Is there such a thing as cheering too loudly at a baseball game? Evidently one Cubs fan thinks so, and is picking on an 11-year-old girl to make his point.
Natalie Adorno has become well-known for her enthusiasm during Cubs games, leading Section 527 with cheers of "Let's Go Cubbies!" According to Natalie's father, stadium and team staffers, Cubs players and even owner Tom Ricketts know her by name.
This kid would seem to typify the spirit of going to a ballgame. "Root, root, root for the home team," as the famous song goes. But one grumpy fan who sits in the same section apparently doesn't share the same enthusiasm and would like Natalie to keep it down. If she was standing on his lawn, he'd probably tell her to get off that too.
Apparently, the man felt so strongly about it that he complained to Natalie about her loud cheers. No, he didn't approach the girl or preferably, her father in the stands at Wrigley Field. He voiced his protest on Twitter. He tweeted at an 11-year-old girl to scold her. Really. Welcome to 2013.
"Not all of us fans appreciate your constant yelling at the games, "tweeted @COACH511. "Please stop, it's annoying."
All of @COACH511's tweets have since been deleted, but you can see the post in question at both @SuperFanNatalie and the @Section527 account that's been created.
As you might expect, Natalie's father, Carlos, stepped in to defend his daughter. The curmudgeon backpedaled and claimed that it wasn't so much the cheering that bothered him. It was that the girl got out of her seat and into the walkway during the seventh and eighth innings when the Cubs were losing. (So this was probably happening a lot.) The team felt a need to respond, citing safety issues, but Carlos says officials were apologetic about it, not wanting to crush the excitement of a young fan.
Look, I'm sure plenty of us would be annoyed if a child was constantly making noise and prompting people to cheer while we're trying to watch a ballgame. Perhaps even more so when the home team is losing. However, Wrigley Field is not a theater. If you want to watch a game quietly, stay at home.
Maybe little Natalie was harshing @COACH511's mellow up there in Section 527. However, when so many of us are worried about getting young people interested in baseball, maybe it's not the best idea to try and crush the spirit of a fan who clearly cares about her Cubs and just wants others to share her enthusiasm.
Carlos Adorno says he's upset enough over this to consider canceling his season tickets. The team should step in, make sure it doesn't lose a devoted fan and maybe move Natalie and her father to a different section. And maybe issue @COACH511 a cane and pants that he can pull all the way up to his chest.
