I really don't like the Atlanta Braves, but that was not always the case. In 1995, when the Braves had gone from perennial losers to winning the World Series, I was captivated like the rest of the upstate of South Carolina. Back then, Greenville was home to the AA Greenville Braves, and a slew of big names that went on to win the World Series came through Greenville and played here either on their way up to the major league or playing here "on assignment". We had the right to be just as invested as people who lived in Atlanta. There was a problem that I never quite got past, however and that was the Braves use of native American stereotypes and imagery.
I have no problem with the name "Braves". Unlike the Washington NFL teams former mascot, it's not based on a physical characteristic that was used as a racial epithet. It's a positive attribute. The logo of a tomahawk and the terribly racist "tomahawk chop" gets under my skin however as a person who is sensitive to those issues. They are based on a 50's Hollywood stereotype of Native Americans as warlike which is not accurate. So I was rooting heavily for the Dodgers. It has been 1988 since they won it and they have a reputation as being a very pro LGBT organization. "Outsports.com" even tweeted their support and how they hold special regard for the Dodgers pro LGBT efforts. But a longtime friend of mine who I originally met on their message boards reminded me of an issue he takes with the famous (or is he infamous?) former manager Tommy Lasorda.
Tommy Lasorda, Jr. was the flamboyant son of the former Dodgers manager. While it is well documented that the younger Lasorda frequented gay establishments and died of AIDS, Tommy Lasorda continuously and vehemently denies those facts.. It's something my friend cannot look past and he has convinced me to do the same. I will be happy if the Dodgers finally do win one, but I have reasons to root for the Rays.
Like the Dodgers, the Rays have an excellent record of being supportive of the LGBT community. An article I read online seems to support that, but as it was written by the Tampa Bay Tribune (I think that's the main newspaper in Tampa) it should be taken with a grain of salt. Other sources seem to back that up including the aforementioned Outsports.com however.
I do have some negatives about Tampa Bay, but little of it is to do with the Rays. Several years ago the Lightning, who I'm sad to say won the Stanley Cup this year, tried to prevent fans of the opposing hockey team from wearing their teams colors or jerseys. I thought that was poor sportsmanship. I also didn't like former FSU quarterback Jameis Winston, or as I call him "Ignoramus Jameis". Tom Brady is the QB of the Buccaneers now and my opinion of his soured after he went all trumpy. I do continue to like Rob Gronkowski however. There's also the fact that the Rays are teasing fans in Montreal by saying they want to play half their season there.
Then there's the fact that the Tampa Bay Rays are in the AL East. When former Gamecock Jackie Bradley, Jr. was first called up to the main roster, I went on Facebook and declared myself a Red Sox fan after years of not paying much attention to MLB. We also now have the Single A Red Sox affiliate Greenville Drive who play at Fluor Field, a miniature version of Fenway Park. I love going to games there, both Drive games and the college games they host. The weird thing is though, unlike a typical Red Sox fan, I don't hate the Yankees.
Former Gamecock pitcher Jordan Montgomery spent a year recovering from surgery and is now back on the Yankees roster, even helping them win in his last outing. He only pitched 4 innings so he didn't get the official win, but he was crucial. I also like the Yankees Single A affiliate the Charleston Riverdogs who are the only minor league team in the Palmetto state to host a "Pride" night. In fact they were doing so long before the New York Yankees were doing it. I also didn't grow up in Boston so I don't have that life-long hatred for the Yankees built up.
I also have reasons to like the Baltimore Orioles. A high school classmate of mine, who currently lives in DC with his husband spent many years in Baltimore and even wrote for the Baltimore Sun and he is a die-hard Orioles fan. I'm really quite proud of his even though we weren't in many classes together in high school and didn't hang in the same circles. He is a Georgia graduate but his family are Clemson fans and I often tease him about how I will root for Georgia when they play Clemson but he won't return the favor and pull for the Gamecocks when we play the Tigers.
As for the Toronto Blue Jays, former Gamecock Justin Smoak was with them until recently and I began following them. Also as a liberal living in the dirty, dirty south; I tend to root for Canadian teams anyway. Canada also has a beautiful national anthem, whereas as ours is more "chest thumping" as a Canadian friend on Facebook put it.
Which brings us back to the Tampa Bay Rays, who I believe have the 29th (of 30) (Edit: it's 28th) lowest salary of any MLB team going against one of the highest. The Dodgers also stole Mookie Betts from my Red Sox and you see what happened to them they didn't make the playoffs in the easiest year to make them with a ridiculous 16 teams in. Part of me is very happy we have the 2 best teams at the end, and not a bunch of Wild Card teams.
So there are my reasons for my changing from rooting for the Dodgers to now rooting for the Rays. As I said, I won't be sad if the Dodgers win, quite the opposite, but my loyalty is to the AL East this World Series.
