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Guillen knocked the Toronto faithful for heckling Rios and then added a general swipe at the fanbase, according to the Chicago Tribune.

"We need people in the ballpark just to come out and boo Alex the next four days," Guillen told the Tribune. "Please, we haven't seen many fans here the last three or four years. Come out just to boo him."

I know this guy likes the sound of his own voice but it's getting old, he always has something to bitch about. I personally don't agree with booing Rios (whats the point) but fans have the right to jeer whoever they want.

It does bring up the interesting question of why every opening day is always a sell out and everyone is a jays fan and then a couple of days later the place is empty and the casual fan doesn't care anymore. I am sure this happens everywhere to a certain degree but it seems to be more acute in Toronto.

http://www.tsn.ca/mlb/story/?id=317882

Its acute because this team has sucked for years. Hes right. This city is rocking when we have a half decent team.

darth_federer wrote:Its acute because this team has sucked for years. Hes right. This city is rocking when we have a half decent team.

I realize why average attendance is down but it still doesnt explain why all these people come out for opening day and then never again. 45,000 to 20,000 is a ridiculas drop.

Attonitus wrote:

darth_federer wrote:Its acute because this team has sucked for years. Hes right. This city is rocking when we have a half decent team.

I realize why average attendance is down but it still doesnt explain why all these people come out for opening day and then never again. 45,000 to 20,000 is a ridiculas drop.

Many of the people at Opening Day aren't true baseball fans that watch every game. They are there because it's trendy.

Randle McMurphy wrote:

Attonitus wrote:

darth_federer wrote:Its acute because this team has sucked for years. Hes right. This city is rocking when we have a half decent team.

I realize why average attendance is down but it still doesnt explain why all these people come out for opening day and then never again. 45,000 to 20,000 is a ridiculas drop.

Many of the people at Opening Day aren't true baseball fans that watch every game. They are there because it's trendy.

Trendy and symbolic. Most people go to opening day as a symbol of their support of baseball and the team. Consider that the MLB season is 2x as long as the NHL and NBA respectively, most casual fans aren't going to shell out for 81 home games. They'll come out to opening day, wait until the weather warms up and catch a few "premium" games and possible some afternoon games in hot June and July.

EDIT: For these trendy, casual fans, baseball is about the summer experience as it is support of the team. Having the dome open, with 3/4 sunny and 1/4 shaded, the clear sky, the smell of the overpriced food and the home team wearing black (CAN ANYONE EXPLAIN TO ME WHY THE **** WE WEAR BLACK ON A HOT SUMMER DAY IN JUNE?) is what these people come for.

I wouldn't generally have a problem with booing if the crowd was loud for all other parts of the game. The thing that bothers me about Toronto crowds is that most of the time they just sit there quietly and only show some energy when they have to boo. They should use some of that energy to cheer on their team more often.

rkid wrote:I wouldn't generally have a problem with booing if the crowd was loud for all other parts of the game. The thing that bothers me about Toronto crowds is that most of the time they just sit there quietly and only show some energy when they have to boo. They should use some of that energy to cheer on their team more often.

perhaps, they need something worthy of cheering for

Attonitus wrote:

darth_federer wrote:Its acute because this team has sucked for years. Hes right. This city is rocking when we have a half decent team.

I realize why average attendance is down but it still doesnt explain why all these people come out for opening day and then never again. 45,000 to 20,000 is a ridiculas drop.

It was more like 12,000.

This guy doesn't stop. From tuesday night :

Guillen, however, knocked the Blue Jays' fans for booing Rios with no extra emotion.

"If they're going to boo the guy, boo him with some enthusiasm," Guillen said. "Don't boo just to boo. Horse(bleep) fans."

SharoneWright wrote:This guy doesn't stop. From tuesday night :

Guillen, however, knocked the Blue Jays' fans for booing Rios with no extra emotion.

"If they're going to boo the guy, boo him with some enthusiasm," Guillen said. "Don't boo just to boo. Horse(bleep) fans."

I was coming into this thread to say that Guillen is right to defend his player, but he crosses the line when he starts to swear at us. I'm not just saying this because I'm a Jays fan, but the league should fine him for that. There's no excuse for swearing at the fans.

Back to my original point though, I think the fans have a right to boo and that Guillen has a right to (civilly) stand up for his player.

youngLion wrote:Back to my original point though, I think the fans have a right to boo and that Guillen has a right to (civilly) stand up for his player.

totally agree. Guillen should be slapped with a fine for his choice of words in his criticism of jays fans.

I am one of those fans that followed every game from 1984 through 1994. The sale of Labatts to Interbrew is what damaged this franchise. Labatts understood that the team was a marketing instrument for beer, but they also understood integrity. Once interbrew took over the focus on winning was gone. That's when I was lost. I have tried to come back from time to time, but without Labatts direction the team was just wallowing in mediocrity.

Now to the present. Rogers is definitely a better owner than Interbrew, but what they don't understand, that Labatts did, is the integrity of the team and the game. The building is the Skydome. Call it the Rogers Skydome if you wish but it is the Skydome. Yankee Stadium is Yankee Stadium. History matters, especially if you want to get back the fans from the glory years. Another point is that the quality of the TV product affects the number of fans in the seats. People who live more than 2 hours form the game, as I do, need to develop a relationship with the team to encourage them to turn up the 10 games a year. In the glory years there was 50 to 100 busses in the parking lot every game. These are out of towners who developed a relationship with the team through television. So what is my point? What is the difference between the TV product today that turns off fans. Simply - advertising. I am not watching a baseball game tonight, I am watching a MR.SUB HOME HARDWARE, MACKNZIE INVESTMENTS EXPEDIA, PIZZA PIZZA, CASINO RAMA ETC ETC ECT commercial with grown men chasing a ball in the foreground.

The Bluejays have sold out. I rarely watch a game anymore where I don't tire of the ads and turn the channel. When I turn the channel, I don't develop a relationship with the team. When I don't develop a relationship with the team I don't drive the 2 plus hours (one way) to come to 10 games a year. I am certain I'm not the only one.

It's not fun to go to a game anymore. You can't even heckle or cheer loudly without an usher telling you to be quiet because some old lady in the section thinks people are cheering too loud. I've been told that the ushers are trained to tell people to be quiet if someone complains, but they should also use their own judgment to determine what is unruly and what isn't. This is why they can't draw flies, the fan experience is awful.