# Pitting the people who are pitting the Rangers fan **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 26, 2012, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-people-who-are-pitting-the-rangers-fan/620049 "2012-04-26T19:37:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-people-who-are-pitting-the-rangers-fan/620049/101 "2012-04-28T00:01:14Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > I don’t know nuttin’ about baseball or how expensive games are. But I can see how if going to a baseball game is an “experience” to you, then presumably catching a foul ball would be like the cherry on top of that experience. If you’re a sentimental person who likes to bring back artifacts from various experiences, then that ball would mean something. Even if it just ends up sitting on a shelf. > > It’s like going to a Prince concert. If Prince were to throw his head scarf down into the crowd and I caught it, I’m not going to hand it over to Cute Little Kid who wants to be Prince when he grows up. _I_ paid $200 for the experience–Tiny Tim didn’t. I have spent 34 years waiting for the experience of touching the hem of Prince’s robes. The kid hasn’t. > > Also, I caught the scarf. No one else did. > > I really wish Prince would throw his head scarf in my direction, dammit. I had to read your post twice to figure out that he _didn’t_. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-people-who-are-pitting-the-rangers-fan/620049/102 "2012-04-28T04:58:59Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > It’s a fucking _ball_. I honestly don’t understand your investment in it. I mean, what are you going to \*do \*with it? Everyone’s all “Oh, the kid will forget all about it by the end of the day.” Well, you’re gonna go home and throw it in a closet somewhere, or maybe on a shelf, and you’re going to forget about it too. Which is fine, because once again, it’s a fucking _ball_. Then it’s also just a fucking ball for the stupid little kid. He’s going to lose it in two days anyway, so why is he more entitled to it than anyone else? ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-people-who-are-pitting-the-rangers-fan/620049/103 "2012-04-28T09:56:16Z")
> [@Ponch8](#): > > Then it’s also just a fucking ball for the stupid little kid. He’s going to lose it in two days anyway, so why is he more entitled to it than anyone else? Because he’s a child and isn’t mature enough to understand just how unimportant it is. I’m not a bible guy, but: When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. Its ok for a child to act childish because we expect them to grow out of it someday. ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-people-who-are-pitting-the-rangers-fan/620049/104 "2012-04-28T10:57:35Z")
> [@SticksAndStrings](#): > > It’s always been my opinion that just because he’s a singleton (no siblings) does NOT mean he’s allowed to act like a spoiled little brat. Christ, Objectivism has caught on hard. Working at three at a stretch, but being expected to date? ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-people-who-are-pitting-the-rangers-fan/620049/105 "2012-04-28T11:12:36Z")
Mistaken, sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-people-who-are-pitting-the-rangers-fan/620049/106 "2012-04-28T14:48:03Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > I’m not a bible guy, but: > When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. Someone quoted this line in the last foul ball Pit thread and it was just as moronic then as it is now. What’s childish is thinking that a grown-ass adult should have to give up something they earned just because someone else wants it. What is this third grade? Now Cheesey, if you didn’t bring enough candy for everybody you’re not allowed to eat candy. That’s bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-people-who-are-pitting-the-rangers-fan/620049/107 "2012-04-28T14:51:37Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > What’s childish is thinking that a grown-ass adult should have to give up something they earned just because someone else wants it. How did you ‘earn’ a foul ball that is tossed into the stands? ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-people-who-are-pitting-the-rangers-fan/620049/108 "2012-04-28T14:52:38Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > How did you ‘earn’ a foul ball that is tossed into the stands? You caught it. I believe the relevant statue is Finders vs Keepers. An adult has just as much right to that ball as anybody unless the player was throwing it to a specific person. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-people-who-are-pitting-the-rangers-fan/620049/109 "2012-04-28T14:55:33Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > You caught it. I believe the relevant statue is Finders vs Keepers. Now who sounds like they are still in the third grade… ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-people-who-are-pitting-the-rangers-fan/620049/110 "2012-04-28T15:08:47Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Now who sounds like they are still in the third grade… [It’s a classical reference.](http://www.snpp.com/episodes/5F05) ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-people-who-are-pitting-the-rangers-fan/620049/111 "2012-04-28T15:10:22Z")
Earned. That’s _hilarious_. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-people-who-are-pitting-the-rangers-fan/620049/112 "2012-04-28T15:18:41Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > I’m not a bible guy, but: > When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. You may want to dig them out again. You might get a lot of money for them from men who never quite got over childish things. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-people-who-are-pitting-the-rangers-fan/620049/113 "2012-04-28T15:31:32Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > What’s childish is thinking that a grown-ass adult should have to give up something they earned just because someone else wants it. Missed the edit window, but really the longer I think about this the funnier it becomes. You \*earned \*the foul ball that was thrown into the stands? I feel like this maybe ties into the “we” won mentality of sports fandom. Because seriously, what’s up with that? “We” won? What’s this “we” shit, kemosabe? “We” weren’t playing. “We” are not on the team. You never hear other kinds of fans do this. Nobody goes to a concert and says “We” really rocked the house." ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-people-who-are-pitting-the-rangers-fan/620049/114 "2012-04-28T16:07:17Z")
Fine, “earned” sounds stupid. I caught it. End of story. No one should be made to feel guilty because something that’s totally harmless brings them a little bit of happiness. [Or maybe I need to drag another Pit thread into this one.](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StopHavingFunGuys) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-people-who-are-pitting-the-rangers-fan/620049/115 "2012-04-28T17:39:04Z")
Personally, I’d give the kid the ball. I have no sentimental value on foul balls, but that may be because as a kid, I caught a ton of them. (Comiskey Park in the late 80s/early 90s was a ghost town for middle-of-the-week games. I once snagged five balls in back-to-back day games there. And I have no idea what happened to any of them. I think we just played ball with 'em and eventually lost them.) That said, if the adult doesn’t want to give up the ball, that’s fine with me. The kid doesn’t _deserve_ the ball in any way, and if he were my kid, I sure as hell wouldn’t be upset with the guy who decided to keep the ball. This would be a valuable teaching opportunity for the kid. I sure as hell don’t want my kid to learn that if he throws a tantrum he’ll get what he wants. (That said, I, too, am not sure the kid was crying about the ball, but rather the mass commotion surrounding the ball.) ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-people-who-are-pitting-the-rangers-fan/620049/116 "2012-04-28T21:17:21Z")
This is pretty ironic given my username, but what is the appeal to an adult of watching two different groups of men unrelated to you play with a ball? ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-people-who-are-pitting-the-rangers-fan/620049/117 "2012-04-28T21:54:05Z")
> [@gamerunknown](#): > > This is pretty ironic given my username, but what is the appeal to an adult of watching two different groups of men unrelated to you play with a ball? Go away dumbass. The time to make a “Sports are stupid, why do people like them?” joke has passed. The adults are talking now and if you can’t understand the appeal of _spectator sports_, then maybe you need to leave your house for the first time since you were four. Because that’s the only reason you shouldn’t already know the answer to your “question.” ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-people-who-are-pitting-the-rangers-fan/620049/118 "2012-04-28T22:00:20Z")
I am not a big sports fan but I can fathom why people enjoy watching sports (except basketball, those people are freaks ;))And how is that ironic? Sports fans or players never call themselves “gamers.” A gamer is much dorkier, although truth be told, D&D is about as dorky as Fantasy Football. So your user name makes me think “video-gaming geek.” **Justin\_Bailey** also has a video game name, although I out-dork myself by getting the reference. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-people-who-are-pitting-the-rangers-fan/620049/119 "2012-04-28T22:05:45Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > I am not a big sports fan but I can fathom why people enjoy watching sports (except basketball, those people are freaks ;))And how is that ironic? Sports fans or players never call themselves “gamers.” A gamer is much dorkier, although truth be told, D&D is about as dorky as Fantasy Football. So your user name makes me think “video-gaming geek.” **Justin\_Bailey** also has a video game name, although I out-dork myself by getting the reference. Exactly, to pretend that sports guys and video game guys are like Mars and Venus is shit that the world should have gotten over in 1989. ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2012, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-people-who-are-pitting-the-rangers-fan/620049/120 "2012-04-29T09:27:05Z")
The appeal of spectator sports is arbitrary intergroup discrimination. I fail to see how that’s mature. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-people-who-are-pitting-the-rangers-fan/620049.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-people-who-are-pitting-the-rangers-fan/620049.md?page=7)