This Towel-Waving Thing ...

[Frayed Knot]

The towel waving that was going on in the dugout in response to big hits and especially HRs last night seems to be something that started organically with the players (maybe beginning with Bartolo's 1st hit last week?) meaning I could see it catching on with fans in short order. Ordinarily I tend to back away from that sort of thing and see it as a kind of cheesy, small-town act not worthy of New York, and especially so because it's often as a result of a marketing ploy driven by a lame front-office idea of fan unity (see: NBA arenas and their color-coordinated fan nights for instance). But the fact that this seems to be a from-the-dugout act I don't think I'm going to recoil if I suddenly see a couple thousand towels being whipped around in the stands. Now that doesn't mean this won't become a cheesy marketing ploy quickly enough via a hastily arranged towel give-away day complete with some car dealership logo on strip of cheap cloth and scoreboard directed prompts to WAVE YOUR TOWEL!!!!, ... but at least it's not starting out that way.

Of course the players still have to worry about overdoing it to the point of getting a fastball in the ribs in response, but I'll let them worry about that.

[Ceetar]

Definitely don't mind the organic stuff. It's still cheesy of course, but these guys are supposed to be entertaining us and they're certainly better at that when they're getting along and being cheery and into it. I suspect most baseball players are fairly cheesy anyway.

I'm sure it'll be a cheesy marketing ploy, and I only hope the team plays well enough the rest of the way to make it a good one. But I'm fine with that. They're going to market and pitch at us anyway, at least if it's born of something on the field it gives it a nice feel to it. Helps distinguish 2014 and make it memorable.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

It's nice to see them coming together around something, one of the things Tracky has noted this year is that the team had little spark since trading away its biggest drinker in Ike, and with vets like Grandy & Wright struggling, it wasn't any fun.

But I'm digging this new spirit and of course it began following the Marcel Ozuna Game when I was moved for the first time this year to abandon all hope.

Haven;'t lost since then and I'm driving an awesome IGT streak /whips towel

[Centerfield]

I like it too. And if they keep winning 5 of 6 they can wave around their jockstraps for all I care.

It would be great if the fans caught on, brought their own towels and it became a thing for 2014 only, so that it doesn't become played out and half-hearted later on. But you guys are right, and eventually it will become forced.

How this plays out as I see it:

*IF (big IF) the Mets play ok, the towel waving thing will catch on, and more and more fans will start bringing towels and joining in.

*At its peak, towels will be waved and it will be cool like the Boston Garden in the 80's.

*Eventually the 2014 season will end, and the towel waving should be retired along with it, but it won't.

*In 2015 there will be all sorts of promos, custom-designed towels with Nathan's logo emblazoned on it. The scoreboard will tell you to "GET OUT YOUR TOWELS AND WAVE SOME NOISE".

*Players and fans will feel compelled to participate, even though their heart is not into it. It becomes the half-hearted tomahawk chop we see in Atlanta.

*New Era will sign an exclusive towel contract with the Mets. Non-sanctioned towels will be banned from CitiField.

*CF will complain about how the idiot Wilpons managed to ruin what was once a great tradition. Fuck the Wilpons.

[MFS62]

The rally caps in the dugout started in 1986. If this results in winning a World Series, I'm all for it.
Just please, no monkeys.

Later

[Guest themetfairy]

As always, CF gets it right.

[Frayed Knot]

If this were a longer home stand I could see this catching on by the weekend.
My fear is that, with a lengthy road trip starting tomorrow and the ASB not far away, it'll give the front office time to prepare a gimmick around it before it ever gets a chance to succeed or fail on its own and then it WILL seem all forced and artificial.

[seawolf17]

We're so jaded, we ANTICIPATE the Mets screwing things up.

[Guest d'Kong76]

I don't care if they wave their straps so long as the
PA never blares, EV-RIE-BAH-DEE wave your towels
tshhh tshhh tshhh thshhh thshhh thshhh.

Eventually it will become un-sportsmanlike and bush
league because it's the Mets. BUT! It's all cool, manly
and lunchpaileee when it's stuff like this:



Whatever.

[Edgy MD]

If we have all the success arc --- plus a few more championships --- that has ultimately resulted in the half-hearted tomahawk chop, I'll sign up as fast as my Faustian lawyer can draw up that contract.

When things become tired, we can be the force that pushes for something new. And I'll be you my "Who Let the Dogs Out?" CD single that tired won't seem all that tired if the team is winning. But the team organically finding a means to generate esprit d'corps? And the possibility that the equally (more?) demoralized fan base might jump on board? I'd suck the gas out of Matt Harvey's Escalade to get some of that juice.

Lunchbucket wrote: But I'm digging this new spirit and of course it began following the Marcel Ozuna Game when I was moved for the first time this year to abandon all hope.

I recall that the exact words were "I can't believe I'm waving the white flag on June 20." So, it's even more thrilling that this whole movement is a big symbolic/ironic/sarcastic FU to JC Lunchbucket. The Mets hate that guy. You show him, Mets!

[metirish]

I like it, a bit of fun.....anticipating it irking the apposing team soon.

[Ceetar]

metirish wrote: I like it, a bit of fun.....anticipating it irking the apposing team soon.

Oh, I hope so.

[Vic Sage]

i don't think it will irk anybody, or at least it shouldn't... it's a ritual the players engage in while in their own dugout, not out on the field. It's not directed at anybody but themselves. It's got nothing to do with the other team, or with the fans for that matter. It's not like Grandy jumps up on the dugout roof waiving his towel to exhort the fans, while shaking his ass at the other team's dugout indicating they should kiss it. It's not even like hitting a HR and then cadillac-ing around the bases, which a pitcher may feel is a public slight aimed at him.

If a player comes into the dugout after a good play and high fives everybody, or fist bumps, or chest bumps, or engages in some ritualized dance/handshake with some of his teammates, i've never heard of the other team feeling like they have to retaliate, like they're being shown up or something. They know its not about them, and their team does it too, so everybody just moves along. Why should towel waving be treated differently?

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

"It just makes me a little sad. I remember when people used to wave their towels without being told specifically to wave their towels. Christ, our fans deserve this crap."

-Me, late 2015

Edgy MD wrote: I recall that the exact words were "I can't believe I'm waving the white flag on June 20." So, it's even more thrilling that this whole movement is a big symbolic/ironic/sarcastic FU to JC Lunchbucket. The Mets hate that guy. You show him, Mets!

Between this and the Dickster, they sorta generally do, don't they?

Stop hopin', ya big dummy, and start sarcastifyin'!

[Frayed Knot]

seawolf17 wrote: We're so jaded, we ANTICIPATE the Mets screwing things up.

When it comes to sports marketing in general and the Mets in particular, yes, I expect well-intentioned though ultimately clumsy attempts at instructing the fans exactly when and how to be spontaneous with a unique routine which they wholly appropriated from somewhere else.

it's a ritual the players engage in while in their own dugout, not out on the field. It's not directed at anybody but themselves. It's got nothing to do with the other team, or with the fans for that matter.

And these in-dugout routines--different variations on similar themes mostly--seem to be increasingly common these days in the various stadiums throughout MLB, so it's not like this particular one by the Mets (assuming this becomes an ongoing deal) is going to stick out or should piss opponents off to any degree.

[Guest d'Kong76]

It's leaked onto the field already. Granderson was all giddy
last night waving his imaginary towel at least fifteen feet
from the dugout steps. Just sayin'.

[Centerfield]

My two cents for what it's worth, if a team is dancing around and having fun amongst themselves I don't see anything wrong with it. If that pisses off the other team, then so be it. As long as they are not taunting the other team, what do they care? Baseball could benefit from a bunch of sticks being removed from up people's asses.

***Thread Hijack Alert***

Things I think are ok in baseball.

1. Towel waving, funny handshakes, dancing to celebrate good plays.
2. Home Run trots. I realize if you leave it unchecked, it can go to the extreme like those ridiculous TD rituals in the NFL, but whatever. They're fun. I loved Rickey's HR trot. And sure, it can piss off a pitcher, but they can retaliate with...
3. Elaborate Strikeout Celebrations. Next time you strike out that asshole mimic his HR trot around the mound. Pound your chest. Point to God. If he really pissed you off, mimic the whole at bat including adjusting the velcro on your non-existent batting gloves.
4. Not stealing, bunting,taking the extra base with a big lead. It's dumb. Play hard at all times. Unless you are up by a lot. But if they catch up a little, then play hard again, until your lead is big enough, and then stop playing hard again. Play hard. All the time. Fuck the other team.
5. Bunting to break up a no-hitter. If your team is down and you need runs, it's a good baseball play. No-hitters are supposed to be hard. Guard against the bunt.

[Guest d'Kong76]

That's not hijacking! It's elaborating!

[Guest Mets � Willets Point]

I wonder whatever happened to my Mets fandini?

[Frayed Knot]

Centerfield wrote: Things I think are ok in baseball. 4. Not stealing, bunting,taking the extra base with a big lead. It's dumb. Play hard at all times. Unless you are up by a lot. But if they catch up a little, then play hard again, until your lead is big enough, and then stop playing hard again. Play hard. All the time. Fuck the other team.

I always liked it when the manager of a running team would say that his guys would stop running with a big lead just as soon as his power-laden opponents promised to stop trying to hit HRs.

[seawolf17]

Centerfield wrote: My two cents for what it's worth, if a team is dancing around and having fun amongst themselves I don't see anything wrong with it. If that pisses off the other team, then so be it. As long as they are not taunting the other team, what do they care? Baseball could benefit from a bunch of sticks being removed from up people's asses. ***Thread Hijack Alert*** Things I think are ok in baseball. 1. Towel waving, funny handshakes, dancing to celebrate good plays. 2. Home Run trots. I realize if you leave it unchecked, it can go to the extreme like those ridiculous TD rituals in the NFL, but whatever. They're fun. I loved Rickey's HR trot. And sure, it can piss off a pitcher, but they can retaliate with... 3. Elaborate Strikeout Celebrations. Next time you strike out that asshole mimic his HR trot around the mound. Pound your chest. Point to God. If he really pissed you off, mimic the whole at bat including adjusting the velcro on your non-existent batting gloves. 4. Not stealing, bunting,taking the extra base with a big lead. It's dumb. Play hard at all times. Unless you are up by a lot. But if they catch up a little, then play hard again, until your lead is big enough, and then stop playing hard again. Play hard. All the time. Fuck the other team. 5. Bunting to break up a no-hitter. If your team is down and you need runs, it's a good baseball play. No-hitters are supposed to be hard. Guard against the bunt.

Fuck yes, I agree with all of this. I hate the whole "act like you've been there before" bullshit.

[Vic Sage]

CF is, as almost always, correct. You know how i know? Because he agrees with me.

[Centerfield]

Think about the rationale behind pitchers "policing" admiring your HR.

That opposing player is admiring his HR instead of putting his head down and running around the bases. I find this behavior disrespectful. He is, after all, a professional. He should conduct himself in a professional manner. During his next at-bat, I will let him know I feel this way by throwing a baseball at his ear. This is, as we all know, the generally accepted manner in which I should make my feelings known.

[ashie62]

The towel waving reminds me of the start of the pie in the face trend...

Other than that.. 'If it makes you happy"...

[Ceetar]

Centerfield wrote: Think about the rationale behind pitchers "policing" admiring your HR. That opposing player is admiring his HR instead of putting his head down and running around the bases. I find this behavior disrespectful. He is, after all, a professional. He should conduct himself in a professional manner. During his next at-bat, I will let him know I feel this way by throwing a baseball at his ear. This is, as we all know, the generally accepted manner in which I should make my feelings known.

Also the "I'm already giving up runs, so clearly I should allow more free baserunners" bit. Who's disrespecting the game more, the guy showing emotion or the guy purposely hurting his team's chance to win?

[Guest Mets Guy in Michigan]

Does this towel thing mean I can pull this bad boy out?

[Vic Sage]

oh, man, i have me one of those somewhere. But i used it as a handkerchief once, when i had a cold, and it was never the same again.

[MFS62]

Vic Sage wrote: oh, man, i have me one of those somewhere. But i used it as a handkerchief once, when i had a cold, and it was never the same again.

K-choo?

Later

[seawolf17]

Doc, Sid, Ronnie, Aguilera?

[stevejrogers]

seawolf17 wrote: Doc, Sid, Ronnie, Aguilera?

Cone instead of Aguie.

Its from 1988, Met's answer to the Twins' Homer Hanky from the year before.