Thursday, May 31, 2007

Timeout: When is it OK to cheer?

Last night I went to see Derek Lowe pitch for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Washington Nationals.

I by no means went to the game to watch the God-awful Nats - I went to cheer on my favorite Red Sox pitcher of all-time.

I of course wore my Derek Lowe Red Sox jersey, much to the delight of the Washington fans.

As I walked around the stadium in Southeast, cheering for a team from the West Coast that I have only visited once, I began to wonder: when your favorite player leaves town, when do you have the right to cheer for him?

Of course you can never cheer for him when he is playing your home team, that’s a given.

So what happens when your favorite player goes to the enemy, a la Barry Zito leaving Oakland for San Francisco, or Johnny Damon ditching Boston for the Yankees?

In my personal experience, this severs all ties. I don’t care how much you loved Zito as an A or Damon in Fenway’s center field - you can, under no circumstances, cheer for them while they play for the enemy.

This is especially bad in the case of Damon, or any other player who leaves their former team for a team within the division. Zito crossing the Bay is bad, but at least the Giants are in the National League, while the A’s are in the American; they aren’t really in direct competition.

Not that I’m dwelling on the Damon situation - I’m really not. I was mad at first, but I’m over it. But that certainly doesn’t mean I won’t boo him whenever he comes up to bat, no matter what stadium I’m in - that is a lifelong commitment I have made, and I don’t back out of my commitments.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, you have players whose time has just come up at their former club, and you’re almost happy for them to move on, like I am with Lowe. I would have loved to keep him on the Sox, especially after the way he helped them win it all in 2004, but his time was up, he had to move on. I hold no grudge against him, maybe a little against the team, so I hold the right to cheer for him in every game he pitches, except against the Sox.

When Ken Griffey Jr. left the Mariners to go to the Reds, his home team, most of the Seattle fans were supportive.

When Wayne Gretzky left the Oilers, the E fans were sad, but they knew he had to leave; he’d made his mark on Edmonton, and he had to move on.

When Ray Bourque left the Bruins to go to the Avs, the Boston fans not only supported him, they held a parade for him when he came back to Massachusetts with the Stanley Cup.

So, let’s recap: your favorite player leaves your favorite team - can you cheer for him? The answer is yes when:

- He is playing for any team other than your rival

- He is playing in another division/league

The answer is no when:

- He is playing your team

- He is playing for the enemy

Pretty simple. Go Dodgers.