LOS ANGELES—OK, it’s quite fair to point out that the Dodgers’ fans are not the most savvy ones out there. They miss a lot of the nuance of the game, which lends much to the reputation as not quite as knowledgeable as they ought to be. But give them credit where it is due—they were quite loud last night for Game 1 of the NLCS.
Part of that has to do with the fact that the PA system is pumped up way past 11. Out on the field it sounds just bounce all over the joint. There’s a lot of cinder block-like concrete in Dodger Stadium that just doesn’t absorb the sound well. In that sense, it’s kind of like old Shea Stadium.
Dodger Stadium is nothing like Shea, though. For one thing they have those damn beach balls bouncing all over the place here. Even though it’s a tight, 1-0 game heading into the middle innings, fans are just happily batting a ball and clapping along with the pre-programmed sound affects blasted through the PA.
Yet another reason Dodgers fans are not taken seriously.
It will be interesting to see what happens with Dodger fans when Vin Scully retires from broadcasting after the 2010 season. After all, it is not farfetched to think that a lot of people are baseball fans simply because they like listening to ol’ Vin do the games. Heck, I’ll even admit that I subscribed to the MLB package on Comcast simply to be able to get the Dodgers broadcasts and hear Vin spin his yarns and tell stories about the game and the players.
In the official ranking of sports announcers, Vin Scully was rated as the best of all-time. However, to me it just doesn’t seem good enough. Sure, Vin announces baseball games and I’m sure if asked he’ll humbly say it isn’t anything more than that. But I disagree. Vin behind the microphone is like a concert pianist at the keyboard, a great painter with a brush in hand, or a great writer typing away at a laptop.
The guy is truly an artist.
He’s also the link between the real Dodgers of Brooklyn and the Los Angeles version that came about in 1958. More than anyone, Vin Scully is the Dodgers. Like Harry Kalas in Philadelphia, there are very few people who have heard baseball without Vin describing the action.
Let’s see if those fans stick around when he retires.