Ryan Braun and the Boo-Birds

No.  This is not the name of my band…although it probably should be.

I was fortunate enough to listen to the Brewers game this afternoon.  While the outcome was not what I had hoped for, it did provide me with some interesting things to write about.  Some of those things will be up on the site in the coming days, but today I want to talk about the Boo-Birds.

For those of you unfamiliar with the term, Boo-Birds, it is applied to a large group of people booing, chanting, or shouting negativity at a player.  This is something that I am not proud to say I have been a part of in my younger days.  One time when Barry Bonds was in Milwaukee I kept shouting “Bonds-on-Bonds” (at the time his TV show “Bond on Bonds” had been cancelled after two episodes).  Eventually, I got many of the people around me in the left field bleachers to join in.  It was fun and most of the people around me seemed to get a laugh out of it.  I am sure that many of you have been involved in similar practices.  For Tebow’s sake, I used to scream at Eric Gagne and Guillermo Mota from the first base line.  So, I am sure that there are others of you who have experience in Boo-Bird…ing.   

I bring this up because, being a Boo-Bird is every baseball fans Tebow given right.  My intention in this article is to simply prepare us all of the inevitable.

This afternoon, I experience the first real Boo-Birds for Ryan Braun of 2012.

Initially, I was filled with the fire and rage of 2000 years of Irish oppression (Happy St. Patrick’s Day, yes I am Irish…not just a wannabe).  Then I remembered how many people voiced their disgust and dislike for the Braun ruling all over the US of A.  Then I further remembered that baseball fans love to boo.  Truth is, every game this season that is NOT played in Miller Park, Braun is going to get booed…and heavily.  So, you can bury your denial in green beer…OR, you can accept it and get drunk peacefully.

Nationally, the feeling is that Braun cheated and got away with it and nothing that you or I can say or do will change that.  We, as Brewers fans, have to accept this.  Over time the boo’s will fade, but we will have to endure them for at least this season.  This is something you all need to know and accept now.  The backlash from other fan bases will be cruel and relentless.  Our job is to rise above that and believe in our guy.

This afternoon there where chants (that I could not seem to make out), cascades of boo’s, but when he made a nice diving catch in the 4th inning, he got a nice round of applause from the Angels fans.  What does that mean?

Everyone respects Brauns ability.  He is an exciting young player.  People will always applaud good play, even if they just got done booing the same player in the top half of that inning.  That is in Braun’s favor, because he is a really good player and everyone knows it.  Ped’s or not.

If he can go out and have his typical season, with no drug test snafoos, then we will only have to deal with this abomination for one season.  However, if the boo’s get into his head and he can not get himself on track, then it could be come a long-term problem.

Brace yourself Brewers fans, this is a very real threat.  It will happen in ever city the team travels too.  We need to let Ryan know that we support him and we are his biggest fans, every time that he steps in that batters box Miller Park needs to break into anarchy.  The best way to combat Boo-Birds, is to drown them out.

Let’s prepare to drown out the Boo-Birds, Brew Crew Nation.  They are coming.

Go Brewers!!!