Baseball is penciled up to be a great day at the ballpark for a family, a couple, or some buddies watching their team.  Hecklers have been ruining trips to the ballpark for years.  Last season at an Indians game, I watched a family of five leave because the guy sitting directly behind me kept dropping “f bombs” in nearly every sentence.  By the third inning, the father turned around and explained that none of his three children were ten yet and he would appreciate it if they could tone it down.  At this point, I think they poured it on more as they made the whole section uncomfortable.

Granted, the seats we were in were not field boxes or anything.  However, I had to endure a ruthless comment every pitch.  A friend of mine took his wife to the Indians opener against Toronto this past Friday.  He almost got into a fight because the three drunk idiots behind him were screaming their opinions on every single pitch.  It came to a head in the sixth when they spilled a beer everywhere and got some on him.  The usher asked my friend and his wife to leave to avoid “confrontation”.  Sorry, but I am either telling the usher to breathalize these losers or I am swinging, but I let my friend have it for not sticking up for his rights as a fan.

Don’t think I am picking on Indians fans because I know it is ten times worse in Boston where hecklers are the norm and the quiet fan is the oddball.  I do not want people to think I am blaming it on alcohol either because plenty of folks can go to a game and have a few beers without causing chaos. 

I blame it on the mindset of people who go to games knowing they will be screaming profanity laced tirades around women and children.  If you can’t act proper in public then stay home and swear at your television.  Creating a disturbing atmosphere to feel like you got your moneys worth is a horrible way to think.  Boo when you disagree with a call, yell that a guy is a bum on his second error or third strikeout, or yap when the pitcher should have come out.  But dont try to scream at the home plate umpire from right field about a ball or strike.   

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