Please, please stop doing the wave.. at least as frequently as I've seen it being done recently. The last three baseball games I've attended, I've seen the wave (twice when the home team was losing), but none were more infuriating than this evening at the Padres vs Giants at AT&T Park.
It's late August, the Giants are (somehow) a game out of first place despite a litany of injuries, a rotating starting lineup comprised of more .230 averages than most AA farm clubs and more injuries. It's the sixth inning and the Giants are down 5-2 against a division rival that is ten games under .500 and beatable. Tres beatable. I'm sitting in the third deck, slightly inside inside third base, when I hear a familiar "whoooOOOAAAHHhhhh" and see a bunch of fans between the bleachers and the left field foul pole trying to start the wave.
I'm not even drinking but I feel the urge to stand up and turn around (I'm in the second row) to say, "Please, nobody do the wave. Don't let this happen, don't do the wave. We're losing. Pay attention to the game. There is no reason to do the wave right now." Or something like that. My friends look at me in disbelief. "Why?" their eyes seem to say. "Because we're fucking losing!!" "Because Krazy George Henderson was an attention whore and the wave is outdated." Start a "Let's Go, Giants" chant or call the pitcher a bum or quote Bull Durham, but don't do the wave. In a stadium where breaks between innings are already filled with moronic shenanigans designed to distract the crowd (from I dunno, maybe actually talking about baseball with the people around them?) such as the Jersey Shore-inspired "Fist Pump Cam" and a bunch of beat-driven, techno montages on the scoreboard, the last thing we need is the wave.
Listen, I get it. One, the wave is fun and it looks cool, especially on psychedelics. Two, not everybody takes baseball as seriously as I do, but hear me out.
The wave is fun, sure. Kids should be allowed to do the wave... they dig it the most, babe. Seniors should be able to do the wave because once you hit 65 you should be able to do whatever the fuck you want... you've earned it. But if you're between the age of 18 and 64, don't do the wave. Exception: you're winning 10-0 in the eighth or you're up by 5 touchdowns against Eastern Bumfuck State. When you're 20 games back of first and it's before the All-Star break, at that point who cares? God bless you, good sir, for even being at the ballpark. Get shitty. But when every loss decreases your chances of making the playoffs and defending your World Series championship, watch the fucking game.
So yeah, not everyone loves baseball the way I do, but a sure helluva lot of them at the game tonight do. It was the 62nd consecutive sell-out of 41,288 (or something like that). In this city every other person you see has a Giants hat, a Fear the Beard or Let Timmy Smoke shirt. This city has been breathing, eating and shitting baseball for the last 18 months and the people at the game love the Giants and are tortured when they lose.
Eventually the wave was thwarted, thank god. Then in the eighth the Giants tie it up. The atmosphere in the crowd is electric and the excitement is palpable. I'll skip the part where we give up two in the ninth and then go 1-2-3 in the bottom half to end a disappointing and short-lived comeback, but regardless, was anyone concerned with starting the wave during the eighth? No. They were watching (and immensely enjoying) the game. So does that mean in the sixth, we'd given up all hope of scoring three to tie it up? Understandable considering this is a team where Timmy Franchise goes seven full with ten Ks and loses a 1-0 decision. But why the hell and how do you start a wave?
I've never started one. Sure, I've participated in one, but not when "it's a game." Even if we're down a dozen runs, I'm going to watch the game. And I'm sure as shit not going to boo Aaron Rowand for popping out with one down and a man on third. What, you think he was trying to pop out? Sorry, old man behind me I told not to boo three-time World Series champ, Aaron Rowand. I've also never played professional baseball and I don't know what they think about the wave...but getting booed then seeing your fans more interested in entertaining themselves then making noise or getting in the opponent's head.. gotta fuckin' suck if you ask me.
Don't do the wave, please.
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