Learning to Deal with the Casual Fan

After I take the afternoon mail out during work, I usually take a little stroll or sit in my car for a few minutes taking a quick breather before continuing the grind.  A funny thing happened though as my car battery died.  Normally, you would think ok, new battery needed, but the problem is that my car was purchased off the lot in September 2009 is going to be 4 years old this year.  After trying to start the car, I called the office which was about a mile drive and got a jump from the boss and went back to work.  Ironically the car has started every time since then, so I am assuming it's just a slight hiccup.  I am charging the battery overnight with my charger anyway just in case.  This leads right into my post about the A's tonight.  They lost 7-1 to Seattle and didn't look good at all.  Just like my car, it is a new season with just a slight hiccup.

Always a good time

Tuesday Night was a more laid back night at the O. Co.  The attendance was somewhat back to where it normally is on a weekday night (~15,500), and it was a bit chilly.  My friend Alex and I sat back in the right field bleachers of good ol' Section 149.  For those that are new to the blog or the A's in general, Section 149 RF Will, came up with the "Balfour Rage" that we all know and love today back in 2011.  RF149 also came out with Bacon Tuesday on a Tuesday night against the Royals in 2011 and are prominently featured on the A's broadcasts.  Here I was able to catch up on fAnily that I wasn't able to see during the offseason.  They had some meet ups during the offseason, but due to my schedule, I was unable to make it.  This is where I love baseball season is that everyone meets up in one spot and stays till the end whether up 10-1 or down 27-2.  Just sitting back, relaxing and enjoying the A's game and yelling at the opposing right fielder.  Tonight was nice saying hello again to Omar, Ross, Anson, Dennis, Ralliney, Daniel, Amanda, James (Happy Birthday!) and others.  I got to meet up with a twitter buddy Aaron and we got to talk Sharks and root on for a Houston hit to break up Yu Darvish' perfect game, which happened.  I was also able to meet up with Abigail and met her friend Joe just talking about baseball and the "other me"(that is some straight up Back to the Future Part II right there), that was sitting the bleachers Monday Night.  All in good times.

4 Other AL West Teams want this banner,
Only ONE can defend it.

On to more serious stuff and that is the field.  According to Athletics MLB beat writer Jane Lee, the A's are 6-60 with one run (Cespedes home run) and 17 strikeouts in the 2 games they have played so far.  Obviously this won't last the season, but also for fans with higher expectations and dreams for this team, it will not cut it either.  A sports season is full of ebbs and flows and it seems like the A's always start down in the dumps then play out of their minds in the second half.  This seems to be the M.O. of Billy Beane ran teams.  For those that saw Moneyball, that is exactly what happened.  The A's were off to a slow start and then took off and still won over 100 games.  As we know is that team in 2002 wasn't supposed to be very good, but some of the players were battle tested in the playoffs already winning the division in 2000, then winning the Wild Card in 2001 before being eliminated in the Division Series by the Yankees both seasons.  What I am saying is that the A's this season will need to learn that they can't "sneak up" on teams this year as the A's are the ones that have the targets on their back.  Just like last season, they need to work harder than everyone else and execute better.  I believe that they will do that, so no problem there.  The question is how much will Jane and Joe Casual fan hang around?

The die hard fans will obviously hang around, but with all of the expectations what happens to the casual fan?  Interestingly the past couple of games, one thing die hards will have to adjust to this season is the impatience of Jane and Joe Casual fan.  Obviously everyone is on the proverbial "bandwagon" when times are good, but it's the die hard fan that is there when things are horribly bad.  Jane and Joe fan need to realize that this is how a season works.  There are times where a team looks absolutely terrible and there are times where a team is unstoppable.  Sports is always a game of "What have you done for me lately."  If a team wins 10 games in a row, times are good, but then they go on a 3 game losing streak, everyone is jumping ship.  Looking at the big picture is thinking that "Hey 10-3 is pretty good in this stretch of games, so lets just roll with it." This is also where patience comes in for die hard fans.  I will admit that I have lost patience with fans before because I feel are they are "uneducated" about the game.  I'm not the one to tell you what to do and what not to do, but if you don't know how to play Blackjack, why are you just throwing money blindly on the table in Vegas when you don't even know how to play?  You may get lucky and win a few hands, but you are just going to blow your money in the end.  Everyone knows what happens when you see a blackjack or a 20, but what happens when you have to make a decision?  Having basic knowledge and research of a subject goes a long way.

Let's stay Positive everyone!

Other Sniff Thoughts:

Ryane Clowe was traded from the Sharks to the New York Rangers and I wish him all the best.  Thank you Ryane for your hard work for the Sharks.  Tough to see you go though...