Define Natitude

[spidernat]

Reverse the roles and this would be applauded as an awesome FU to whoever made the comment. 

[KnorrForYourMoney]

And what morons are proud of being called out as phonies?

It's hilariously pathetic.  It's like if the Nats walked around in shirts that said "Lowly Nationals."

[LostYudite]

It's hilariously pathetic.  It's like if the Nats walked around in shirts that said "Lowly NATINALS."

FTFY.

And, actually, it would be kind of awesome, I think, if the Nats showed up in Philly, up 10 games, with a shirt that said "Lowly NATINALS" and "Are better than U" on the back.

I'm looking forward to the coming beanball war.  Can't wait to watch Stras plunk somebody, preferably Hamels.

[Tyler Durden]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/post/peter-gammons-on-the-nats-fans-in-fenway/2012/06/13/gJQAkGYWaV_blog.html

Peter Gammons on the Natitude on display in Boston.  Good stuff.  Well done anyone who made the trip.

[madj55]

Word.

[PowerBoater69]

[spidernat]

[CALSGR8]

I was just going to post that!

[JCA-CrystalCity]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/post/peter-gammons-on-the-nats-fans-in-fenway/2012/06/13/gJQAkGYWaV_blog.html

Peter Gammons on the Natitude on display in Boston.  Good stuff.  Well done anyone who made the trip.

It's funny.  I was out of web and tv range most of the weekend at my nephew's wedding in the hills above Lake Sonoma.  I drove up with some really knowledgeable die hard boston sports fans.  One guy is a comedian and writer who works for a national network on some of their sports shows.  All he wanted to know is how amazing Harper is.  More about the throws, steals, power, etc...  Others at the wedding were also interested in the Nats.  They did not know the Mr. Walkoff when I wore the long sleeve tee, but otherwise there was a lot of interest.   

I did sit down and watch a bit of direct TV sunday morning as folks were leaving and saw Espinosa's leadoff double.  My brother had to remind me that I should not be pulling for these guys when they are playing the Sox.   

[PowerBoater69]

'Down in Front!': A Few Pointers for Baseball's Worst Fans
Steve Tuttle | Jun 16, 2012
Washingtonians are dead last in ballpark etiquette. Here's how they can improve.

That old joke about Washington being "first in war, first in peace, and last in the American League," doesn't work these days, and not just because the Nationals don't play in the American League. (Come to think of it, it doesn't work on the war and peace parts either.) That's because the Washington Nationals have started off the 2012 baseball season on a tear, leading the division even with major injuries to their starting left fielder, right fielder, closer, and three of their four Venezuelan catchers. They've overcome the bad luck because the pitching staff is the best in the league, and Bryce Harper, the 19-year-old phenom, flies around the field like Pete Rose and swings the bat like Mickey Mantle. He's a revelation: Paul Bunyan with a dash of Bamm-Bamm Rubble. He's done the impossible in cynical Washington: exceeded expectations, just as pitcher Stephen Strasburg did before him.

That's the good news. The bad news is we Washingtonians are dead last in baseball fan etiquette. I don't know if that's because all of this success has brought an infestation of new fans to the park who have no idea how to watch a game, or that we don't really have a baseball tradition in this town after losing two teams, or if I'm just getting older and more get-off-my-lawny. But one thing I do know for sure: I go to about half the home games and I miss a lot of the action because people are standing up way too much during play. Like that guy two sections over—why is he suddenly standing during an at-bat? And why did that woman five rows down choose bases-loaded-two-outs as the perfect time to get out of her seat to submit to her jones for Dippin' Dots, "the ice cream of the future?" I'm not even sure many of the new fans are aware a game is going on.

There's not much I can do about it when I'm at the game other than yell "Down in front!" And I doubt the Nationals' brass would go for my idea of distributing tasers to season-ticket holders. I feel a bit like Montgomery Burns when he famously said, "This anonymous clan of slack-jawed troglodytes has cost me the election, and yet if I were to have them killed, I would be the one to go to jail." So I'm left with my soapbox, and it is here where I can reach the audience that I most covet: the one that is sitting down.
Let's start with some basics. There are nine innings in a regulation baseball game. Between every half inning there is a short break while the players change from hitting to fielding. That makes 17 times—at least—when you have a natural moment to get up out of your seat. Of course, it's fine to stand up if Bryce Harper steals home or Ian Desmond crushes another home run, or during the seventh-inning stretch, the salute to veterans, the National Anthem, or when Teddy loses the presidents' race. But that doesn't seem to be enough for stand-happy Washingtonians who don't respect the basic truth that getting up or returning to your seat while the ball is in play is the worst thing you can do at a baseball game, short of throwing up on little kids on purpose or hurling batteries at outfielders, like they do in Philadelphia. (Actual headline: "Man Vomited on Girl, Father at Phillies Game.")

If you get up during play at a Caps hockey game, the fans threaten to do things to you that are both unnatural and I believe—after much thought—physically impossible. That is as it should be. Even those Philly fans I loathe so much wouldn't stand for that behavior. They literally wouldn't stand for it, and they wouldn't let you do it, either.

You also shouldn't stand up when you buy a hot dog or a beer from the vendor. Remain seated and pass the money down the aisle and your change will magically make its way back down the row to you. Nats Park is the only place in Washington where your money gets passed along and nobody takes a cut. Decide on your tip before you send the money down instead of making us all do two passes. Better yet, if you're buying two eight-dollar Miller Lites, you've already proven that you don't value a dollar, so give him the whole twenty. And if the beer man is standing in front of you yelling over and over, "Coors and Coors Light!" don't ask him if he has any Blue Moon. Because he has Coors and Coors Light. That's why he keeps yelling it. (He also doesn't have an orange slice.)

Instead of posting "Make Some Noise" on the scoreboard to tell patrons when to cheer, the Nats should tell them when to sit down. My favorite usher, Martha, does her best, but when she politely asks people to wait until the play is over to make their way down the row, she gets puzzled glares from a lot of the ticket holders. Sadly, the words "entitled" and "Washingtonian" go together like Roger Clemens and denial. People walk around in their bubbles, completely oblivious to the other 40,000 people trying to watch the game.

Now that we've effectively dealt with the standing problem, I have six more questions for you to answer. They will not only make you a better fan but a better American. It will also make attending a baseball game a more pleasant experience for the rest of us. But mostly for me.

1) Are you doing the wave?

You should never do the wave when the other team is batting, or when your team is batting, or any other time. Don't do the wave, not only because you might knock over my eight-dollar beer but also because you'll block my view during play, and it's idiotic. Recently, fans on Twitter were rightfully upset about the Nats crowd doing the wave, and posts were sent with the hashtag #STILLLEARNING. Other Twitterers were bragging about the wave circling the stadium "10 times." Be part of the solution.

2) Are you leaving early?

On one hand, I like this because if you are leaving before the last out you are probably also a stander, but it's still wrong. Unless your house is on fire and there is still a chance you can put it out, stay until the end. I was at a 5-5 game on a recent weekend when an entire family got up in the late innings and left. Two of the boys—to their credit—naged and moaned about it, but the dad said in a low but sadly recognizable tone for dads everywhere: "But your mom wants to leave." That happened. Right in front of me. What a horrible, horrible example he set for his children, who now think it's okay to leave tied baseball games early. The good news is about an inning later the dad and two of the boys—sans mom—came back and sheepishly sat down again. Pyrrhic victory, thy name is that guy.

3) Are you a grown man wearing a baseball glove to a professional baseball game?

During a recent game, Bryce Harper threw a ball near where I was sitting. I jumped up to catch it. The ball glanced off the tip of my finger and went behind me. If I had been wearing a glove, the ball would be mine. But at what cost? At. What. Cost.

(Also, if I catch a ball, I'm not giving it to your kid. He can catch his own damn ball. I learned my lesson once when I caught a t-shirt, gave it to the boy in front of me, and his little brother cried because he didn't get one, too.)

4) Do you have your two-year-old with you?

You will not have fun. More importantly, I will not have fun if you sit anywhere near me. I watch these families come and go, and it's just a big misery party—arrive in the third inning, leave in the sixth. I know, because I used to do it. Mom and dad have dropped $300 just to claim five chairs that they never sit in. Then they spend at least $20 each to eat and get drinks, and then leave early. Your $400 would be better spent buying a giant screen TV at Walmart, staying home, and standing up whenever you want. Or mom and dad could spend $200 on the world's best babysitter and go to the game and actually enjoy it.

5) Are you talking on your cell phone?

Stop it. If you want to talk to someone you know is in another section, send a text and meet them on the spacious concourse. Don't stand up and wave at them while you're on the phone. Act like you've been here before.

6) Are you from Philadelphia?

I'm not saying the Philly fans are coarse and abrasive and crass, but when thousands of the Jerky Boys descended on D.C. last year, a bunch of them had a burping contest in the row behind me, and the winner was a woman wearing a Chase Utley jersey.

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you probably think I'm the uptight Puritan who is concerned that somewhere someone is having a good time. Well, that is false, because I am a Presbyterian.

They say the hardest thing to do in all of sportsdom is to hit a baseball with a bat, but in Washington sometimes the hardest thing to do is see the feat from the stands. So sit down during play, turn off your phone, tip the beer guys generously, and pay attention to the drama unfolding in front of you on that big green field where all the people are running around. If you do, you'll find that baseball rewards your close attention more than any other sport. And I might not have to take those anger management classes after all.

[HalfSmokes]

I watched an Os fan get peed on in a bathroom at Fenway, when were there complain about etiquette

[PowerBoater69]

The guys blocking my view on Friday were wearing Yankees gear so standing up during the game isn't limited to Nats fans, although the complaining about it seems to be more prevalent than actual transgressions.  The dumbest thing about this column are when the dude calls DC fans the worst but then twice references Philly fans as being worse.  The second dumbest is the Simpsons quote, that show is more stale than a Nats Park hot dog bun.

[tomterp]

The guys blocking my view on Friday were wearing Yankees gear so standing up during the game isn't limited to Nats fans, although the complaining about it seems to be more prevalent than actual transgressions.  The dumbest thing about this column are when the dude calls DC fans the worst but then twice references Philly fans as being worse.  The second dumbest is the Simpsons quote, that show is more stale than a Nats Park hot dog bun.

He was being funny, but he was pretty on the mark.  And Martha is an excellent usher too (Larry's mom).

[PowerBoater69]

He was being funny, but he was pretty on the mark.  And Martha is an excellent usher too (Larry's mom).

Trying to be funny maybe, but he fell short, dull stuff if that was an attempt at humor.  As far as being on the mark, he hit a few easy targets and missed others.

1)  The Wave, sure every purist hates the Wave, it's old and lame.  I've seen it at Nats Park at less than half the games I've attended and it is usually short lived.  It's not like out park is the only remaining place where it exists so I'm calling this one a miss.

2) Leaving early, also not unique to Nats Park.  Last Friday I left some great seats in the top of the ninth to beat the crowd.  It was packed, I had an early morning thing going on with my kid, and I had no faith in the Nats offense.  The three hour plus games are getting ridiculous.  If he's got a problem with me ditching out, screw him.  Miss

3)  Bringing a glove is a problem?  He's just mad because he couldn't catch a ball even with the glove.  I haven't brought mine but I think that it is smart.  I've seen some people freak their hand up trying to catch the ball bare handed.  Miss

4)  If he gets his panties in a bunch because I bring my kids to the games then tough titty.  We sit in the cheap seats and try not to bother people, but ball games are a place to be loud and my kids love going even though they are still learning the game.  Dude is looking for the opera.  Miss

5)  There is no problem with cell phones at Nats Park, period, that is a made up complaint.  I've attended over a hundred games there and can't remember being bothered by someone on the phone a single time.  It would be nice if the music wasn't so loud between innings so that people could make a quick call if necessary, a couple years back I had to wait until the game had started to call my Dad to tell him where we were.  Miss

6)  Once again, why bring up Philly fans in a column complaining about Nats fans.  The column was long enough, why include points that had no direct relation to his core argument?  Another miss.

[The Chief]

Not that I disagree with your take on it, but if it's such a stupid piece, why did you post it?

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

 

touche

[PowerBoater69]

Not that I disagree with your take on it, but if it's such a stupid piece, why did you post it?

Because I'm disagreeable by nature and with the team winning I'm scrambling to find things to complain about.  Plus I thought that in the era of Natitude that a column ripping into Nats fans would be of interest to others.

[HalfSmokes]

4) Do you have your two-year-old with you?

You will not have fun. More importantly, I will not have fun if you sit anywhere near me. I watch these families come and go, and it's just a big misery party—arrive in the third inning, leave in the sixth. I know, because I used to do it. Mom and dad have dropped $300 just to claim five chairs that they never sit in. Then they spend at least $20 each to eat and get drinks, and then leave early. Your $400 would be better spent buying a giant screen TV at Walmart, staying home, and standing up whenever you want. Or mom and dad could spend $200 on the world's best babysitter and go to the game and actually enjoy it.

remember, baseball isn't about building memories and traditions with your children, it's about yuppies enjoying entertainment in an aseptic environment, buy a tv and plop your kids in front of it. Really, seeing as how all his complaints centered on people enjoying themselves, perhaps he'd be better off with the tv

[MarquisDeSade]

remember, baseball isn't about building memories and traditions with your children, it's about yuppies enjoying entertainment in an aseptic environment, buy a tv and plop your kids in front of it. Really, seeing as how all his complaints centered on people enjoying themselves, perhaps he'd be better off with the tv

While I agree with you for the most part, I do wonder what the utility is of a family of four coming to the game only to spend 3/4 of the time they're there getting up and down to shove more fat ass food down their gullets and to buy crap.  On the flipside, there was a gentleman and his son sitting in front of us yesterday that exemplified what bonding over baseball is about.  While the kid didn't seem all too interested (he may have been SN) it was nice to see a father and son taking in the game without it being some marathon of glutton and jumping in and out of seats. 

[mitlen]

remember, baseball isn't about building memories and traditions with your children, it's about yuppies enjoying entertainment in an aseptic environment, buy a tv and plop your kids in front of it. Really, seeing as how all his complaints centered on people enjoying themselves, perhaps he'd be better off with the tv

This is coincides with one of my mantras relating to motorcycle riding  ..  "If you want all the comforts of home, stay there."   It's like folks who go to the pool and nag 'cause a bunch of crazy young'uns accidentally splash them    Ballgames are a great place for kids  ...  even those of us on the north side of 60.    Watching the kids enjoy themselves can be as entertaining as the game on occasion.  Nothing like cotton candy spread through the hair to get a grin from me.

[HalfSmokes]

While I agree with you for the most part, I do wonder what the utility is of a family of four coming to the game only to spend 3/4 of the time they're there getting up and down to shove more fat ass food down their gullets and to buy crap.  On the flipside, there was a gentleman and his son sitting in front of us yesterday that exemplified what bonding over baseball is about.  While the kid didn't seem all too interested (he may have been SN) it was nice to see a father and son taking in the game without it being some marathon of glutton and jumping in and out of seats. 

if it takes keeping my daughter continually ingesting crappy ice cream out of miniature helmets to have a positive associate with going to a game, then so be it, that habit will eventually drop and hopefully she'll still like going to games

[MarquisDeSade]

if it takes keeping my daughter continually ingesting crappy ice cream out of miniature helmets to have a positive associate with going to a game, then so be it, that habit will eventually drop and hopefully she'll still like going to games

We'll just have to agree to disagree.  A lot of what I see are ugly, fat Americans getting uglier and fatter and not paying any attention to the game or respect to the crowds.  I suppose that's the breaks of living in a absentee parenting, drown their attention in fatty foods America.

[HalfSmokes]

If your kids moves enough, a few hours of eating crap wont hurt (same for the parents)

[Kevrock]

At Nats Park you can take food in with you. Not sure why anyone drops serious coin and time at a game to get crappy ballpark food.

[MarquisDeSade]

At Nats Park you can take food in with you. Not sure why anyone drops serious coin and time at a game to get crappy ballpark food.

I'm reminded every game I go to why I'm happy I no longer drink.  Paying $8 for American piss is insane and g-d help those clowns that buy $15 Whiskey shots or wine(!).