What it's like to be the ROAD fan

[Sec19Row53]

I wear my Cubs stuff to Miller Park (and before that to County Stadium) all the time. Brewer fans have grown sick of the Cub fans "coming up" for the games. Treatment toward us is worse. HOWEVER, there's generally been far more Cub fans than Brewer fans, so the numbers help you out.

I made my first Packer road trip last year - to Indy. We were treated very well, even though I pulled out the "drunken kicker" line at one point. If you're not up on the story, that's how Manning referred to Vanderjagt after some uncomplimentary things were said between the two of them.

[patsox]

blue jays fans are maniacs. Some guy wanted to fight me I think. Jesus. I'm 15 and about 5'3"

[patsox]

blue jays fans are maniacs. Some guy wanted to fight me I think. Jesus. I'm 15 and about 5'3" Wait...and there was this one usher...oh i cant remember his name but i think he has something to do with this site.

[Nick 1733]

NFL: DONT GO TO OAKLAND!!!! Never! You'll get beer spilled on you, get spit on, one guy got stabbed a few years ago, and much much taunting if not punches. Raiders fans suck.

I actually want to go to a Broncos/Raiders game in Oakland sporting my Broncos gear. As long as I don't have seats in the 'black hole' I think I can handle myself.

I've never been the visitor at a game I've been to. I thought I was going to have the chance to see the Nuggets play in Minnesota but I highly doubt it now, but I think that would be fun.

[IronChefShark]

I actually want to go to a Broncos/Raiders game in Oakland sporting my Broncos gear.

a lot of us here hope you get to experience that.

seriously.

[Nick 1733]

I actually want to go to a Broncos/Raiders game in Oakland sporting my Broncos gear.

a lot of us here hope you get to experience that.

seriously.

HAHAHA

[Mings]

I actually want to go to a Broncos/Raiders game in Oakland sporting my Broncos gear.

a lot of us here hope you get to experience that.

seriously.

HAHAHA

So do you have a new internet girlfriend yet?

Or did you stop by the women's prison on conjugal visit day?

[Nick 1733]

I actually want to go to a Broncos/Raiders game in Oakland sporting my Broncos gear.

a lot of us here hope you get to experience that.

seriously.

HAHAHA

So do you have a new internet girlfriend yet?

Or did you stop by the women's prison on conjugal visit day?

Just to clear up some facts, no and I've never had an internet girlfriend.

Second, no, not yet anyway.

[OMMF]

I actually want to go to a Broncos/Raiders game in Oakland sporting my Broncos gear.

a lot of us here hope you get to experience that.

seriously.

HAHAHA

So do you have a new internet girlfriend yet?

Or did you stop by the women's prison on conjugal visit day?

You know what's better than conjugal visit sex?

Fugitive sex!

[rainmaker17]

slightly back on topic...nothing against prison sex, mind you.

TEXAS A&M AGGIES

Kyle Field is a bizarre place to see a game, and I'll give the Gigem's this, they are LOYAL to a frightening degree. The entire town paints itself up in to this anti UT frenzy which is something to see. I've been to probably four games in College Station and they've all been.....interesting. The Aggie fight song basically is an anti-Longhorn rant, which kills me when they play non-conference opponents: "so long to the orange and the white...goodbye to Texas University..." etc. There is also an element at A&M games that even the Gig's refer to as 'Townies'. Townies, simply put, are citizens of Bryan/College Station that never got out of middle school. They love the Aggies, wear maroon satin jackets, trucker hats (that they actually bought in the eighties) and all seem to have a mustache that won't grow in all the way. My only tense moments at Kyle Field have always been with Townies, not A&M students themselves. Townies call you names I won't print here and throw cups of ice at you, regular Aggies refer to you as 't.u.' or a 'teasipper' (based on the hook em horns hand signal). It's usually not a big deal. Kyle Field is a really nice stadium, and it's a trip to watch the fans respond to cheerleader commands.

In fairness, I'll be a little introspective...

DALLAS COWBOYS

I will really miss Texas Stadium, but it's time has come. It's a serious wind tunnel that leaks from seemingly everywhere. The roof always looks dirty and frankly the place just smacks of OLD..and not in a cute Fenway manner. Nostalgiacally I remember my parents and their friends tailgating in the parking lot...and how I do the same thing now with my friends and their kids. I hope I'm not priced out of the new place.

Dallas fans are a mixed bag. I really feel most Cowboy fans are decent people, maybe because I understand 'y'all' and 'fixin' to'. I think I've seen every team in the league play in Irving, and I don't recall a lot of problems. Opposing fans are visible with their jerseys and headgear, with very little riff-raff as far as I can tell.

Without a doubt there are some yellow-teethed redneck morons that try to stir the pot once in a while. These idiots are the ones who wear the 'DA BOYZ' crap or moth-ridden SB XXVII t-shirts, in short the ones that are keeping that 'America's Team' nonsense alive. I don't want everyone to be a Cowboy fan. Be a fan of your team and stick with it! I go to around 5-6 games a year, if you want to say hi, I'm in sec 13 row 30 on the aisle.

TEXAS LONGHORNS

Another OLD, and I mean OLD building. Fitting though for a historic football program. Austin has no top level professional sports, so UT is everything and there is a definate class structure at work here. If you're conected you can get an air-conditioned suite with a full bar and a private bathroom. Most, myself included, sneak in flasks or get wristbands for the 'End Zone Club'. It's pretty hillarious on two levels: seeing the men's and women's bathrooms full of liquor bottles by halftime or going to the 'tent' where a lot of people who spent a lot of money to watch a football game are basically next door drinking beer watching it on TV.

[-kj]

The Aggie fight song basically is an anti-Longhorn rant, which kills me when they play non-conference opponents: "so long to the orange and the white...goodbye to Texas University..." etc.

That's funny. Then again, our cadre from Minnesota at the US/Mexico soccer match in Columbus got the weirdest looks when we all stood and sang "stand up if you hate Milwaukee." It doesn't matter where we go or who's playing, it's always Milwaukee.

[bhambruiser]

i think the only thing Alabama fans will do if you come to Bryant-Denny is taunt you before and after the game with a rendition of Ramer Jammer...for those of you who have no idea what I am talking about it goes like this (to the tune of the Hey Song)

Before the Game

Hey [opponent name here]!

Hey [opponent name here]!

We're gonna beat the hell outta you

Rammer Jammer Yellowhammer

Give em' hell Alabama!

After a Victory...usually with a little time still left on the clock so the opposing players have to endure it.

Hey [opponent name here]!

Hey [opponent name here]!

We just beat the hell outta you

Rammer Jammer Yellowhammer

Give em' hell Alabama!

Funny story about that. the 1998 Alabama-BYU game in Tuscaloosa me and a friend went and before the game started the whole stadium starts singing it- except of course the BYU fans, but it was so funny they seemed so offended...There was also a Hey Mormons! Hey Mormons! added to a couple of verses.

But other than that Bama fans will be cool to you. unless you are obnoxious

[hormone]

OK.

Home teams: Pens/Pirates. I will cheer and heckle, but not to a violent or hateful extent. There's only three or four people at a Pirate game this time of year, so you gotta watch cause the people on the other side of the stadium can hear you It's really cool when the teams are good and it's a high profile opponent.

Away teams: I'm a TB Bucs fan. I've only got to see them in preseason. Once in Pitts (orange years) and once in Cleveland. It was no big deal because 1) it was preseason and 2) we're from the NFC. I have been to the Browns game with Pitts fans in Cleveland. I've seen people jump on cars and not let you pass. I've seen stuff thrown at cars and people, fights, etc. That is a bitter rivalry.

College: I went to Youngstown State so I always sit (drunk) in the student section and heckle the away team and the away students (and try to get their girls). YSU is playing at Pitt in two weeks. That should be interesting.

In all instances, it's awesome to be at the game and either cheer as an underdog or support your home team. It's when it goes from a little jawing here and there to people wanting to fight or ruin property that ruins everything. There are cool people and a-holes in every stadium and booze always seems to help in one way or the other (mellowing people out or getting people to fight).

I (being a Canes fan) hate Ohio State. I was in a bar in Youngstown last Sat and my friend and I put big money on Texas and cheered for them. Most people were cool, but this guy tried to fight my friend because he said "how do you get a delay of game call in your home stadium?"

[bosox]

Yankee Stadium - Ok, Wore a Red Sox World Champions Hat and a Trot Nixon jersey on the subway to Yankee Stadium. Nothing really, I was surprised at the amount of Sox fans on the subway. I didn't really get a sense of Yankees fans since I was a few rows behind the Red Sox dugout (its nice to have connections ) so it was mainly business. There was a few elbows thrown by other people and by me, but that was mainly just trying to get out of the stadium where your too close to see someones shirt.

Giants Stadium - Ok, I wasn't really a road fan or a home fan for this, but I got tickets to Giants/Eagles in 2002 and it was 8 rows from the top. Lemme tell you that is not a place to bring little children. They heckled even some 9 year old who was on the field doing dog tricks or something.

[FUNKAFIED]

Here's my contribution:

The first NHL game I ever attended live was December 22, 2000 at the FleetCenter in Boston. The Bruins were playing the Detroit Red Wings. The holiday spirits were high as Christmas music was playing over the PA, and the guy who normally sings the anthems sang Christmas carols during intermission.

I am a Red Wings fan, as were 3/4 of the group I was in. We had seats in the balcony and we were ABUSED.

I have never been the 'road' fan before, and in a city like Boston, I now understand what the visitors feel like. Usually I'm on the other side of this, being a Sox fan. I thought my Red Sox hat might save me some abuse I was certain to get for my Steve Yzerman jersey I was wearing.

It didn't.

We were howled at by every drunk fratboy in the 300 section for three periods. I think some of the older Bruins fans were getting embarrassed by some of the extremely creative chants they tried. We didn't say anything to them, didn't look at them. When Yzerman scored the game winner in overtime. I stood up, tipped my Sox cap to them, grabbed my nuts, and walked out of the tunnel.

You Sox fans that have gone to Yankee Stadium for a game have my respect. I don't think I could do it without being armed.

[slapshot]

You Sox fans that have gone to Yankee Stadium for a game have my respect. I don't think I could do it without being armed.

It all depends on where you sit. I've only sat in the upper deck. Once behind home plate, the other in the left field corner. A lot of Red Sox fans were up there for both those games, so you didn't hear much from the Yankees fans. Some Sox fans were wearing "Yankees Suck" shirts, and I didn't hear any razzing towards them at all.

I hear the bleachers are an entirely different story. Non-Yankees fans sit there at their own risk.

Even walking back across the tracks to the parking lots, you barely hear anything. A little playful taunting, nothing more.

[teenchy]

and playfully bantering and heckling back and forth with the DC fans about their 0.95 ERA closer and how he gave up three runs....So, at least we know that Nats fans are cool.  They seem to be happy just to have a team. 

That closer pretty much got the final nail in the coffin hammered in on Sunday...like nobody saw that coming.

I was at Citizens Bank Park on Opening Day this year, first time there though have been to the Vet too many times to count. I sat with a bunch of my friends who'd taken a bus up from DC. It was such an amazing sight, grown men and women who never thought they'd have their own team again practically crying. That the Phils won 8-3 didn't matter. The Phils fans recognized that and were very cordial; some suggested that this may develop into a rivalry eventually.

I've since been to two more Nats-Phils games in Philly (both Phils wins) and things are more "normal" in the Philly sense; heckling "still the Ex-pos...still suck" and the like.

As a rule I've found baseball fans are much more cordial to opposing fans in their stadiums than hockey or football fans. Basketball fans usually are too busy filling out their expense account forms to notice.

[winters in buffalo]

I've gone to quite a few Hurricanes games as a road fan. But then again, so does everyone else.

[infrared41]

Good topic.

My worst road fan experience as a road fan was at the old Pontiac Silverdome in 1983 for a Browns/Lions game. A lot of the Browns fans were in the same section. It was lower level in one of the corners. The Lions fans from the upper level spent the entire game throwing trash, coins, and even a few bottles at us. Basically just about anything they could lift they threw at our section. One guy ended up getting hit in the face with a bottle and was carted out on a stretcher. How they got bottles in there is anybody's guess but they did. The fans in the sections around us in the lower level just relied on verbal abuse and threats to voice their displeasure with us. It was pretty unnerving at times. I for one was not the least bit surprised by what happened between The Pistons and The Pacers last year.

My best road fan experience was at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse. I was working in TV in Syracuse at the time and My Ohio State Buckeyes came to town to play the Orangemen. The Orangemen were being hyped as a national championship contender and The Buckeyes started the season unranked. (I think SU was in the top 5 at the time) If memory serves, The Buckeyes had lost to Syracuse in a bowl game the previous season too. All I heard from my co-workers for the two weeks before the game was how they couldn't wait to watch the Orangemen put a whipping on the Buckeyes. I just kept telling them we'll see what happens on the field. Honestly I wasn't sure if the Buckeyes could play with SU that year. The Orangemen had a pretty good looking team on paper. ESPN was in town to do the game and the local cable company also had a TV contract with SU. The cable company did the games for rebroadcast the next day. A friend of mine worked for the local cable company. ESPN had picked up a lot of the crew from the local company so they were a few people short. My friend knew that I was a huge Buckeye fan so he called me up and said "are you busy tonight?" I told him my only plan was to watch the Ohio State/SU game. He said "we have a spot open pulling cable do you want it?" "Pulling cable" is bascially following around a hand held camera and making sure the cable stays neat so people don't trip over it. It's cake work. I asked him where I would be and he said "on the sidelines." I said "when do you need me there?" Turns out he had gotten me on a camera that was on the Ohio State side of the field. We covered the far corner of an endzone to around the 40 yard line.

We were also in the visitors section of the stadium. There must have been 10,000 Buckeye fans at that game. It was awesome.

To make a long story short... It turns out the Orangemen were only good on paper. The Buckeyes ended up rolling them 35-12. I watched the entire game from the sidelines and even ended up on ESPN. A touchdown was scored right in front of me. I got calls from everyone I knew the next day asking me if I was at the game because they could have sworn they saw me on Sportscenter. All in all a pretty good night for a road fan.

[Braden]

Well, I've pondered the idea of going to a Bills-Dolphins game with my Phins stuff... but since I also like the Bills I might as well get a Bills jersey, wear it to the game, and secretly cheer for the Phins.