Braun situation affecting Brewer fans in visiting ballparks?

[Teatoe993]

I'm just wondering if I'm the only one worried about this. I plan on checking out two games at AT&T this may. Never have I had any issues with the San Francisco fans other than some minor verbal jabs. But this year might be different since it seems everyone else in the US deeply hates Braun after what went down. As a fan I really don't want to put up with the home fans insults for two days. And I know there have been incidents of fan violence in California. Should I even bother wearing my Brewer gear? Or am I just worrying too much?

[owbc]

I think it depends on the region. There might be problems with division rivals but I'm not sure about California. I honestly think the Giants fans were heckling for fun because they can't get too serious knowing the Barry Bonds situation. If anything, the generic "Brewers suck" heckling will get replaced by "Braun's a cheater" but I find it unlikely that it will get serious or dangerous.

 

Here in South Florida, the people I have talked to all think Braun is innocent. Part of it is probably because he is a UM alum, but either way people do not seem to be buying into the media spin machine.

[yoshii8]

At least we don't have to hear lame jokes about how fat Prince Fielder is this year.

[fondybrewfan]

There are probably only a handful of places I would be wary of wearing Brewers gear. STL and PHI are the two places I just wouldn't want to hassle with. Perhaps CHI could be thrown in there too.

[Ennder]

People who are going to be jerks will find an excuse to do it no matter what. I really doubt this is anything to worry about.

[Warning Track Power]

Living in California, I think the only real place I ever considered not wearing Brewers gear was at Dodgers Stadium and this was in 2005, long before the Stow beating. I've worn my Brewers jersey yearly to Petco Park and Angels Stadium during Interleague and never had a single issue. Don't let the Stow beating or the overgeneralization about thug fans in California scare you away from supporting the Brewers. Typically, if you aren't the obnoxious fan and cheer at the appropriate time and not rub the opposing team's fans in it then you will be fine.

 

I would find it highly unlikely you run into any issues. Especially in San Francisco given their overwhleming support of Barry Bonds who is a lot more suspicious than Ryan Braun.

[pitchleague]

We had to deal with 4 days of extreme Prince Fielder booing at Chase Field last year, and I'm pretty sure there will be 3 days of extreme Ryan Braun booing at Chase Field this year.

 

Eh, such is life. I'm confident that Braunie will put up (unlike Fielder shutting up AKA doing nada at the plate the whole series) and be just fine.

[cnycerveceros]

Will be going to see a game during the Mets series in May at Citi Field. I'm a little concerned, not for my safety, but just that the booing and heckling will be unbearable to hear. We went to Pittsburgh last summer, and I was surprised at the boos that rained down for Braun and Prince with each at bat. I assume now that will just be worse everywhere.

[Dean Machine]

I've seen the Brewers in something like 20 ballparks and have never had any problems with anyone heckling me even though I wear Brewers gear everywhere. I was a little nervous in Philadelphia last year because of their reputation but I had zero problems but I also am not obnoxious in my cheering which I would assume makes a difference.

[Dean Machine]

I have plans to see the Brewers in Atlanta, St. Louis, Chicago (White Sox), Minneapolis, Cincinnati, Kansas City and Pittsburgh this season and I have to say that I'm not expecting any problems but once again I don't drink it up and get loud and annoying. If someone were to say something I would just smile and make a joke. I do think that some visiting fans try to make a spectacle of themselves and that mixed with alcohol is probably a bad combination.

[trwi7]

We went to Pittsburgh last summer, and I was surprised at the boos that rained down for Braun and Prince with each at bat.

 

Rained down is a little extreme considering it was a Pirates crowd. More like drizzled.

[Schlitz001]

I got a lot of good natured heckling in Arlington after Coco Cordero blew a 3 run lead with 2 outs in the 9th, but I never make much of it.

 

It's not as if you personally have anything to do with Braun's debacle, besides being a fan of the team he plays for. The only way any encounter with an opposing fan would get out of hand is if you talk back.

[jjgott]

The one thing I never understood about heckling someone about wearing their team's jersey is what is supposed to be the outcome of that? Is the guy supposed to suddenly renounce his fandom and pledge allegiance to a new team? I remember going into Shea stadium one year wearing my Brewers jersey and someone yelling why would I want to be a Brewers fan and Brewers suck. But no matter what that dude said I was still going to be a Brewers fan at the end of the day. Dunno.

[brwrsfan]

There are probably only a handful of places I would be wary of wearing Brewers gear. STL and PHI are the two places I just wouldn't want to hassle with. Perhaps CHI could be thrown in there too.

 

Philly I understand, but why do you think that about St. Louis? Me and 5 buddies go see the Brewers somewhere every year and it's the Cardinal trip this year, so just curious if you know something or whatever.

 

We got some smack in Boston and LA, but just the usual stuff. Never felt threatened or anything, though we said very little in reply. I don't get the need for the insults personally, but thats how it goes unfortunately.

[ttsather]

The one thing I never understood about heckling someone about wearing their team's jersey is what is supposed to be the outcome of that? Is the guy supposed to suddenly renounce his fandom and pledge allegiance to a new team? I remember going into Shea stadium one year wearing my Brewers jersey and someone yelling why would I want to be a Brewers fan and Brewers suck. But no matter what that dude said I was still going to be a Brewers fan at the end of the day. Dunno.

 

 

It's the good ol' bully theory. The real purpose is to make that person feel better and maybe "impress" some friends. Sound childish? Yep.

[RockCoCougars]

The last few times that I entered enemy territory, I've worn neutral garb. It's just not worth the hassle anymore if you ask me. I've been in a lot of places and I've nearly been involved in some altercations over this (and no I wasn't drunk or obnoxious, the other folks were). If you cheer in a non obnoxious fashion, most around you aren't even aware that you are 'rooting for the wrong team' if you aren't dressed in their gear head to toe. Some people seem to like drawing that attention, I do not.

 

BTW, from my experience, Minnesota fans are the absolute worst in this way.

[Glennron]

I'm just wondering if I'm the only one worried about this. I plan on checking out two games at AT&T this may. Never have I had any issues with the San Francisco fans other than some minor verbal jabs. But this year might be different since it seems everyone else in the US deeply hates Braun after what went down. As a fan I really don't want to put up with the home fans insults for two days. And I know there have been incidents of fan violence in California. Should I even bother wearing my Brewer gear? Or am I just worrying too much?

 

If you're worrying about a physical confrontation, then yes I'd think you're worrying too much. If you can take the Braun's a cheater comments you should be fine. I highly doubt anyone would make verbal personal attacks on you because of your Brewers gear. Like other people have said, if a fan is going to do something stupid, it won't be because of the Braun situation.

[BuckyBrewer61]

The one thing I never understood about heckling someone about wearing their team's jersey is what is supposed to be the outcome of that? Is the guy supposed to suddenly renounce his fandom and pledge allegiance to a new team? I remember going into Shea stadium one year wearing my Brewers jersey and someone yelling why would I want to be a Brewers fan and Brewers suck. But no matter what that dude said I was still going to be a Brewers fan at the end of the day. Dunno.

 

 

It's the good ol' bully theory. The real purpose is to make that person feel better and maybe "impress" some friends. Sound childish? Yep.

 

Yeah I never really understood fans seriously talking trash. Sure I care if the Brewers win, and some friendly ribbing is fun, but people who seriously try to put me down by telling me that a bunch of strangers I've never met but happen to play in my hometown suck at baseball...I just chalk up as idiots.

[AZBrewCrew]

We had to deal with 4 days of extreme Prince Fielder booing at Chase Field last year, and I'm pretty sure there will be 3 days of extreme Ryan Braun booing at Chase Field this year.

 

Eh, such is life. I'm confident that Braunie will put up (unlike Fielder shutting up AKA doing nada at the plate the whole series) and be just fine.

 

Living in Phoenix, obviously a good majority of my friends are Diamondbacks fans, and ive heard things ranging from "he cheated thats why we lost the NLDS" to "Im going to go and make it a point to heckle him", to "you guys dont have Prince anymore, so who cares", so I think it will be even more intense this year given the Dbacks loss in the NLDS last year. From what Ive seen/heard during spring training this year, the cheering for him seems to outweigh the booing/heckling. As far as Philadelphia goes, I went to a Brewer game there a few years back wearing Brewer gear and had no issue, there were the typical drunks there but they seemed to attract attention from other drunks. Most of the fans I interacted with just were giving me the typical ribbing that opposing teams get. From what Ive experienced its mostly the Eagles fans that give the city the "hard" image. I didnt dare show my Packers gear there during the Wildcard after I witnessed several fights between fans of both teams.

[rwa12]

I plan on wearing my Brewers gear in STL this year. I'm not worried about it in the slightest. I've been going to Busch for games every year since '02, and have never had a problem. If they comment on steroids, make sure to compliment them on the Mark McGwire Expressway (Highway?, I never pay attention to the sign) you came in on.

 

They may hate the Brewers, but I wouldn't worry about a confrontation.

[dlk9s]

The one thing I never understood about heckling someone about wearing their team's jersey is what is supposed to be the outcome of that?

 

The goal is to make you feel uncomfortable. Stupid, obviously, but that's generally why people are mean to others. they just want them to feel bad in some way.

 

I rarely wear any sort of Brewers/Packers/Bucks gear at away games (I've worn a Packers hat) - there's no upside to it. I'll cheer for my team, of course, but not in a way that draws a lot of attention.

[fondybrewfan]

There are probably only a handful of places I would be wary of wearing Brewers gear. STL and PHI are the two places I just wouldn't want to hassle with. Perhaps CHI could be thrown in there too.

 

Philly I understand, but why do you think that about St. Louis? Me and 5 buddies go see the Brewers somewhere every year and it's the Cardinal trip this year, so just curious if you know something or whatever.

 

We got some smack in Boston and LA, but just the usual stuff. Never felt threatened or anything, though we said very little in reply. I don't get the need for the insults personally, but thats how it goes unfortunately.

 

STL only because how the season ended last year. I don't think I could take all the ribbing.

[RobDeer 45]

Never had any issues down here in Cinci at the games. Braun will get heckled everywhere, that's the nature of this thing. If you fire back at some drunk idiot, you open yourself up to worse. If you can smile about it or have a conversation with someone you should never have to worry about anything worse. Like someone said earlier, if someone is looking to pick a fight, they will find anything to use in order to meet that goal.

[homer]

There are probably only a handful of places I would be wary of wearing Brewers gear. STL and PHI are the two places I just wouldn't want to hassle with. Perhaps CHI could be thrown in there too.

 

I wear my Brewer gear to Cubs games all the time. As long as you aren't in the bleachers you won't get a hassle. Not to mention there are usually plenty of Brewer fans there to back you up.

[Dean Machine]

 

BTW, from my experience, Minnesota fans are the absolute worst in this way.

 

I live in Minnesota and I have been to every single Brewers game at the Dome/Target Field since the mid 80's decked out in Brewers gear and I don't even believe I have ever had a person say anything to me.