Youkilis: Stop Making It So Easy To Boo, and We'll Stop Booing.

I'm going to preface this post by saying that I don't boo Red Sox players. I might have made an exception once or twice for Julio Lugo, but I don't think I did (just don't want to be a liar in case I don't remember an episode of booing). In general, if I don't like a player and choose not to cheer for them, they get silence from me. The only time you will hear me boo at Fenway is when a player I truly dislike ON ANOTHER TEAM is playing. I also do not boo any players away from Fenway, as I find it in bad taste to go to another team's park and be obnoxious. It's like going to a friend's house for dinner, kicking your feet up on the table and belching. You just don't do it... or rather, I don't. I obviously cannot speak for everyone, as I know there are plenty of people who have no problem booing their own team. I will continue my preface by saying I don't know what Fenway sounded like at the start of the game yesterday because I was at work. I didn't see the game, and I obviously did not hear it.

That being said, I am kindly requesting that Kevin Youkilis give it a rest. He apparently was shocked that Dice was being booed yesterday (the link is to the audio of Kevin complaining). From WEEI:

“One thing that was a little shocking was before the game he got booed,”
Youkilis said. “It’s funny how he came off the field, everyone was cheering.
It’s kind of foot-in-the-mouth right there but it’s good how he responded to
that, too.”

This is not the first time Kevin has complained about the fans, and I'm pretty sure it won't be the last time. It honestly and truly annoys me, because really, as a group, we've been unbelievably supportive of the slow start of this superstar lineup. For as long as Youkilis has been a member of the Red Sox, he's gotten nothing but support from the fans and (at least from my perspective) he seems to respond to that by complaining about those people who support him. This is how it works for a lot of people, Kevin.... you play badly, we boo you. You play well, we cheer for you. Only in pro sports can someone fail miserably at their job for two weeks and have the gall to complain that people are voicing their frustrations.

Every time I start to think, "Hmm, maybe I'm being too critical of Youk," he seems to go on a rant and remind me why I don't like him. I'm not sorry that Red Sox fans are rabid and intensely competitive, Youkilis. I'm also not sorry that some of the fans choose to boo. I paid $150 dollars for three tickets to go see a game a few Saturdays ago, and you know what the Sox did? They lost miserably. MIS-ER-AB-LY. No, I didn't boo, and I still stood and cheered and supported them... but do you have any idea how long it takes me to earn $150 dollars? Pardon the fans for feeling like they're getting ripped off. It must be nice to be a whiney millionaire.

I'm done complaining about Youkilis. I think I'm also done cheering for him. He doesn't appreciate the support anyway, so why give it to him?