hollering, heckling the whole game. Someone asked me if I felt out of place not being in the bleachers - Hell no, if i wanted to be quiet I'd watch the game on TV! As I was leaving after game 1, some smugly smirking guy gave me a sarcastic "See ya later." The look on his face when I showed up for Game 2 in the same seat was priceless.

The request from the older lady to start the Matt Stairs - Oh We O chant was even better.

Hey, do you think the A's lost that year because I showed up at Game 2 with a broom?.....

by BleacherDave on Aug 31, 2006 6:33 PM PDT up reply actions

There's standing to cheer, and then there's....

...ssssttttaaaannndddiiiinnngggg to cheer. I've spent the last 15 years sitting in rows 4-6, field level. I like an enthusiastic, boisterous crowd that shows its appreciation of the team. That said, I'm 5'2" and I've been taking my son to games since he was 11 days old. I want the folks around me to feel free to jump up and cheer for great plays. I want to be free to jump up and scream and cheer for great plays. But I don't want to sit behind someone who treats every high drama at-bat as if it were 2 out with the A's leading in the top of the 9th. Please understand that when you stand, I can't see, even when I stand up as well. And there's nothing more frustrating for kids than being stuck in a sea of adults with nowhere to look but at their asses.

"I'm a lexicon devil with a battered brain."--Darby Crash

by lexdevil on Sep 1, 2006 12:57 AM PDT reply actions

Amen, lexdevil

"It's like the only thing they know how to do is win." -- Baseballdad, 8/5/06

by skigurl on Sep 1, 2006 9:05 AM PDT up reply actions

Oh, I dunno

I think it kind of depends on the particular asses in question...

"the poop stain on the collective AN pantalones." -ohad

by ArakSOT on Sep 1, 2006 9:49 AM PDT up reply actions

So if the asses are in Depends...

"The first night, we were right there," Bradley said. "All we needed was a couple of touchdowns, and we would have had them."

by jeepers on Sep 1, 2006 9:56 AM PDT up reply actions

i like this

quote for quote of the month

by smasfan on Sep 1, 2006 10:08 AM PDT up reply actions

Hey Lex

welcome back (to another school year) ... I would think that this is very good incentive for the kid to drink his milk ...

'See all these asses in Depends? If you want a better view, drink your milk so you'll grow tall enough to watch over them.'

by Rickeyfan on Sep 1, 2006 12:04 PM PDT up reply actions

At least it ain't Seattle...

The writer of this piece and his referenced NY contingent came to the CF bleachers in Oakland a few years ago. They were passionate, and we had a ball heckling each other. He certainly got the experience in Oakland that was so sorely lacking in Seattle.

http://www.seattleweekly.com/arts/0217/arts-villano.php

by BleacherDave on Sep 1, 2006 11:46 AM PDT reply actions

That's why I sit in the bleachers

you don't have this problem there. Everyone stands and cheer whenever they want and no one complains.

"I don't know if you know but France made it to the World Cup final. They all tested positive for being assholes" -Lance Armstrong

by sf drift king on Sep 1, 2006 1:34 PM PDT reply actions

Damn Straight.

Never had an issue with people in front of me in the bleachers, where I've sat for 90% of the games I've gone to. This year, at a Giants/A's game, when I sat in the first row of the 2nd deck, just one or two sections on the foul side of the left-field foul pole, people would walk in front of me every freaking minute.

Here's what I'd do if I had my way. I don't want to see a play interrupted, but at the same time, when you gotta go, you gotta go. What I'd like to see is, once the game starts, you position a Guest Services person every two sections in the 2nd deck. If he sees someone passing by, he directs them up or down the stairs, wherever they need to go. What he does not allow people to do is to walk a lap around half the freaking stadium because it's 'shorter'.

by Nate on Sep 1, 2006 10:52 PM PDT up reply actions

Screw them....

they took away my "Foulke You" sign.

"Hold it down for the Bay, reppin Oakland"

by What Would Rickey Do on Sep 1, 2006 4:23 PM PDT reply actions

And yet...

Ellis D remains. Love it.

"It's like the only thing they know how to do is win." -- Baseballdad, 8/5/06

by skigurl on Sep 1, 2006 4:34 PM PDT reply actions

just got home from the game

had terrible experience of people who should have gotten asked to leave. they were drunk and falling over people. the guest services said nothing to them and actually hi-fived them. security saw them and did nothing either. one wasnt even concious to watch game. another had a flag and was abusing people in front of him and standing the whole time. never sat

by smasfan on Sep 1, 2006 10:43 PM PDT reply actions

It's hard to see when people stand...

if you are short. A little consideration is appreciated. Same for the vendors...must they block the aisles (and therefore the view) at crucial moments in the game ?

by IM4Oakgal on Sep 1, 2006 11:52 PM PDT reply actions