SW4A Tournament

Bleacher bums have got to go!

Dog, you should not have to apologize for that trash that sits in centerfield but I am glad you are aware of their actions. On the AK senior night, that bunch started the obscenities toward the EM players during the pre-game warm-ups.

I spoke to an officer I know, that was working the game, about putting a stop to the heckling and he asked me to explain the problem to the AK resource officer. The resource officer stood in stone faced silence until my friend walked away and then he lit into ME! He said if I wanted them to knock it off I needed to go handle it myself! When I explained that I would if not for the fact I was keeping the scorebook. His next comment was classic. "That is the problem with you people. You want somebody else to do everything for you while you "keep the scorebook!"

The AK family is way to classy to have that bunch ruin your reputation.

 

If this has occurred at multiple games the only logical conclusion is that the AK Administration and baseball staff condone this behavior or it would have stopped. Can only imagine what it will be like for the state playoffs.

 

Thanks for caring...

Thanks for caring WB - as with most "logical conclusions" it is wrong. I can only imagine the warm welcome SM will receive from the West Forsyth faithful. Be nice to them, they bruise easily .... (as AGYK can tell you)

Please take time to consult directly with the Reagan entourage after their visit to Knight's Field Friday night. I assure you their "informed conclusion" will be appreciation of the hospitality they will receive as our guests. As usual, I will be in the dog pound and welcome any guests who would like local knowledge on the nearest watering hole and wing joint where I will be conducting my post-game analytical brewfest.

AK Administration has taken appropriate action and it did not involve anyone from the baseball coaching staff - they have plenty on their plate.

 

There's some good playoff history between these two!!! Should be a heck of an environment friday night!

 

Dog, you are correct. The AD is very concerned about the problem. I do not know if the coaching staff is involved but I would think that with the fact Hal has committed a huge part of his life to working with kids, the actions of those fans would infuriate him. My son is graduating and I will be less in tune with SW4A baseball next year but I will always have fond memories of the games at AK and their true fans. I am sure I will continue to attend games at AK and I am sure I will be greeted by the same good people. I have a strong feeling the centerfield seating area is going to be closed when I return.

 

Good to hear that the AD is addressing the problem and that our friends from Reagan will not be subjected to that behavior and can just play baseball.

The West Forsyth game with South Meck should be a good one and yes we do have a history with SM in the state playoffs, although the West faithful have tried to block out that memory. SM is a terrific team and has got to be one of the toughest three seeds in this tournament. Currently the game is scheduled for Thursday although with all of the rain we have had the last two days it would not surprise me to see it bumped back to Friday.

 

Maybe I'm just "old school" at age 22 but being heckled by opposing fans is one of my favorite memories from playing intense high school baseball playoff games.

I got it bad my sophomore year in the outfield when we traveled to West Rowan and beat Wade Moore in company in the 2nd round. They had a drunk bunch of students in right-center, and they were giving it to me and our right fielder really hard. At one point in the game, Weston Church hit a deep flyball to right center and thought it was gone so he pimped it a little bit. It hit off the wall, and I barehanded it up against the fence and hosed him at 2nd, turned to the heckling students right on the other side of the wall, and gave them a little wink! It's all in good fun on both sides!

The only time it got out of hand for me was over at Ragsdale. They were our archrivals and we played them in the playoffs two consecutive years over at their place. The first year they beat us and the heckling was pretty bad. The next year, we got them back on an epic comeback and a late homerun by yours truly, so all we did was laugh at them that night. They had thrown rocks and batteries in my vicinity the year before (which is definitely over the line), so I had a pair of Double A's in my back pocket the next year just in case they really pissed me off and I needed to frame them!

I think there's a fine line between giving your team a homefield advantage and going too far. But gah, some of my very best baseball memories have come during games we won where the opposing fans were probably across that line and had taken it too far.

 

Amen brother...some of my best memories were heckling fans; especially the one's that threw chicken at me...man, that chicken was good!!!!

As a player I loved it, as a parent, not as much...

 

I'm on board with ya! There is nothing better than going into a hostile environment and listening to them talk trash all night. It's even better when you can walk out with a grin on your face because you didn't have to say a word, yet come bottom of the 7th you can hear the summer-time crickets. Plus you've got some good material to talk about at practice the next day!

 

When it becomes racial and homophobic like it was against myers park .....inexcusable . Period