Broadcasting legend Dick Vitale.
Dickie V is perhaps the most well-known Rays fan in sports circles. He has been an advocate for the (Devil) Rays during his ESPN broadcasts. He hosted an "Intro to the Trop" video back in 1998, selling fans on why they should come out to the game.
"When you come to the Trop, you are coming to one of the greatest sports and entertainment facilities in the world."
There is no doubt he supports the team.
But unfortunately, Dickie V. doesn't show the same support to the Rays fanbase. For some strange reason, Dick Vitale seems to think it is constructive to call out Rays fans for not going to games.
I'm not sure how this logic works.
The following, for example, is not a call to action:
This isn't the first time Vitale has taken a picture of the right field corner and made a comment about the lack of attendance. Note to Dickie V.: You don't attract bees with vinegar.
Of course, several Rays fans took offense and got into a tit-for-tat tweet-off with the famed announcer. Surprisingly, Dickie V. responded, leaning on the usual tropes that:
- Rays prices are reasonable
- The team needs a new stadium (but what about "The place to be is Tropicana Field, baby!"?)
- The Rays haven't put up big numbers when winning
- You can support the Rays by buying a ticket
- Vitale's season tickets equal his support
The whole exchange is interesting. Check it out.
Dickie V. is an enthusiastic supporter of sports. But not going to a day game on a Wednesday does not make someone less of a fan. That is a horrible assumption. What about the working fans? What about the fans in college? What about the unemployed fan who can't afford a ticket? It is absolutely ludicrous to judge a fan based on their attendance. Dickie V. should know better.
Not to mention, yesterday was the second highest attended Wednesday game of the season and the highest attended of the six games played versus Baltimore so far in 2014. Not that 12,000 is great, but it is an improvement over 11,000 or 10,000.
This is where the Rays organization (again) needs to be more proactive. This is not the first time Dickie V. has called out the fanbase. Having your most famous fan in social media tiffs with other Rays fans is not good for business. The Rays haven't used Dickie V. for promotional work in a while. If memory serves right, he used to be on the scoreboard calling for fans to get loud among other appearances. But that hasn't been the case recently.
Maybe there is a reason for that.
Dick Vitale has clout. He is a respected name in the sports community. People listen to Dick Vitale. Being a member of the Rays Fan Wall of Fame, he is a representative of the Rays fanbase. The Rays bequeathed that upon him. But when he calls out supporters of the Tampa Bay Rays for lack of support, he is disparaging the organization.
According to the rules guiding a submission into the Rays Fan Wall of Fame, "Participants must not include any of the following content (the "Content Restrictions") in any Submission: (vi) content that denigrates, disparages or reflects negatively on the MLB Entities, their owners and employees, or the game of baseball".
Making jokes about Rays attendance reflects negatively on the Tampa Bay Rays. I am not sure if the rules change after one is inducted in the Wall of Fame, but if not, the powers that be with the Rays may have to consider removing Dick Vitale from the Rays Wall of Fame if the comments and twitter wars continue.