07.11.07 5:00 AM CDT
• Sports
• Matt DeMazza
Our summer intern Lynsey Gilchrist just made her first trip to Yankee Stadium. Here's her report:Just as ballparks around the country are making fields more attractive to potential fans, they are tightening the leash on hecklers. At the Mariners’ Safeco Field, ushers hand out red cards to fans who are breaking the team’s code of conduct. The cards were instituted last season.
Mariners’ fans are historically well behaved—not surprising for a city in which visitors are often heard exclaiming, “Everyone here is so friendly!” A native Seattleite myself, I ventured into foreign territory to see just how different a baseball game away from my home field could be.
Before going to Saturday’s Angles-Yankees game at Yankee Stadium, friends briefed me that day games are usually less rowdy than night games, and that my seats (field level behind left field) were in a relatively tame area. Even though I think the red cards at Safeco are a little excessive, I found myself looking around to see if an usher would step in when the kids behind me started swearing and loudly booing (fans at Safeco can be asked to leave for “foul/abusive language”). I don’t think I’ve ever heard booing at Safeco (besides when A-Rod comes back to town), but when the game went into extra innings, the Yankees fans really stepped it up—I definitely felt out of my element, but it was fun. This was a real baseball game. I’m all for being polite and still cringe when I hear someone loudly swearing, but we Seattleites need to loosen up.
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