This just in: Well Below the Mendoza Line will now post a non-biased article on the Padres!Yes, this is Scottie Thompson, a life-long Red Sox fan’s perspective on his first visit to Petco park. (Sorry to go all ‘Rickey Henderson’ on you guys by speaking in the third person)
As a Red Sox follower, I feel like our wins are typically taken for granted. When the Sox are victorious in a regular season game, it doesn’t really matter that much to me– we’ve won so many games over the past few years, including two championships in the last four years, that a single victory isn’t really that big of a deal.
However, to a Padres fan, a team that’s basically been in the cellar all season, every win is enormous. After a seemingly uneventful win against the Mets the other night, Dave’s dad called his cell phone and they began to rejoice, as if San Diego had just sealed the NL pennant. Dave and his friends were all giddy when they were discussing the game.
Rooting for the Padres is like constantly cheering for the underdog, and it seems like its kinda fun. There’s no pressure at all for San Diego – If they lose, it’s expected, but if they win, it’s exciting.
A few things I noticed during the game:
1. Petco park is a beautiful stadium. Fairly large (it seats around 45,000), conveniently located, and overall a very fan-friendly atmosphere. We spent $35 on tickets and were nearly on ground level, directly across from the first base line.
2. There were a ton of Mets fans in the stands, in fact, we were completely surrounded by them. The two women in front of us were covered in New York apparel, and through their constant screaming, they made sure that they were always heard by everyone around them. At Fenway, these two would have been murdered by the second inning. They didn’t even appear out of place at Petco park.
3. San Diego fans have a very interesting method of heckling. Not only do they harass the opposing team, but in the process, they also heckle their Padres. For example, one man yelled “Hey Pedro [Martinez], you suck… you can’t even strike out Khalil Green, who is batting .210 and couldn’t even hit a beach ball!” The fans were critical of their own players, particularly the pitching staff. The starting pitcher was often yelled at for his reluctance to throw strikes and repeatedly allowing base runners to steal. There were numerous jabs directed at the usually unproductive San Diego offense as well.
4. I’m not a Padres fan, but I still found myself cheering along with them throughout the game. As I mentioned earlier, it’s like rooting for the underdog. On a few occasions, there were deep fly balls hit by San Diego players. The entire crowd stood up, completely silent as the ball traveled its course, waiting to erupt if it cleared the stands. Ultimately that didn’t happen, and the ball was caught. Everyone sat down, discouraged, even though they never expected a homerun anyway. Regardless, you could feel the disappointment spreading across the park.
5. When Trevor Hoffman comes in, the place goes absolutely nuts. “Hells Bells” plays, preparing the crowd for his entry, and everyone stands up and directs their attention to the bullpen. Hoffman emerges and the entire stadium immediately starts screaming and cheering. It’s amazing how much his presence fires up the crowd. The Padres fans are typically very pessimistic, except when he comes in… they know the game is over.
Overall, I had a great time today. The game appeared to be over in the 8th inning, the Mets up 6-4 with Billy Wagner entering the game, who’s been nearly unhittable so far this season. Plus, a 2 run lead against the Padres is usually insurmountable, since they only score a few times a week.
Tony Clark steps up to the plate with a 3-2 count, two outs and two runners on. The entire stadium is on their feet, hoping for a miracle. Suddenly Clark hits a towering shot over the center field wall. As soon as his bat connected with the ball, there was no doubt that it was leaving the park. The crowd went crazy, and I found myself high-fiving everyone seated close by. Sure, the win didn’t mean as much to me as it did to the thousands of people surrounding me, but I still felt as if I was sharing the same sense of joy they were experiencing.
An outsider would have viewed this as a meaningless win due to its circumstances – a mid-season game against a mediocre non-divisional team. Witnessing that game at the stadium today, however, I felt like I was part of something much more significant.
- Scottie
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