last night's game in OAK

The Angels had beaten the Dodgers 3-0 earlier in the day, and I just
had to get out to a game, so I hopped on the BART with my wife and
scored a couple tickets to see the Cardinals play our nemesis. The
night before the As won a laffer 14-3 over the Midwest Angels.

So I get great seats from a scalper, right behind home, to the right
about 20 rows back. And there are a small handful of Cardinals fans
there. I'm rooting openly for the Cardinals and getting the stink-eye
big-time.

Eckstein just went on the DL, Edmonds is out, but Spiezio's in the
lineup.

Neither starting pitcher can get the ball over for strikes very well,
and the Cards chip away for a handful of runs to take the lead early.

Then they score 10 in the top of the 5th, topped off by a towering PH
grand salami by Duncan. When the As finally got out of the inning
there was a roar of sarcastic applause.

Laffer's on the other foot, and it's happened to me before, but when
you go into a team's stadium and root loudly for the visitors and the
visitors spindle, fold, spindle again, and finally mutilate the home
team, it's sort of a bizarre feeling. Cards won 15-6. Wed-Friday
afternoon had been a heat wave in the Bay Area, with temps around 100
in the inland areas, but the nutty weather patterns here had the temps
back down into the low 60s/upper 50s as the Cards scored 10 in the
5th. These As fans in the area we sat - very good seats, like I said -
were cold and disappointed. And I despise the As. But I felt bad for
the fans. A little. These fans were classy and weren't going to hassle
someone enjoying the visitors killing their team.

But if we'd sat in the bleachers, we may have needed to call security.

Anyway, Angels with a 5-game lead as I write.

The times I have been there (Oakland), never had any problem with A's fans.
Then again, never sat in the bleachers.

Now that I think of it, I have never really had a problem with any fans
anywhere.

A lot of it, I think, has to do with HOW you root. I have never been one to
'rub it in' to the home crowd when in an opposing ballpark. That's the
problem with Yankee fans, Sox fans & Dodger fans... They have a certain
element for whom victory is not enough, they have to direct their
cheering/gloating at the local faithful. This is most prevalent when the
visiting team has a large contingent at the ballpark, strength in numbers &
what not.

For the most part, if one sits there and cheers towards the field and not
too boisterously, I think a fan won't usually have problems.