Sunday, April 20, 2008

Blue Seat Bullies

At the SI Vault, they reprint a 1989 SI article written by George Plimpton on the actions of fans sitting in the old blue seats at MSG...

"Indeed, some of the insults chanted in the blues are just awful. When the Philadelphia Flyers come to town with Ron Hextall in goal (his predecessor, Pelle Lindbergh, was killed in 1986 in a sports car crash), the chant rings down: "Buy a Porsche, Hextall, buy a Porsche!" Grant Fuhr, the Edmonton Oilers' goaltender, who is one of the few black players in the league, is urged by the blues to take up basketball. Occasionally the sallies are tasteful. One evening, during a Ranger game against Winnipeg. I heard the Jets' Laurie Boschman singled out for his unlikely first name. During a lull in the proceedings, a stentorian question drifted out of the blues: 'Hey, Laurie, what's your sister's name? Walt?'"

...this is a long article but very much worth the read.

...the "Buy a Porsche, Hextall" chant has to be the most ruthless in sports history.

...I have season tickets in the old blues and its not nearly as bad as it used to be. The fans are still tough up there, but after reading this article there's no comparison.

1 comment:

bpette02 said...

Back in the day you wouldn't have some loud, annoying broad sitting behind talking about NASCAR.