As us nerds remember all too well from high school, the “jock clique” and the “geek clique” don’t often mix well. So, imagine what it was like the other day when the Mets (the favored team in Stately Beat Manor) arrived at their hotel in Pittsburgh to see a furry convention going on.
That led to a discussion about on the air last night between Mets broadcasters Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez. Uniwatch has the transcipt, including this gem:
Hernandez: I saw a guy with, with his pet beaver. He had his hand, he was stroking it, he was petting it. [Long pause.] I’m serious! It was a, like a stuffed animal, and he was comforting it. Very bizarre.
No word about whether Mr. Met got any action from anyone dressed like a cat.
[posted by mark coale]
Oh, come on give us some credit, the furry crowd exists well outside the “geek clique”
I’ve always said there is little difference between rabid sports fans who dress up, paint themselves in the team colors and costumes and the comics fans, who… dress up, paint themselves and wear costumes. Granted I think that leans more on NFL football fans than baseball.
As for the Furry convention… yeah, it’s a hard sell to the man on the street. But they are harmless folks.
We laugh. But when we have Mr. Met showing up late for games and reeking of stale beer because the Phillie Phanatic won’t return his phone calls…
Photo of Mets beat reporter with said beaver here:
http://deadspin.com/5306275/the-new-york-mets-have-a-furry-run+in-on-road-trip
I’ve been to a lot of cons, but that shit scares even me.
Pardon The Interruption is a daily 30-minute sports talk show. They covered the furry-versus-sports story today, with the 60-years-old guy telling the furries to stay away from him — even though none were near him. In fact, he was commenting on the story from a completely different location.
I like sports, but I’ve never painted my body, never had my shirt off during a game where the wind chill was -20 degrees, and think the incessant discussion of sports statistics is a waste of time. And I’ve never gotten drunk and into a fight with opposing fans.
Anthrocon last year had about 3400 attendees so it’s one of the largest furry conventions there is, and the first to break the 3000-attendees mark. It also brings about $3 million to the Pittsburgh economy and is among the city’s top ten largest conventions- not exactly something to sneeze at. ^_^
The baseball players were there last year, too, and just as freaked out by the “weirdos”. But the city was delighted to have them- dozens of downtown restaurants were offering specials for Anthrocon patrons, and were extremely welcoming and friendly.
But yeah, furries are just harmless fen. ^_^ I really don’t get the furry hate that goes on, since they usually tend to keep almost entirely to themselves.
I once went to an anime con in Baltimore when they played the Yankees at nearby Camden Yards. Rather hilarious to see die hard Yankee fans gawkin at all the cosplayers
Furries are okay… It’s the PTs (clown fans) that are bizarre. Geez… If two Peteys show up wearing slightly similar make-up (“smiles”) there’s a f*cking gang war. And don’t get me started on the sub-groups… whitefacers, blackfacers, harlequins, scareys, Tammy Faes… *shudder*
I’m a pretty tolerant geek… even of the embarrassing kind that make us “normal” fans blush. But clown fans? Gimme a sharpened cricket bat… I’ll make ’em laugh to death…