The Reds arent the same to all fans

[guttle11]

I as well am only 20, and I feel much the same as Shaknb8k. I can remember being around 7 years old and going to Opening Day at Riverfront. It was great. Glen Braggs even threw me a ball before the game. I still have that ball.

I have fleeting memories of 1995. The one that has stuck the most is Javy Lopez(I think) hitting a home run off of the foul screen at Riverfront. I remember being crushed at the loss of that series.

The year that really made me a die-hard fan was 1999. That year was everything Reds baseball should be. Packed stadiums, wins, and fun. I'll probably never forget sitting in front of the TV all day waiting out the long, long rain delay in Milwaukee.

I hear stories from my dad and grandpa about Crosley Field and how great it was to be a Reds fan back then. I love everyone of them.

My friends often dog me because I would rather watch the Reds on TV than go out. I set my work schedules around the Reds TV games as much as I can. I'm hooked for life.

The Reds to me are much more than OPS and the W/L columns, they are a way of life, passed down through my family from generation to generation. I take pride in my Reds, good or bad. I really think that's what sets the Reds apart from most teams. How many other teams would have 5 straight losing seasons and still have so many devoted fans across the country? Few.

[writerdan33]

I'm 38 years old. I'll be 39 on April 14, a birthdate which should ring a bell with some Reds fans.

I have been a member of the media since I was 18. I have seen and covered sports at every level. I've been on the sidelines at National Championship football games, and in the locker rooms of Major League Baseball teams. I say that not to brag in any way, so please don't take it that way. I say it to make a point.

When you cover sports for so long, you lose something of a fan's perspective. You sit in press boxes, not box seats. You hang around with other media types, not Joe Fan. You tend to grow cynical, moreso than most human beings at 9-5 jobs. Talking to a player, coach or manager is work, not privilege.

Yet baseball, specifically the Reds, cuts through all that murkiness for me. I have been to, I believe, eight games since GAB opened. All eight have been as a fan. I have yet to visit the locker rooms, the press box, the batting cages. I'm sure I will at some point, but I wanted my early experiences with this stadium to be like the ones I had with Riverfront as a kid. I can't explain it, but even now when I get to the stadium concourse and see the field come into view, I get a pounding in my chest reminiscent of the kind I got as a kid all those years ago.

Cynicism be damned. I don't ever want to lose that feeling. So far, even though the Lords that run MLB try to kill the game - as they have for over 100 years - they've yet to cause me to stay away from the park.

A couple of weeks ago, in preparation for a surprise 40th anniversary party we were throwing my parents, we were looking through some old photographs. There in the pile was a shot of my dad and me - all of five years old - in the stands at Riverfront (green seats, mind you). I had an oversize glove on my hand, and an oversize smile on my face.

No matter how old I get, or how long I'm in the sports media business, deep down I pray I always remain that five-year old kid at heart.

[top6]

Ditto everyone who complimented this post. It's one of the best posts I've read in a long time.

[Caseyfan21]

The year that really made me a die-hard fan was 1999. That year was everything Reds baseball should be. Packed stadiums, wins, and fun. I'll probably never forget sitting in front of the TV all day waiting out the long, long rain delay in Milwaukee.

My friends often dog me because I would rather watch the Reds on TV than go out. I set my work schedules around the Reds TV games as much as I can. I'm hooked for life.

That rain delay was something. I remember my parents forcing me to go to bed and then sneaking a radio into bed with me to listen to see if it ever got started. I still remember the picture of Dmitri Young on the front of the DDN the next day slipping in the puddle soaked outfield.

I also take lots of crap from friends. These were the friends that would go to games with me back when the Reds were more successful that have no interest any more. Although I convinced one to go to the winter caravan and I think he's back on track and I might get him to a few games this year.

[westofyou]

That rain delay was something. I remember my parents forcing me to go to bed

Now you're just making me feel old.

[RFS62]

Now you're just making me feel old.

No kidding.

I remember sneaking a radio to listen to Waite Hoyt.

[westofyou]

No kidding.

I remember sneaking a radio to listen to Waite Hoyt.

Tell me about it, my first little league team was named the Senators.

[buckshotrod]

An absolute wonderful post and thread. I was born in 1954 and can remember being a Reds fan ever since I knew what baseball was. I was born in Hamilton. When I think of Cincinnati Reds baseball, I think of history and tradition..nothing else. Yes, I would like to see them win the Series every year. But I will attend games no matter how the season goes just to see them play and enjoy the atmosphere of the fans and game. I am so fortunate to have a wife that loves them as much as myself. She probably catches more games than I as she stays up and listens to all the west coast games, too. She has her grandma to thank for her obsession. We live in Lima and can remember a few years ago when we were at the park and the game must have been delayed several times but we stayed till the bitter end. I think we never left that park till about 2 am aprox and got home about 4. We had a great time that night.

I can remember getting pink eye at 7 years old and getting sent home from school. Boy was that a blessing..the Reds and Yanks were on tv in the World Series. Led me to fake some illnesses later on in my school life to catch the World Series when they were day games. And many a time turning the portable radio on under the covers after going to bed to catch a game. One night got to catch the tailend of a Maloney no hitter vs Houston.

Lots of great memories and I hope you young guys can look back at them 30 years from now and still enjoy them just as much as you do now.

Rambling...so I will close.

[M2]

Here's my question: I don't doubt the Reds have some savagely loyal younger fans, but do they have casual ones?

1982-84 was all the lesson I needed in how sweet the good times can be, but I wonder if the past decade has left too many would-be Reds fans obivious to event he notion of good times.

[vaticanplum]

Here's my question: I don't doubt the Reds have some savagely loyal younger fans, but do they have casual ones?

1982-84 was all the lesson I needed in how sweet the good times can be, but I wonder if the past decade has left too many would-be Reds fans obivious to event he notion of good times.

From my limited experience, I think so. Certain players are a big help with this. I have little cousins who aren't huge baseball fans and probably don't quite understand the game, but they still have "Grow with Griffey" hanging in their bedroom. They still like to go to games. Dunn is a great charmer to people otherwise unfamiliar with the Reds. (I've heard) the ballpark is nice too.

I also have some (relatively) more grown-up friends who, if I may be so self-serving, follow the team somewhat because they happen to have rabid fan-friends. This has happened to me with other teams as well. They don't really care about the Reds on a day-to-day basis, but they know when something big happens, and they're happy about it. Even people who aren't die-hard Reds fans are still pretty aware of the history of the team of they follow baseball at all.

edit: Also, I think it's important to note that the Reds are not a team that inspires hatred -- some well-deserved teasing, yes, but not hatred. That's getting rarer among teams, and it helps.

[Redlegs23]

I love this post and feel that you are explaining my life. I have a couple of years on you since I'm 22, but the '90 season isn't exactly a clear memory for me either. Basically I've always been a Reds fan, but when I moved to Cincinnati 4 years ago for college I became completely obsessed. The Reds are in my blood and my love for the Reds keeps growing stronger. I enjoyed your post, and thanks for speaking for the younger generation that hasn't gotten to enjoy as much glory as some of these geezers on here

[Shaknb8k]

I would like to say something about what Writerdan said about being in the media. One of my best friends covers WVU (West Virginia University) sports up in Morgantown. He does all the player and coach interviews for basketball and football. He is pretty much on a first name basis with all of them. I thought it was pretty awsome that he got to "hang out" with all the players that I watch on tv. He loves WVU sports about as much as I love the Reds. Just the other day i asked him...When you have to go to a basketball or football game does it ever feel like your going to work rather than a game? His answer was yes many times. Even to the extent that he has lost some of his passion for WVU sports.

From that day (which was only a few days ago) on I promised myself that the Reds would never be like that to me. Im going down a different path (criminal justice) not media relations or something like that so I probably will never have to worry about this. But I always thought he had an awsome job until I thought about this. The day will never come that I dont want to watch a Reds game or baseball game for that much.

Once I walk through the gates or flip the TV on to watch a baseball game I ,just like writerdan and many of you, will always be a kid. Thats what makes baseball great. Its not getting to know the players or getting paid to watch games and write about them. What makes baseball and Cincinnati Reds baseball great is that its a game not a job.

[Caseyfan21]

Now you're just making me feel old.

I was in 8th grade. Thinking about it makes me even feel old. 1999 really seems like just yesterday but then I step back and realize it's over 6 years ago. Not to get all off topic and sentimental, but time really does fly. I still hate Al Leiter to this day and boo him every time I see hime pitch because of that 5-0 game.