Baseball fans in Tampa Bay are dumb

Don't be upset with me. I'm not saying that. Fans of Sports Illustrated are saying that. Sports Illustrated has come out with Major League Baseball ballpark rankings, based on results from a fan poll. Check it out here. Overall, the Rays and Tropicana Field come in 24th out of 30 teams/stadiums. (I'll get to the dumb part in a second.)

The way it worked was like this: Sports Illustrated took 10 categories and ranked the teams and stadiums 1 through 30 in each category. Then they added up all the numbers and the lower your number, the higher you finished on the list. Here's how the Rays ranked in the top categories:

Affordability (4th)
Food (16th)
Team quality (22nd)
Tradition (29th)
Atmosphere (28th)
Fan IQ (28th)
Hospitality (20th)
Promotions (15th)
Traffic (11th)
Neighborhood (22nd)

Cleveland's Progressive Field finished first overall, followed by Milwaukee's Miller Park and Pittsburgh's PNC Park.

Oh yeah, back to the dumb thing. The Rays' Fan IQ was 28th. In the poll, 76 percent of those voting rated the "baseball intelligence'' at the Trop either "average,'' "below average'' or "poor.'' Tampa Bay finished ahead of only Florida and Arizona.

Comments

[John]

I am born and raised in Tampa and I hate to say it but I agree. People hear are generally do not have high sports I.Q.s. They do not understand the sport of baseball but even more so the buisness of baseball.

[Paul]

I dont know if I would use the word dumb, but I would say Unmotivated and lazy. I was a die hards Mets fan but since moving down to FL now follow the Rays. I dont know what you have to do to get the fans to cheer for their home team. The whole series you could hear "Lets go RedSox" but not once could I hear "Lets go Rays" Sure fans applaud when somthing exciting happens, but as far as motivating there team, you have a better chance of getting hit by lightning. Come on folks get behind the Rays.

[DIZ]

I can't speak for younger generations. I'm 53 years old. I don't care where in the USA you were born. Every guy my age grew up in the 60's playing sandlot baseball every (and I mean EVERY) day. We knew everything about our favorite teams and players. SI doesn't know s**t if it says that we are either ignorant about baseball or otherwise don't know anything about our RAYS.

[Mike]

The best Baseball and Football players in the World come from Florida, Texas and California. It's not about baseball knowledge it’s about not giving a $hit. I didn’t see that category on the SI poll..I live in Orlando and have seen 5 home games already. I give a $hit. It's the non natives that retire to St Pete that are the ones not supporting the team. Go to a game then jump on 275 North and tell me where the fans come from. That’s right East of St Pete. I say move the Rays and give the old people exactly what they want.. Peace and Quiet. It's cool someone will pick up the rest of the lease payments to bring an up and coming team to their city. Rays move in 5 years or less.

[Jason]

We were at the Rays game Saturday when Aki hit the game winning Home run and believe me the Rays fans were cheering,and yes there were a lot of Red Sox's fans chanting "Lets Go Red Sox's" but there were also a lot of Rays fans chanting back "Go Home Red Soxs". I would like to thank all the Red Sox's fans for pouring money into our local economy while watching your team get swept!

[Bryan]

Paul you said it best. I was raised outside of Boston and grew up rooting for the Sox, Braves, Celtics, Bruins, and Patriots. I have since lived all over the country. Even after witnessing many champion teams from the Boston area during my impressionable formative years, every time I relocated to another area of the country I took up the banner of my new hometown team. While I'd like to be supporting a winning organization rather than a losing one, I feel I owe it to my "chosen" community to support the local franchises. I have been a seasonal resident of Florida since 1946 and a permanant resident since 1958 and I still don't understand why people who willingly relocate here, feel somehow obligated to support teams they voluntarily left behind. Could it be that the grass is really always greener, not on the other side of the fence, but instead right where they were? You tell me.

[Ron]

It think SI is right. Tampa is the only place in the world where you will find someone wearing a Bucs jersey with a Yankees hat on. In addition to that, Tampa has a mayor who wears Yankees shirts and has said that the NY Yankees are Tampa's team and not the Rays. Can't get any dumber than that.

[jeff]

True story:
I don't know if this is dumb - maybe stupid - but there was a guy wearing a Red Sox jersey over a Ray's (Crawford) jersey at El Cap!? That has to have something to say about IQ? I hope they sent him home for truth serum.

[Jake]

I attended a game last week, and My friends and I were clapping and cheering for the Rays and these old guys sitting in front of us moved because they said they were just trying to watch the game. I was shocked that even the Rays fans won't get up and cheer.

Of course we ended up moving out to RF where it seemed more of the real fans were sitting and enjoyed the rest of the game.

[Sal]

I'm shocked that the Diamondbacks and Marlins don't support their teams with the 3 championships behind them. I know for a fact that if the Rays had at least one World Championship ring the whole area would pull behind them. Look at the Lightning's attendance and Tampa Bay isn't even a traditional hockey town. Tampa Bay is a baseball town even more so then a football town with all the rich baseball history and players that have come from here.

[Steve]

Hey, here's a thought....maybe the level of ignorance associated with Rays fans has to do with the number of Red S"u"x, Yankmee and Oriole fans that seem to turn out when their team is in town....that bunch could drive the IQ at Harvard down by a hundred points!! But, hey, thanks for the cash and keep visiting our area...those northern legs could use some sun...

[John S]

My favorite was while watching the Rays and Sox game on TV over the weekend, the camera zooms in on a young couple wearing home jerseys. They look straight in the camera and cheer "GO DEVIL RAYS!" I sure hope they get a letter from Andrew. LOL

[Phil J.]

Sports Illustrated can call us dumb all they want to and yes we fans seem to have a very "whatever" attitude about our teams but when you look at the histories of all of our teams you have to cut us some slack. I grew up in the Tampa area and have been a fan of the Bucs, Rays, Lightning, and Storm from their beginnings. With the Bucs we had Hugh Culverhouse, the biggest tightwad in NFL history. The team sucked for as long as he owned it and it wasn't until the Glazers took over and spent some money that the team started winning. With the Lightning we never saw the first owners, the next one was a joke and until Davidson bought it we sucked. With the Rays...Vince Naimoli, the man with all the charm of a briar patch, need I say more? When the Rays continuously kick the Red Sox and Yankees butts and start winning the division you will see more Rays fans. I don't care if they play at Tropicana Field, the new "sailboat dome", or the local sandlot. When these teams start giving us something to watch like the Bucs winning the Super Bowl, The Lightning and the Stanley Cup and the Rays recently you will see Tampa Bay fans crawl out of the woodwork!

[Mike]

No, just our sportswriters

[Donald Lance]

Simply put, who really cares? SI has become more of a tabloid than a sports mag. I used to subscribe to it back in the 80's(Sid Finch was a great article by George Plimton), but now I can't even open the cover of one. This mag actually panders to the dumbing down theory. Their mag now has more pics than words and opinions than facts. It wouldn't surprise me to find a coloring page enclosed within it. And they want to call another organization dumb?

[Murf]

I was at the games over the weekend and was surprised to see all the young people wearing Red Sox gear. These are not transplants from the north. They are band wagon jumpers that want to cling to a winning team. Things will change once this Rays team continues to emerge. I have been a die hard Rays fan from day one and the sweep of the Red Sox were the most exciting games I have been at. You gotta believe!

[Tim]

Who is dumber, the Tampa fans that are sick of teams buying World Series or those lemmings in cities like NY, Boston and St Louis that really think this sport is even worth cheering for. The equity is this sport is ridiculous. You are seeing in NY today what happens when your high dollar players become hurt and you actually have to compete with other teams on a level playing field. When does football season start again?

[Riverview Rays Fan]

In fairness to SI, that poll was based on responses by people in each team's home city. Thus, those that commented on Tropicana Field were supposed to live in the Tampa Bay area. So, it is not that SI called Tampa Bay fans dumb. Tampa Bay fans called themselves dumb. And, judging by the other comments already posted here, it seems that really is the consensus.

[Jim]

I moved here from Philly, a city with the biggest losing tradition of all. I still support the Phils, and always will, but I've also rooted for the Rays for 3 years now, basically because I can empathize (and since they never play each other). Now that they're starting to get good, people will start jumping on the bandwagon and say they were "lifelong Rays fans", even if the Trop hasn't been filled with Rays fans since March 31, 1998. People like winners, especially around here, but they shun losers, even more so here than other parts of the country. So, I can understand the need to rank Tampa Bay near the bottom of the IQ listings. When they start winning, though, they'll know a lot, but they remain disinterested until they become fans. Just the way it is around here.

[SI's right]

"I know for a fact that if the Rays had at least one World Championship ring the whole area would pull behind them. Look at the Lightning's attendance and Tampa Bay isn't even a traditional hockey town."

That's because this town is filled with bandwagon whiners. No one dared to speak out against the Sox and Yanks but as soon as some of the young talent comes around and a lot of experts pick the Rays to be on the rise, heeeeere they come out of the woodwork! So what if those teams have a boatload of titles and make the playoffs every year, it's time to throw around unsubstantiated smack! - these are the RAYS! That little weekend sweep was nice but cmon, isnt it a little pathetic that these people act like they just won the Series when it was just a three game set? That's why no one outside of Tampa takes these "fans" seriously.

If they ever win a title, everyone will come because that's just how Tampa is - it's a city full of ignorant bandwagon jumpers. As for the Lightning attendance, its CRAP because the team stunk this year. It's easy to wonder why people follow teams when they move away because the fans here have no concept of loyalty whatsoever.

Not a Sox fan (another fanbase plagued by bandwagoners). Not a Yanks fan (a generally good fanbase ruined by a dirty few and the infamous jealousy of outsiders). Just a resident of good ol' Bandwagon Bay and I call it like it is.

[New Yoricans Everywhere]

hey mang, i cheer for yankee and bucs for last few years until giants win super bowl this year

i jus don like when peeple ask me tough question like who is quarterback for giants!