FemmeFan Weekly

October 31, 2008

Series Fans’ Schizophrenia

Never, ever, has the World Series been stopped due to inclement weather. Never, ever, has the game been resumed three days later. Forget the game for now, forget the end of the Phillies drought, forget the end of the Rays’ Cinderella season, forget the big bats and fielding. Forget the fact that the game was called only after the Rays tied the game in the sixth inning.

Let’s talk about the fans that made plans to be at the fifth game of the series on Monday in Philly. You must admit that some pretty weird things happened Monday night in Game 5 of the 2008 World Series, maybe it has something to do with the Halloween season. Or not.

What struck me was what this out of the ordinary situation meant to fans. Fans that had purchased that single game ticket. Fans who had dreamed of attending a World Series game. Fans of both teams, Phillies fans or Rays fans, both stuck in World Series limbo.

You know that they paid dearly for the ticket to game 5; that many traveled from all over the nation, and perhaps the world, to get to Philadelphia.

They probably reserved a room and might have rented a car. They also had made arrangements following game 5 to go home, back to work or to follow the series to Tampa.

But these fans had a rude and uncomfortable awakening when the series was stalled, and those plans they made, well they had to fughetaboutit. The best laid plans of …
Because along with the unusual weather and the game’s delay there had to have been a bunch of disappointed fans scrambling to make arrangements to stay in Philly for the resumption of game 5, whenever that might be.

To make matters worse, the weather was so unpredictable that no one could say with any degree of certainty, when play would resume.

I can hear the calls now.
Series fan to boss…uh; I don’t know when I’ll be back in to work. I’m waiting to hear from Bud Selig. What do you mean I’m fired?

Series fan to hotel, uh; I can’t check out today, I need the room for, oh, I don’t know, one, two or three more days. I need to hear from Bud Selig. What do you mean you don’t have any rooms available?

Series fan to wife, uh; honey, I can’t come home yet, the game is on hold, and I don’t know when they’ll play again. I’m waiting to hear from Bud Selig. I need to get another $1000 bucks from the ATM. What do you mean, don’t bother coming home?

Series fan to the airline, uh; I need to change my plane reservation for, oh, I don’t know, a day, two, or three days from the original date. I’m waiting to hear from Bud Selig. What do you mean it’s gonna cost me another $700 bucks?

Ah, the trials and tribulations of sports fans. Not only do they pay dearly to worship at the altar of the sporting gods, but they are also willing to jeopardize their jobs and marriages all in the name of fan-doom.

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