Wanna-be New Englanders celebrate at Chase Field after Red Sox player Julio Lugo's first inning home run. By the way, my guess is 1/3 of the people cheering on the Sox in Phoenix yesterday are bandwagoners that have never set foot in Massachusetts.
Photo Credit: David Kadlubowski/The Arizona Republic.
Sports teams are sources of civic pride and help foster a sense of community. People's love for their cities is often reflected in their love of the local sports team-- look at Chicago with the Cubs or D.C. with the Redskins, for instance.
That's why it bugs me to attend sporting events in Phoenix. Fans of the home team in every sport are sometimes outnumbered and frequently outshouted by fans of the opposing teams. And, for the most part, the people cheering for the visiting teams are residents of the Phoenix area.
The scene was no different yesterday at Chase Field, where in my estimation at least half of the 40,000 fans on hand were there to cheer on the Boston Red Sox against the Diamondbacks. To me, this just shows that many of the people who move here never really see Phoenix as "home," and that their loyalties continue to lie elsewhere even when they moved here to escape some frigid place back east.
Having half the (local) fans cheering against the home team would be unthinkable in places like Chicago, D.C., New York, and of course Boston. Maybe someday I'll get to see the same thing happen here. In the meantime, go Diamondbacks (and Sun Devils, Suns, Coyotes, Sting, and yeah I guess even the Cardinals).
1 comment:
This is so true. I think this should give us more of a reason as a city to build a better downtown. Many times people pick a team as a way to identify with the city that they love. I lived in Boston for many years and became a Red Sox fan, eventhough I am a Phoenix native! I have to admit, I was a little embarassed of our "ghost town" downtown. I don't think Phoenix needs to have hundreds of skyscrapers in order to impress its residents or residents of other cities, but it would be nice to have a scene. Look at DC and Sandiego's gaslamp district, both have few high rises, but they offer more than a mall or a strip mall as entertainment. I too am looking forward to the day where I can bring my friends from other cities to a classy downtown that offers culture and fun. A place that I won't be embarassed to identify with. Nevertheless, I will continue to be a loyal fan of the D'Backs even if they won't admit they are from Phoenix and instead call themselves Arizona Diamondbacks due to pressure from the jealous suburbs.
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