One of my favorite things about Northwestern is the geographic diversity of the student body, which is evident on football Sundays in the fall and last Monday-Opening Day of baseball season. What’s great about Opening Day-besides that baseball is the greatest sport and that it’s springtime-is everyone thinks their team has a chance. Heck, the Giants started the season 6-1.
As students don their hometown jerseys and call dibs on dorm TVs to watch games, it’s time to rank the fans from least to most annoying to deal with for the next six months. For the purposes of this ranking, I’ve only included teams that have enough fans at NU that I have encountered, so forgive me if I ignore your team, Royals fans.
Chicago White Sox: Sox fans are much easier to deal with than their crosstown rivals but can be raucous at U.S. Cellular Field. They will remind you of the 2005 World Series and this year’s pitching staff but are too relaxed to rub things in your face as much as other teams.
Baltimore Orioles: I’m very entertained by Oriole fans. Despite a miserable decade, they begin every year expecting to make the World Series and believing Matt Wieters will have a greater career than Babe Ruth. Their passion for such an awful franchise can be a little much, but I find it endearing.
Philadelphia Phillies: Their recent success sure woke a sleeping giant-that is, how obnoxious Philadelphia sports fans can be (see: Eagles). They have been brutal in team pride the past two Octobers, and the worst part is you can’t argue with them-they’ve been tops in the National League two seasons in a row.
Chicago Cubs: There should be an asterisk here-the Cubs fans NU students know are the ones that place the Cubbies so annoying on this list. Your old school, die-hard Cub fans are some of the most knowledgeable and passionate in all of sports. It’s the yuppies that drink before, during and after games, get kicked out of Wrigley and sing on the Red Line that ruin the Cubs experience for everyone.
New York Mets: You would think a team with so much heartbreak and so little success over the years would have humble fans. Nope. While they are easier to cope with than the fans from the Bronx, Mets fans will not stop talking about their team. The Mets can be at the bottom of their division with every single star injured and some embarrassing losses (see: 2009), and their fans will still bore you about the Mets and David Wright’s Hall of Fame résumé.
(Most Annoying) New York Yankees AND Boston Red Sox: The combination of these two fan bases rounds out the list. Yes, you have to respect they have the best rivalry in all of sports, but listening to Yankees and Red Sox fans can be unbearable. You can’t talk to a Yankees fan without hearing about their 27 World Championships and that Derek Jeter is the greatest, most handsome shortstop ever. You can’t talk to a Red Sox fan without hearing about their two World Series last decade and how glorious Fenway Park is. But what is worse is when the two fans bicker with one another. The first series of this season prompted arguments about what is more important-recent success or all-time success? There were 160 games left in the season and the annoyingness already began. Plus, neither fan would ever want to be categorized with the other, so this is their punishment.Enjoy baseball season, and if you see fans of these teams in your dorm lobby watching baseball, you might be better off watching in your room.
Sports Columnist Kevin Fishbain is a Medill senior. He can be reached at [email protected].
