04/19/24
May 09, 2003
During Thursday's Atlanta Braves radio broadcast, announcer Skip Carey said that the league is considering a mandatory-ejection policy for the most aggravating people on Earth: Fans who move into television shots with cell phones so a buddy can tell them, "Hey, I'm watching you now on television! This is so cool! And what's coolest is that I'm watching you talking to me! Is this weird, or what?"
A clarification: The only ones subject to ejection are the cell phone gabbers who move into sections that don't match their tickets. The well-to-do gomers with cell phones can Joumana Kidd the TV shots all they want.
posted by rcade at 04:18 PM on May 09, 2003
This guy has to lighten up. I almost never answer my cellphone, and I've never done anything like this, but I don't see how this could enrage anyone. It's not like it's a library or a restaurant or some such - It's a ballpark, already filled with plenty of noise.
posted by Samsonov14 at 04:20 PM on May 09, 2003
Joumana Kidd the TV shots all they want hee hee!
posted by dusted at 04:43 PM on May 09, 2003
"...to lighten up" doesn't begin to describe what this guys needs. Oh, and I hope he gets in trouble for the, "I want to throttle them," comment. Be sure to read the responses to the artcle. Seems like a lot of people agree with this dillhole, though I would guess it stems more from a hatred of cellphones in general than from their use in ballparks. The Finnish Perspectiver esponse was particularly enlightening. The first few lines made me laugh then I realized it wasn't a joke. Who knew?
posted by 86 at 04:50 PM on May 09, 2003
Wow ... so, uhhh ... is Darwin a magazine for people who need to know about technology, but loathe themselves for needing to know? And if so, what the hell are they doing on the Internet in the first place? Here's a novel idea — voicemail. Answer the damn call at your leisure, not theirs. As for cell talkers at baseball games, as with anywhere else, if you have a problem with them, tell them to shut up. I don't talk on my cell phone in appropriate areas ... I expect other people to respect my right to concentrate on what's going on.
posted by wfrazerjr at 05:08 PM on May 09, 2003
Wow. One time when I was railing against the complete assholes who sit behind home plate and wave home, YukonGold suggested to me that things were different in parks that weren't named Fenway. I guess it's true. Watch a couple dozen consecutize Sox home games and you will want them all to be ejected. Seriously. My proposal to save Fenway (which is quickly going the way of the FleetCenter, God help us, what with the rich snots who are only there to be seen) would be to take the tarp from centerfield and drape it over the seats behind homeplate so viewers could have an unobstructed view of the game. I imagine this idea doesn't need to be implemented in 90% of MLB parks, but I would work the ejection crew for free. I'd pay for the privilege. I understand why everyone in this thread thinks the idea silly, but I'm here to tell you it's got its applications. Everything seems to be turning into wrestling (at least 'round here), where the signs are about the fans who bring them (e.g., "Me <-") , rather than the event they've come to witness.
posted by yerfatma at 06:07 PM on May 09, 2003
For what it's worth, I can't say as I really ever notice the cell-phone wavers on TV. I'm too busy doing watching the game. But then, maybe I'm simply not as easily distracted as Mr. McCreary. ;-)
posted by Motown Mike at 07:15 PM on May 09, 2003
I see the occasional cell phone waver during hockey games, but I don't really pay attention to it. Seriously, in a crowd of 15,000... 50,000... is some bozo on the phone really that big a deal? What he should rail about is people that throw their cell phones at players/umpires.
posted by mkn at 07:44 PM on May 09, 2003
cell phone guy 2003 = rainbow afro guy 1978
posted by catfish at 07:05 AM on May 10, 2003
Bringing up cell phones these days is almost like bringing up religion at the dinner table. People freak out. Speaking of religion, the editor of "Darwinmag" (whatever that is) needs to get some, if only to raise his credibility. John 2:13? Huh? I would wager many dollars that no one has ever seen that reference on a sign in a stadium.
posted by rabi at 09:55 AM on May 10, 2003
John 2:13 "And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem." Um... Go Bruins?
posted by Samsonov14 at 12:38 PM on May 10, 2003
Correction: it was John 3:16.
posted by mkn at 01:51 PM on May 10, 2003
"these cell phone conversations can be seen as a perverse and offensive misapplication of the purchased ticket." This is still a free country, right? For a sport born in the USA to be considering ejecting the few loyalists who attend games, who happen to own ubiquitous consumer electronics, and actually have someone to call, who is also watching the game and contributing to revenue, seems like hard-line purist crap to me. And I vote for more 'hired' fans to be placed in the stands to help ratings, circa 'Use Your Illusion" tour in MSG. I don't watch that much baseball, but is it that annoying and distracting? Maybe the game should be tweaked to be more 'viewer friendly.'