Pet Peeves: Fans that don't come to watch the game

When I go to a baseball game, I'm there to watch the game. I make sure that I'm there early to see batting practice, take in the ambiance of the stadium, and get my scorecard ready. I also like to get any food or beverages that I may want before the game starts just so I don't have to get up. Depending on how many beverages I have, this may or may not happen. Recently, I've had some experiences with annoying fans. Folks that were at the game to do other things besides watch the game. Here are a few examples:

1. The fan who comes to get free stuff to sell on e-Bay: If you attended the June 20 Civil Rights game in Cincinnati and weren't one of the 20,000 people who received a 1964 Frank Robinson throwback jersey, you might have one of these folks to blame. I got to the park early as usual. Behind me waiting in line at the gates was a group of four people. Not one person in the group was dressed in any Reds or White Sox apparel/ colors. Each of the four "fans" had a stack of at least 10 tickets in their hands. I watched these people go in and out of the stadium gates throwing 40+ free jerseys into the tote bags that they brought from home for just this occasion. I gave them some pretty dirty looks and if one of them would have made eye contact with me, I would have told them what I thought. Hey, I'm all for free market economics but there's a point where it just turns to greed. At least 36 more people could have had a jersey if it wasn't for these people and I'm sure a few of those 36 would have been kids. I just checked on e-Bay and thankfully the jerseys aren't going for very much.

2. The fan who comes to dance and play all of the scoreboard games: True story from Toledo, Ohio... A teenage girl (probably about 14 or 15) sits in front of me. During the innings she does nothing but send text messages (I hope she gets carpel tunnel of the thumbs when she grows up) and proclaiming to her mom that this is the "worst day ever" because she's sweating in the 85 degree sun. Between innings she screams at the scoreboard games, "The ball is under hat number 2! It's number 2! Mom, it's under number 2! ... I got it! ... It was under number 2, Mom!" She also stands up and dances to any sort of music that is being played between innings. I saw her churn butter and twirl her lasso. She doesn't dance while the game is being played because that would distract her from her texting. This leads me to a third fan type.

3. The fan who comes to send text messages: I realize that I'm old before my time but people who do this annoy me to no end, no matter what the setting. I've sent maybe 15-20 text messages in my life and most of those have been to one person. That person is a friend who will probably read this post. Even if I did send more, I wouldn't do it at a baseball game because, like I said, I'm there for the game. Another true story... 50-ish soccer mom with trendy glasses sits in front of me with two women who are probably her sisters. The two sisters seem to be out of towners visiting and sit quietly to watch the game. They seem annoyed on several occasions because their "sister" just can't put her phone/keyboard thingy away. She does close it for a few seconds here and there to save precious battery life but usually gets fidgety when the lapse in thumb-typing lasts longer than 30 seconds. "I have to tell [so-and-so] that Michael Jackson died," she says. "Look at the baby pictures that [so-and-so] just sent me," she says. I knew this was going to get off to a good start soon after she arrived and threw a fit because an usher wasn't there to wipe off her seat.

I'm sure that you've had some experience with fans like this. Are there any other fan types that you would like to add to the list?