Are We... THE WORST?

by Paul Semendinger

April 14, 2023

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A while back, a writer reached out to me to share a study his organization conducted regarding the fans of baseball teams.

The study (according to the site) was conducted in the following manner: "From December 14 - 15, 2022, we surveyed 999 Americans to hear their opinions on annoying Major League Baseball fans. Respondents ranged in age from 18 to 76 years old, and were 26% female and 74% male."

The results of the study don't shine favorably upon Yankees fans. (You can read the entire article HERE or you can click on the graphic below:

I can understand some of the results. As a general observation, a fair amount of people I encounter tend to think of Yankees fans as obnoxious. (I think they're wrong, but that's the initial reaction I get from many.)

The study, though, lists Aaron Judge as one of the most annoying players in the game. I can't agree with that. Judge seems to be a hero of many across the sport. The only reason for fans of other teams to not like Judge (or think he is annoying) would be because he is so good. But he is certainly not annoying. Mike Trout also makes that list which also makes little sense to me.

The last part of the article I found the most interesting. In that part, specific fan behaviors are discussed:

From yelling at the umpire to just being bad sports, here are the top 10 fan behaviors people find most annoying:

1. Getting in fights at games (with fans of other teams)

2. Having bad sportsmanship

3. Being a fairweather/bandwagon fan

4. Making excuses

5. Drinking too much

6. Getting in fights at games with fans of their own team

7. Heckling opposing players too much

8. Using inappropriate language

9. Complaining about umpires

10. Saying “we” when referring to the team

Take a look at the entire article and share your thoughts.

I have a sense this article will create some lively discussion. (And let's not jump into #6 above.)

Have fun with this!