Introducing... Camp's Corner

Introducing... Camp's Corner
By Kyle Campion
9.30.08

* Editor's Note:
Kyle is a New York Mets expert and an authority on all things related to Baseball, life in New York and North Carolina, the differences between a real slice of pizza and the knock-offs that are featured as "authentic New York Pizza" in other areas. He's also a BBQ connoisseur. That in an of itself earned him a spot on the Professor's blog. Check out his introductory column:

9.30.08
First off I would like to thank Mr. Wright for the opportunity to be able to contribute to this blog and with any luck I will hopefully add to the already spectacular content.

Before I say any thoughts I would like to introduce myself to you guys. I'm Kyle Campion, a 20 year old Junior at UNC-Greensboro down in North Carolina. Just like the editor and chief I was also born in Durham, NC before I moved to New York (Brooklyn and Long Island) where I spent the majority of my childhood. Being from Long Island it's only right that I grew up a Mets fan (for those unfamiliar with New York; Long Island is unquestionably the heart of Met-land due to its proximity to Shea and it's large ex-Brooklynite population). Being a Mets fan I am obviously in a state of sadness and anger and thus I am writing this to all the haters out there bashing on my Amazins...

Here are my thoughts on the following teams and their fan-bases:


Braves: It's funny you'd think I would have more hatred for this team than any other but I truly don't because it's hard to hate a fan base that you don't take seriously. Having been to Atlanta a few times to see the Mets, I don't think I can imagine a more pathetic fan-base. Only Atlanta can claim to be the team of an entire region yet not even sell out a playoff game! That's a sick joke if you ask me. Mostly the fan base consists of UGA students with little knowledge of the game and a few rednecks who openly spew hatred on New Yorkers who usually claim a good 20% of the seats at Turner. The only positive attribute is that the females at Turner are the CREAM OF THE CROP Southern Belle types who have just enough spunk and baseball knowledge to make any New Yorker try the tomahawk chop at least once.

Florida: While I'm not sure they even have fans I will say this much about their team...they need to get their priorities in order. While I understand that it's annoying that your home games turn into away games when the Mets are in town but that doesn't mean your entire season should revolve around trying to "spoil" the Mets season (trust me the opposing team doesn't matter, the Mets would choke if they were playing the Toms River, NJ Little League team). They're team is kind of like that kid in your group of friends who can only beat one person in Madden but constantly loses to everyone else...yet he only cares about beating that one kid...really cool guys...enjoy playing in Pro-Player in front of less people than your average HS football game.

Phillies: This is an interesting bunch of people. They will openly rip on the Mets for being too "flashy" yet their roster consists of Shane Victorino, Ryan "stare at my home runs" Howard and freakin' Jimmy Rollins... hmm. They're also quick to label New York fans as being irrational, trash and obnoxious...almost as quick as they throw batteries at their own players (for the record: John Rocker was asking for it and got what he deserved). Outside of this they are actually quite similar to Mets fans except they have seen even less success than we have.

Yankees: Although not all follow the stereotype, most Yankee fans, specifically the bandwagon variety are obnoxious, rude, and quite honestly just plain aggravating. Outside of that there are many good true-blue Yankee fans who know their stuff and are actually very friendly to fellow New York fans even if they root for royal blue instead of the dark navy they rock in the Bronx.

Red Sox: Up until about 5 years ago I considered myself to be a Met-sox fan which is a rare breed of fans who hate the Yankees as much as they love their own team. But after the two championships the fan base has just gotten out of hand. Suddenly "B" hats and championship t-shirts have been as prevalent as the fake swagger that permeates throughout the UNCG male student body...it's THAT bad. Just like the Yankees the average Sox fan knows his stuff and is fiercely loyal and for that I give him props and well deserved respect. But just like any fan base they need to know their limits, and quite frankly 2 championships over a 90+ year span is (the same as my Mets I may add) is certainly not enough to justify the same elitist attitude the Patriots adopted until Justin Tuck and the Giants defense beat it outta them (pause).


Final thoughts: I know I sound biased but there's no question in my mind that the North East is EASILY the best region for baseball. In my opinion the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Cubs and White Sox (in no particular order) are the five best fan bases in baseball. I can't add Philly in there because we constantly invade their stadium and it's hard to ever add California teams into the mix when their fans are way too "cowabunga dudeeee" for my taste.