McTucket
05-01-2006, 05:39 PM
Nobody's sure how the crowd will react when Johnny Damon steps into the Fenway Park batter's box for the first time as a member of the Yankees tonight. Red Sox blog Boston Dirt Dogs has been running a countdown since the start of the season until Damon returns to receive his standing ovation, and a rash of Damon feel-good stories have hit the New England papers the last couple of days. If I were a betting man, I'd say Damon gets a standing ovation for his first at-bat and is booed for every subsequent Fenway at-bat over the next four years. But if any of the 35,000 who have tickets to the game are undecided on what to do, here are five reasons any proud Bostonian should boo Damon back to the Bronx.
The hair incident
In October 2003, the Red Sox found themselves down 2-0 in their best-of-five, first-round series against Oakland. In an effort to change the team's karma, Kevin Millar took out his clippers and started giving everyone a haircut, from veteran John Burkett to manager Grady Little. Some resisted -- Manny, Pedro and Nomar -- but most of the team went along with it. Even Theo Epstein was spotted with a wiffle. But Damon wouldn't do it, because, as Millar put it, "He's the rock star of our team." The rock star thing may have gone to Damon's head, because the following March he showed up in Fort Myers with his famous caveman look. Enough has been written about Damon's hair since that point, but don't forget that day in October '03, when Damon turned his back on team karma to save his precious hair.
Idiot
Nobody is going to confuse Damon with J.K. Rowling, but his book, Idiot, was a disaster. In addition to blaming his ex-wife for the couple's divorce and admitting to several one-night stands at the end of their marriage, Damon boasts about how much fun he used to have doing naked chin-ups in the team's locker room. And then he goes on to detail all the fun he had chucking water balloons and pumpkins with his then girlfriend (now wife), Michelle Mangan, from his 34th-floor condo at the Ritz in Boston. I'm not saying we should judge him on his marital problems, but imagine walking harmlessly down Commonwealth Avenue with your 6-year-old son and getting soaked by a water balloon thrown from above. Damon's explanation for his antics: "Drinking might have been involved."
Sleeping with the enemy
"There's no way I can go play for the Yankees, but I know they are going to come after me hard. It's definitely not the most important thing to go out there for the top dollar, which the Yankees are going to offer me. It's not what I need.''
-- Damon to MLB.com, May 2005
Damon isn't the first athlete to insist he wouldn't leave for more money only to do just that a few months later. It is $12 million he would have been leaving on the table. But that doesn't mean he shouldn't get booed for his decision, especially when you consider that 30 miles south of Fenway, there's a certain other Boston sports hero, a three-time Super Bowl champion quarterback, who took considerably less than market value because he knew it would help his team.
The spin
The only thing more annoying than Damon signing with the Yankees was Damon trying to spin the story of why he signed with the Yankees. According to Damon, the Sox disrespected him, because four years, $40 million wasn't enough for a player of his caliber. At the time, he insisted there was a mystery third team involved in the negotiations that offered more years and money than both the Red Sox and the Yankees. Yet the respect this third team showed was somehow less than the respect shown by the Yankees? It makes no sense.
Then, instead of just moving on, Damon criticized Red Sox management and said of his teammate Manny Ramirez, "I don't think he's going to be back. He stated many times that he wants to be elsewhere." What purpose does it serve to discuss this with the media? Even A-Rod stayed away from badmouthing the Rangers after he went to New York.
This is Boston
There's this sudden movement to "do the right thing" and cheer Damon. But when did Boston ever do the right thing? This is the same city that booed Curt Schilling last May, just six months after he risked his career to pitch on an ankle held together by twine. This isn't the San Diego Red Sox. This is Boston. Half the fans wouldn't give Damon CPR if he lay dying next to them on the street.
Now we want to cheer someone who gave this city the figurative middle finger by taking more money to sign with our enemy? I don't think so. If you have any pride, boo. Boo loud and long. It's your duty as a Bostonian.
The hair incident
In October 2003, the Red Sox found themselves down 2-0 in their best-of-five, first-round series against Oakland. In an effort to change the team's karma, Kevin Millar took out his clippers and started giving everyone a haircut, from veteran John Burkett to manager Grady Little. Some resisted -- Manny, Pedro and Nomar -- but most of the team went along with it. Even Theo Epstein was spotted with a wiffle. But Damon wouldn't do it, because, as Millar put it, "He's the rock star of our team." The rock star thing may have gone to Damon's head, because the following March he showed up in Fort Myers with his famous caveman look. Enough has been written about Damon's hair since that point, but don't forget that day in October '03, when Damon turned his back on team karma to save his precious hair.
Idiot
Nobody is going to confuse Damon with J.K. Rowling, but his book, Idiot, was a disaster. In addition to blaming his ex-wife for the couple's divorce and admitting to several one-night stands at the end of their marriage, Damon boasts about how much fun he used to have doing naked chin-ups in the team's locker room. And then he goes on to detail all the fun he had chucking water balloons and pumpkins with his then girlfriend (now wife), Michelle Mangan, from his 34th-floor condo at the Ritz in Boston. I'm not saying we should judge him on his marital problems, but imagine walking harmlessly down Commonwealth Avenue with your 6-year-old son and getting soaked by a water balloon thrown from above. Damon's explanation for his antics: "Drinking might have been involved."
Sleeping with the enemy
"There's no way I can go play for the Yankees, but I know they are going to come after me hard. It's definitely not the most important thing to go out there for the top dollar, which the Yankees are going to offer me. It's not what I need.''
-- Damon to MLB.com, May 2005
Damon isn't the first athlete to insist he wouldn't leave for more money only to do just that a few months later. It is $12 million he would have been leaving on the table. But that doesn't mean he shouldn't get booed for his decision, especially when you consider that 30 miles south of Fenway, there's a certain other Boston sports hero, a three-time Super Bowl champion quarterback, who took considerably less than market value because he knew it would help his team.
The spin
The only thing more annoying than Damon signing with the Yankees was Damon trying to spin the story of why he signed with the Yankees. According to Damon, the Sox disrespected him, because four years, $40 million wasn't enough for a player of his caliber. At the time, he insisted there was a mystery third team involved in the negotiations that offered more years and money than both the Red Sox and the Yankees. Yet the respect this third team showed was somehow less than the respect shown by the Yankees? It makes no sense.
Then, instead of just moving on, Damon criticized Red Sox management and said of his teammate Manny Ramirez, "I don't think he's going to be back. He stated many times that he wants to be elsewhere." What purpose does it serve to discuss this with the media? Even A-Rod stayed away from badmouthing the Rangers after he went to New York.
This is Boston
There's this sudden movement to "do the right thing" and cheer Damon. But when did Boston ever do the right thing? This is the same city that booed Curt Schilling last May, just six months after he risked his career to pitch on an ankle held together by twine. This isn't the San Diego Red Sox. This is Boston. Half the fans wouldn't give Damon CPR if he lay dying next to them on the street.
Now we want to cheer someone who gave this city the figurative middle finger by taking more money to sign with our enemy? I don't think so. If you have any pride, boo. Boo loud and long. It's your duty as a Bostonian.