Tim Wakefield was heckled relentlessly during a Texas Rangers game in Arlington I saw while visiting Dallas. This big Fred Flintstone-looking guy behind first base kept yelling "bring the heat" in such a loud and recognizeable voice that the crowd got into it, announcers talked about him, and the producers even showed him and Wakefield in split-screen. It was funny, but I imagine the attention is going to make it get old pretty quickly.
I am the master heckler...it's not too difficult, if you eschew profanity, pick on one player consistently, and get creative with your caps that you can get your entire section to join in the fun. Me and two buddies were in Fenway about 5 years ago and we set our sights on Bobby Higginson (or "Higgy" as we relentlessly called him). He was in right, we were about five rows up and we just let him have it all game. The people around us were laughing and cheering us on pretty good, and about the fifth, after Higgy had given us the fish-eye for the third straight pitch some people starting yelling at him to pay attention to the game. Next pitch some Sox player drills a shot down the right field line that comes to a stop right in front of us, Higgy has to come right up to the fenceline to retrieve the ball. Everybody in our section, sensing his vulnerabilty and loss of focus, cut loose with some of the most creative, vituperative language I'd ever heard. Higgy paused a moment, then fired the ball into left field getting the Sox an extra base. Next inning, an identical play, same result. Next inning, Higgy got moved to left. Naturally, it was because of us.
If I may be so bold, the best hecklers were on the infamous Hill at Sydney Cricket Ground. Not long ago they asked of an inept England fielder "Hey, Tufnell, lend us your brain....we're building an idiot" A true classic.
Whatever happened to the guy who sat behind the visiting team during Washington Bullet games? Did he die of something or did the Bullets take away his season tickets?
Robin Ficker was his name. A google search reveals a plethora of stories of conspiracy to silence him. Looks like he also had his license to practice law revoked as well.
My best heckling story: We were at Busch Stadium watching the Cards and the Rockies and giving it to Dante Bichette pretty good. He had given us the hairy-eye a couple times, but we were being pretty mild. Willie McGee hits a ball into the right-center gap and Bichette makes a nice play in cutting it off, but Willie's still going to try to stretch it to a double. Bichette hauls off and fires it ... directly into the turf and on about 15 bounces into second, where McGee is standing and laughing. Bichette comes back muttering to himself, and I lean out and yell, "Hey, Dante! Is 'Bichette' French for 'ragarm?'" Even HE laughed, and he tipped his cap to us in the seventh. Class guy.
This guy is amazingly awful. Bad enough the Sox announcers actually had the truck shut off the crowd mike near him. Not that it made much of a difference. The best part is he has a goddamn notebook. That and he rode Todd Walker the whole time. Nobody else, just the team's, what, 6th or 7th best position player? Completely unimaginative pablum too: it was all about not taking a walk, swinging away, etc. Since it's Tampa, the guy actually passes for entertainment in that echo chamber of a "park". He's Robin Ficker with absolutely no sense of humor. If you didn't see him, imagine walking into the worst Hooters in the worst town in the worst state in the US and getting a seat at the bar next to the loudest drunk. It'd be like that.
