How I’ve learned to stop seething and love (or at least tolerate) fans of the visiting team.
If you have attended Rays games at Tropicana Field over the years, you may have had this experience. You show up in your Rays cap, or your beloved Upton jersey, or a newly purchased city connect shirt. But all around you are fans from the opposing team.
This doesn’t happen with every game mind you. It’s a pretty frequent occurrence when playing division rivals like the Yankees and Red Sox (and this year the Orioles, but let’s just note that these “diehard” Orioles fans were absent when their team was in last place). Perhaps it’s even more evident when we play some National League teams that don’t come here as often, like the Mets, Phillies and Cubs. I attended one of the Cubs games this week, which caused me to reflect on the experience of our home park feeling like it’s not ours.
While I will never love this atmosphere, over the years I’ve learned to make my peace with it, and I thought I’d share my approach.
- Remember those pink hats are contributing to our team’s payroll. The Rays often get criticized because of poor attendance, and indeed poor attendance is partly responsible for a low payroll. The Rays have routinely been 27th to 29th in the league for annual attendance, even in years when the team is competitive. Last year the Rays attendance was actually up — 22,928 average! — and that is in part thanks to the thousands of fans of the visitors who come to see “their” team. So when you see a stadium of Red Sox or Cubs fans who have paid those “prime” prices for their tickets, consider how much the team benefits from this revenue stream. If these fans spend a bunch on beers (maybe too much on beers, like this Red Sox fan who was nearly tased as he tried to jump on the field), well, thank them for funding the eventual Shane Baz extension.
- Remember that fan bases of big market teams make their presence known at a lot of stadiums, not just the Trop. I once attended a Boston-Baltimore match at Camden Yards and the Red Sox fans were the dominant group. Cubs fans routinely take over the Brewer’s park when Chicago visits, and even Yankees fans sometimes have to share their stadium, for example this season when Dodgers fans actually held a parade in the Bronx. So we’re not alone!
- Your Cubs and Yankee fan friends will try to make it seem as though their strong showing at Tropicana Field means there is something wrong with us. But think about it for a minute: why are there thousands of fans of Philadelphia, New York or Chicago teams living driving distance from Tropicana Field, available to show up for games? Because thousands of folks have left (fled?) those regions and moved here, that’s why.
This map shows states gaining and losing population since 2008.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25490770/population_change.jpg)
Just in 2022, 91,201 New Yorkers and 35,384 Pennsylvanians relocated to Florida. The greater Tampa Bay region has grown 17.5% since 2010. The Philadelphia and Baltimore regions’ growth during that period? Less than 1%.
I sometimes wonder why all these folks keep coming here — have they heard of storm surge? But we can grow lemons in our backyards and pick fresh strawberries in January. Despite the “Florida Man” reputation of the state, our Tampa Bay area is a vibrant area with a diverse population (check out Florida’s largest Pride event in St. Pete this weekend, or Florida’s best Cuban sandwich in Ybor City) amazing street art and museums, and gorgeous beaches. Are we supposed to feel badly that we live in a region people want to move to? Personally, I see it as a point of pride.
4. There is no sound sweeter than the sound of 15,000 Yankee, or Phillies, or Cubs fans in stunned silence after a Rays victory.
