In the Brewers’ home opener on Monday against the Braves, Ryan Braun played his first game in the majors since July 21st. Brewers fans welcomed the 2011 NL MVP back to Miller Park with a rousing ovation, like they would for any superstar – PED suspension or no PED suspension.
For some reason, this led the denizens of the Internet to do what they do – get outraged over something that doesn’t affect them at all. HOW DARE BREWERS FANS CHEER RYAN BRAUN, DIRTY LIAR AND STEROID USER!
To that outrage, I say this – who cares?
Seriously, who really gives a damn if Brewers fans are willing to forgive and forget and get on with their season?
And furthermore, what would booing Braun accomplish? It’s not as if Braun would break down and start crying at the plate and immediately retire. The Brewers are a much better team with Braun in the lineup than they are without him. Why would the fans want to chase him away and let the team get even worse?
The attention that this situation is getting is pretty ripe, especially considering a lot of the scorn seems to be coming from Cubs and Cardinals fans. How quickly we forget Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire, I guess.
Where’s all of the hatred towards Orioles fans for giving Nelson Cruz a nice welcome to town on Opening Day, and then going bonkers when Cruz hit a go-ahead solo home run in the seventh inning? Where was all of the anger towards Bartolo Colon getting a free pass in 2013 after missing the end of the 2012 season?
If there’s any consistency here, the same fans who are chastising Brewers fans for cheering Braun will chastise Cardinals fans if they cheer Jhonny Peralta next Monday during home opener in St. Louis – but you all know that won’t happen, because double standards are the norm in this game.
If you have a grudge against Braun, whatever. But giving the Milwaukee fans crap for supporting their star player is just ridiculous, because everyone damn well knows that if what happened with Braun happened with your team’s superstar, you’d be cheering your heart out just like the Brewers fans did. It’s simply ridiculous to try to paint Milwaukee’s loyal, passionate fans with such broad strokes because they’re supporting a player. Isn’t that what the game is all about? Cheering your favorite players on your favorite team, no matter what?
Braun will hear plenty of boos this season. He’ll hear them in Boston this weekend from the same fans that cheered Manny Ramirez for years. He’ll hear them in Philadelphia next week from the same fans currently cheering Antonio Bastardo, Carlos Ruiz, and Marlon Byrd. He’ll hear them from a crowd in Pittsburgh that went ballistic for Byrd during last season playoff run and he’ll hear them from a crowd in St. Louis that enabled McGwire for years and is welcoming Peralta with open arms.
If you want to boo Braun, go to Milwaukee and do it yourself, or wait for him to come to your town and do it. Otherwise, don’t waste your time damning Brewers fans for daring to cheer their star player and their best hope at succeeding in 2014.
