Indian Fever
Who would have thought that in mid-August, the Indians would be two and a half games out of first, and three and a half out of the wild-card race this year? Certainly not me, but that's not the point. The point is that, once again, too many people suddenly "like" the Indians again. While I certainly don't yearn for the results of all those seasons in the 1980's, I did appreciate that, if you talked to someone and they said they liked the Indians, that they must have been a true fan.
Granted, there was a time in my life when, perhaps, I would have rather watched the Dukes of Hazzard rather than a baseball game on TV. And maybe, just maybe, this loyalty to the Dukes caused a family quarrel when, in the days of households having only one television, the decision was made to continue watching Lenny Barker pitch his perfect game, rather than switching the channel to watch the Duke Boys. A little internet research suggests that it wasn't even a *new* episode, since the last new episode of the season was on April 10th of that year. But I digress. With the success of the 90's came a new brand of Indians' "fan". Sure, the old stadium sucked. Sure, the teams of the 80's sucked. I mean.. CHARLIE SHEEN, starred a movie about how bad they were. (Ironically, in the movie, Charlie Sheen's character achieved a level of success that still eludes the "actor".) But with an average attendance in the 80s of 12,991, (source) and probably a full 5% of the seasons' totals coming from the "fireworks" game (typically July 3rd), we can deduce that there are really only about a half-million "real" Indians fans out there.
Anyhow.. what was I talking about...
Oh yeah. Go Tribe!
80's Tribe Trivia:
1. Which player did you want up to bat if the bases were loaded?
2. Which player that played on the Indians in the 80s is still playing in the Major Leagues in 2004? (I can only think of one... and it sure as hell isn't "Super" Joe Charboneau)
3. A hit. A homer. A double play. A stolen base. Which does not belong?
[editor's note: if you aren't singing the "Indian Fever" song by now (maybe not out loud, but at least in your mind), you aren't a true fan. Sorry. Anyone with an mp3 of the "Indian Fever" gets bonus fan points.]
Granted, there was a time in my life when, perhaps, I would have rather watched the Dukes of Hazzard rather than a baseball game on TV. And maybe, just maybe, this loyalty to the Dukes caused a family quarrel when, in the days of households having only one television, the decision was made to continue watching Lenny Barker pitch his perfect game, rather than switching the channel to watch the Duke Boys. A little internet research suggests that it wasn't even a *new* episode, since the last new episode of the season was on April 10th of that year. But I digress. With the success of the 90's came a new brand of Indians' "fan". Sure, the old stadium sucked. Sure, the teams of the 80's sucked. I mean.. CHARLIE SHEEN, starred a movie about how bad they were. (Ironically, in the movie, Charlie Sheen's character achieved a level of success that still eludes the "actor".) But with an average attendance in the 80s of 12,991, (source) and probably a full 5% of the seasons' totals coming from the "fireworks" game (typically July 3rd), we can deduce that there are really only about a half-million "real" Indians fans out there.
Anyhow.. what was I talking about...
Oh yeah. Go Tribe!
80's Tribe Trivia:
1. Which player did you want up to bat if the bases were loaded?
2. Which player that played on the Indians in the 80s is still playing in the Major Leagues in 2004? (I can only think of one... and it sure as hell isn't "Super" Joe Charboneau)
3. A hit. A homer. A double play. A stolen base. Which does not belong?
[editor's note: if you aren't singing the "Indian Fever" song by now (maybe not out loud, but at least in your mind), you aren't a true fan. Sorry. Anyone with an mp3 of the "Indian Fever" gets bonus fan points.]
Labels: sports
