Other teams' fans' perspective on the Brewers

[RobDeer 45]

I looked at the Phillies and Red Sox message boards recently and it's pretty funny what people think. I know message boards aren't the best place to get a true fan's perspective but it's interesting. I actually think the Phillies message board I went to was pretty civil. They gave some good credit to players like Braun and Lucroy. That was cool to see. A couple people didn't like the lies Braun told, but for the most part seemed to respect him. The Red Sox boards are a disaster. Just a bunch of angry dudes yelling. No respect for the Brewers at all. Basically they think we are a joke of a team.

 

Anyway, I know many people look at other boards or talk to other fans at games, so I thought this would be a good place to discuss their thoughts. I always like to hear outsider's perspectives.

[torts]

the pittsburgh board I post on HATES everything about the brewers, its all because of the domination of the last 8 years or so... the radio show I listen to on my drive to work this morning was talking about how Braun was "caught multiple times" cheating, that brewers fans are jokes for cheering and standing for him at the home opener, and played the 3 Hr's yesterday from BA's broadcast, calling him a joke (BA) and applauding the Phillies fan who was on air yelling cheater. When they play here (pittsburgh) next weekend i'll be at 3 of the 4 games and I can expect with 100% certainty that the fans in the RF bleachers will nonstop heckle braun the entire game.

[TURBO]

Good, Braun admitted yesterday that that atmosphere just makes him play better...

 

Let the angry fans hate, if that feeds him, I hope they continue to be idiots.

[JohnBriggs12]

Bring em on! The more noise they are making on their boards tells me deep down they fear the Brewers rising. A healthy Brewer team is better than the Pirates and their fans know it but hate admitting it after one magical season where everything fell into place for them.

 

Who cares about the Red Sox and their fans?? They are still ticked they let Cecil Cooper get away. They will sink back in the AL East this year.

[joepepsi]

From a New England pal who posts on an Orioles board I visit: "BTW, I watched a lot of Joepepsi's Brew Crew this weekend and came away impressed, particularly with the kids in the middle. A lot of good young talent on that team."

[FVBrewerFan]

I work with people all over the country. Generally speaking, fans of other teams have the same view of the Brewers as the national media does at any point in time.

[splitterpfj]

It really is time for baseball fans to stop booing PED guys on other teams, as though the saints in the home uniforms would never do such a thing.

 

I couldn't help but shake my head yesterday. There was Braun in the batters box, absolutely getting destroyed by the fans in Philly, and right behind him, in the same tight shot, was Phillies' catcher, Carlos Ruiz. The same Carlos Ruiz who served a 25 game suspension after testing positive for a banned stimulant on two separate occasions.

 

Last season, my wife and I went to a game in St Louis, and there was a lady there taking shots at Braun all game, until I finally said, "What about McGwire?" She said, "We still love him"...and from then on she shut her mouth.

 

Ryan Braun deserves to get hammered on for the lies he told, the first lap around the league, I have no problem with that. As far as chanting, "steroids", or, "cheater"...look in the mirror, and think a little bit.

[Bikeage77]

This may not currently apply, but in 2011 I went out to Fenway for the weekend to see the Brewers play and their fans were great to us. Very cordial, and had nothing but good things to say about both the team and our fans. Even praising Brewers fans for their knowledge of baseball and the fact that we weren't obnoxious fans.

 

I even got a few "Hope to see you visit us again in October!" From my experience I have nothing but respect for Boston fans.

[RobDeer 45]

It really is time for baseball fans to stop booing PED guys on other teams, as though the saints in the home uniforms would never do such a thing.

 

I couldn't help but shake my head yesterday. There was Braun in the batters box, absolutely getting destroyed by the fans in Philly, and right behind him, in the same tight shot, was Phillies' catcher, Carlos Ruiz. The same Carlos Ruiz who served a 25 game suspension after testing positive for a banned stimulant on two separate occasions.

 

Last season, my wife and I went to a game in St Louis, and there was a lady there taking shots at Braun all game, until I finally said, "What about McGwire." She said, "We still love him"...and from then on she shut her mouth.

 

Ryan Braun deserves to get hammered on for the lies he told, the first lap around the league, I have no problem with that. As far as chanting, "steroids", or, "cheater"...look in the mirror, and think a little bit.

 

The Phillies message board was debating that for quite awhile. Some said, they can't be mad at him because of Ruiz. But a few said, I'm not mad at him for cheating, I'm mad at him for the lies, dragging people like Rodgers in to it, and then destroying the tester. So it's valid. Unfortunately, other fans are putting him in the same category as a guy like ARod.

[Bombers]

This may not currently apply, but in 2011 I went out to Fenway for the weekend to see the Brewers play and their fans were great to us. Very cordial, and had nothing but good things to say about both the team and our fans. Even praising Brewers fans for their knowledge of baseball and the fact that we weren't obnoxious fans.

 

I even got a few "Hope to see you visit us again in October!" From my experience I have nothing but respect for Boston fans.

Me too. I went to Boston 4-5 years ago to see the Brewers play there and have nothing but respect for their fans. They were extremelly cordial and pleasent. I heard many of the same things you did and had a very good experience there. Heard a few of their fans say "as long as you are not a Yankee fan, welcome to Fenway" ...

[trwi7]

Dragging Rodgers into it? I doubt Braun made Rodgers go and defend him on twitter. That's on Rodgers, not Braun.

[lcbj68c]

It really is time for baseball fans to stop booing PED guys on other teams, as though the saints in the home uniforms would never do such a thing.

 

I couldn't help but shake my head yesterday. There was Braun in the batters box, absolutely getting destroyed by the fans in Philly, and right behind him, in the same tight shot, was Phillies' catcher, Carlos Ruiz. The same Carlos Ruiz who served a 25 game suspension after testing positive for a banned stimulant on two separate occasions.

 

Last season, my wife and I went to a game in St Louis, and there was a lady there taking shots at Braun all game, until I finally said, "What about McGwire." She said, "We still love him"...and from then on she shut her mouth.

 

Ryan Braun deserves to get hammered on for the lies he told, the first lap around the league, I have no problem with that. As far as chanting, "steroids", or, "cheater"...look in the mirror, and think a little bit.

 

I completely agree. I was at both the Friday game and Sunday game at Fenway. The boos were kinda mild to be quite honest. 4 seconds of booing and then everybody got back in their seat. While I've never quite understood the "I'm going to boo because I'm showing my displeasure" thing, it's their right, so have at. I did have one lady behind me who turned to her friend and said, "I don't understand how that cheater can run out to the outfield with his head up". I promptly turned and asked, "I reckon the same way Manny Ramirez trotted out to this same outfield with his head up?". She looked at me like I had 3 heads but couldn't formulate an intelligent sentence yet alone open her mouth. She said nothing about Braun the entire game and in fact, didn't even boo the rest of his plate appearances. Somebody in her row (a Red Sox fan) tried explaining to her that Garciaparra and Ortiz were also users, from his personal knowledge that he had somehow, but she was having none of it.

 

In general, like somebody else said, most fans of other teams only know so much about the Brewers that they hear from the national media.

[Yount19]

Heard a few of their fans say "as long as you are not a Yankee fan, welcome to Fenway" ...

I got that quote in Boston too..

 

I was just in Baltimore last week and went to Camden Yards with my JJ Hardy Brewers jersey on. I got a lot of compliments about Milwaukee and the Brewers, even a few about Braun.

 

Other than Chicago, the worst place I've gotten ribbing about the Brewers has been in Houston. They really hated Prince Fielder, booing, name calling etc plus going on the tour of the ballpark, the tour guide brought up that Biggio was a better player than Robin Yount and Yount was in the Hall and Biggio was not which is a crime, yadda yadaa.. I just told him, 2 MVP's plus one of the greatest seasons by a Shortstop ever..

[RobDeer 45]

Dragging Rodgers into it? I doubt Braun made Rodgers go and defend him on twitter. That's on Rodgers, not Braun.

 

Those were their words, not mine. That said, I do think he used Rodgers a bit, with the knowledge that if he defended him, everyone in WI would fall behind. I don't think he specifically said, "tell people I didn't do it." I think he probably knew Rodgers might say something if he told him he didn't do anything and that would be huge. That's getting a big off topic because that's not what this is about. The point is he lied to him and it made him look like an idiot as well.

[RobDeer 45]

I think fans on a lot of message boards (not hear) are not a great depiction of what the real fans are like for a team. I've heard nothing but great things about Boston fans at the park. Obviously message boards make people think they can say anything they want. Internet tough guys.

[Patrick425]

In regards to Bruan vs. Ruiz, or J. Peralta, or some of these other guys there are some differences.

 

- As pointed out in a previous post, the lies. If it's hard for someone to understand this I urge you to go to You Tube and search for his ST press conference and watch it again. It's hard to stomach in hindsight.

- Braun won an MVP the same year he tested positive.

- Braun is a very good player. Whether it makes sense or not, it's easier for opposing fans to boo someone of Bruan's caliber than it is to boo someone like Ruiz (who I'm sure most fans don't even realize failed a drug test).

 

Personally, I'm not as quick to forgive as others on this board are, but I don't boo Braun or root against him. The only time I would ever possibly boo a player is if I thought they were not putting forth an honest effort on the field. However, I'm also not one to give him a standing ovation when his AB is announced. I don't get that. If the steroids thing did not happen fans would cheer loudly when he was announced (just because he's one of our "star players"), but I doubt he would get a standing O. So, he cheats and lies, and that warrants a standing O?

 

Sorry...not trying to turn this into another for/against Braun thread. My main point was to give some reason as to why fans are probably quicker to boo Bruan than someone like Carlos Ruiz.

[reillymcshane]

Most fans around the country don't give two craps about the Brewers and Ryan Braun. They know he cheated and lied, and they'll toss out a few boos when they hear his name, but for the most part, they won't think about him the moment they leave the ballpark.

 

I believe that a few very vocal people (at games, in the media, on message boards) will never let it go - and that's their prerogative. If that's where they want to focus their energy in life - better them than me.

[The stache]

Dragging Rodgers into it? I doubt Braun made Rodgers go and defend him on twitter. That's on Rodgers, not Braun.

 

Braun secretly called Rodgers right after he called Kemp, Tulo and Joey Votto, and told him, too that Dino Laurenzi Jr was an anti-semitic Cubs fan who kicked dogs, and stole lollipops from babies.

 

Haven't you heard?

[gregmag]

So, he cheats and lies, and that warrants a standing O?

 

Yeah, that's exactly what was going on. Fans in Milwaukee affirmatively favor cheating and lying. They were just waiting for an opportunity to express their support for cheating and lying. I'm sure a lot of those fans considered booing other players who have reputations for honesty, but they figured the national media wouldn't understand the point of the booing. So the best they could do was stand for Braun and scream out their support for cheating and lying.

 

I'm really glad you explained that the fans' standing ovation for Braun reflected their admiration of cheating and lying. Stupid me, I had assumed that maybe the fans stood up and cheered because their star player was back after a long suspension. I figured some of them wanted to convey forgiveness, or just support for a player who had obviously been through a difficult time, even though he brought that difficulty on himself. I thought the standing ovation might have, from some fans, sent the message that, hey, we're starting with a clean slate after you did a bad thing and did your time. Perhaps, I moronically posited, Milwaukee fans wanted to give Braun more support than he deserves because they knew fans in opposing parks were bound to give him a whole lot more abuse than he deserves.

 

But you really set me straight, and obviously you were able to do that due to your morally superior position of nonforgiveness. Because you've chosen not to forgive Braun for his lying and cheating, anyone who chooses to forgive him must be a morally deficient advocate for cheating and lying. That is some unimpeachable logic right there, and I for one am duly ashamed of myself.

[Patrick425]

So, he cheats and lies, and that warrants a standing O?

 

Yeah, that's exactly what was going on. Fans in Milwaukee affirmatively favor cheating and lying. They were just waiting for an opportunity to express their support for cheating and lying. I'm sure a lot of those fans considered booing other players who have reputations for honesty, but they figured the national media wouldn't understand the point of the booing. So the best they could do was stand for Braun and scream out their support for cheating and lying.

 

I'm really glad you explained that the fans' standing ovation for Braun reflected their admiration of cheating and lying. Stupid me, I had assumed that maybe the fans stood up and cheered because their star player was back after a long suspension. I figured some of them wanted to convey forgiveness, or just support for a player who had obviously been through a difficult time, even though he brought that difficulty on himself. I thought the standing ovation might have, from some fans, sent the message that, hey, we're starting with a clean slate after you did a bad thing and did your time. Perhaps, I moronically posited, Milwaukee fans wanted to give Braun more support than he deserves because they knew fans in opposing parks were bound to give him a whole lot more abuse than he deserves.

 

But you really set me straight, and obviously you were able to do that due to your morally superior position of nonforgiveness. Because you've chosen not to forgive Braun for his lying and cheating, anyone who chooses to forgive him must be a morally deficient advocate for cheating and lying. That is some unimpeachable logic right there, and I for one am duly ashamed of myself.

 

Wow...relax. I think you are just have trouble accepting the fact that I am morally superior to you in every way.

 

I figured I didn't need to put that in blue since you declined to do so in your post (unless you honestly think I was stating that people gave Bruan a standing O because he lied and cheated). Are you putting yourself in a "morally superior position" of being able to quickly forgive someone for their "bad deeds" when others can not? It's very possible that some day Braun will win my support back again. It's just going to take more time for me.

[lcbj68c]

Dragging Rodgers into it? I doubt Braun made Rodgers go and defend him on twitter. That's on Rodgers, not Braun.

 

Braun secretly called Rodgers right after he called Kemp, Tulo and Joey Votto, and told him, too that Dino Laurenzi Jr was an anti-semitic Cubs fan who kicked dogs, and stole lollipops from babies.

 

Haven't you heard?

 

Yeah. I've never understood this view that Braun ruined Laurenzi's life..blah blah blah. The dude didn't follow procedure and it probably wasn't the first time (people presume Braun didn't just use once, so we can likely say the same for Laurenzi). Laurenzi gets zero sympathy from me. To say that Laurenzi was slandered by Braun is laughable, imho.

[Invader3K]

Guys, it's OK to bring up Braun and other fan base opinions of him, but let's not rehash the whole PED saga here.

[dlk9s]

Am I the only one who doesn't care that Braun lied? If I was in the same situation, I would've done the same thing. He and his team saw a legitimate chance to get the drug test overturned, so they went for it and won. What's he supposed to do before and after the ruling? Say, "Yeah, I partook in PED's, but lucky for me, the procedure wasn't followed so I'm in the clear?"

 

Of course he lied and said he didn't do anything. He would've been stupid not to.

 

I just think it's funny that baseball fans are more pissed about him lying than about him doing PED's.

[trwi7]

Am I the only one who doesn't care that Braun lied? If I was in the same situation, I would've done the same thing. He and his team saw a legitimate chance to get the drug test overturned, so they went for it and won. What's he supposed to do before and after the ruling? Say, "Yeah, I partook in PED's, but lucky for me, the procedure wasn't followed so I'm in the clear?"

 

Of course he lied and said he didn't do anything. He would've been stupid not to.

 

I just think it's funny that baseball fans are more pissed about him lying than about him doing PED's.

 

It's human nature to lie when you think there's even a 0.00000000001% chance you can get away with it. Nobody is going to tell the truth right away. Look at the other Biogenesis guys. Jhonny Peralta denied it when his name first showed up, then he saw the evidence they had on him and admitted it.

[PrinceFielderx1]

Am I the only one who doesn't care that Braun lied? If I was in the same situation, I would've done the same thing. He and his team saw a legitimate chance to get the drug test overturned, so they went for it and won. What's he supposed to do before and after the ruling? Say, "Yeah, I partook in PED's, but lucky for me, the procedure wasn't followed so I'm in the clear?"

 

Of course he lied and said he didn't do anything. He would've been stupid not to.

 

I just think it's funny that baseball fans are more pissed about him lying than about him doing PED's.

It's human nature to lie when you think there's even a 0.00000000001% chance you can get away with it. Nobody is going to tell the truth right away. Look at the other Biogenesis guys. Jhonny Peralta denied it when his name first showed up, then he saw the evidence they had on him and admitted it.

 

I disagree. I haven't lied in 15 years. It always comes back