Love and Hate with BSN Rockies Editor Drew Creasman

From time to time, it is healthy to put aside all emotion and deal with only measurable facts – data that can be tested, debated on clearly defined rules and used to create models that can deepen our understanding of a subject in a way that our eyes, hearts, and guts are incapable of. And sometimes, it is important to do the exact opposite.

Facts are great, and for the most part, I prefer to stick to them, but naturally that means I need a sanctuary for the most extreme “feelings” I get while covering the Colorado Rockies and Major League Baseball in general.

My name is Drew Creasman, I am the Managing Editor of BSN Rockies, and these are some things that I love and hate:

I hate when fans boo their own team or player for any reason other than a lack of effort or the occasional off-the-field issue. Simply failing to execute, especially in baseball, is not sufficient reason for your own fans to turn on you.

I love when fans cheer almost anything in unison. The “Rock Chalk” and “Goooooooooldberg” are among my favorites and I am a firm advocate for more singing in American professional sports a la European football.

I hate – HATE – the wave. In any context.

I love the Party Deck. Everyone should have one. Some places should probably have two.

Despite the fact that it has burned the Rockies more than their opposition thus far, I love the “Bridich Barrier” (the new wall in right-center field at Coors.)

But I hate that Trevor Story would have three more home runs without that stupid wall, making him maybe a shoe-in for the All-Star Game.

I love fans who cheer for bad teams for years – sometimes decades – just so that when the day comes, they can rub it in the faces of all the bandwagon fans.

I love bandwagon fans … but only when the team is good.

I hate broken-bat hits even when they benefit the Rockies or the Royals, my AL team. I just feel bad for the pitcher every time. Doing your job and being rewarded with failure is just a massive bummer.

But … I love broken-bat home runs. Almost as much as I love home runs on balls that bounced before making contact with the bat.

I hate the Yankees and the Dodgers. I try not to be tribal about sports anymore but I hate the Yankees and the Dodgers. And the Spurs, while we’re on the subject.

I love any athlete who succeeds despite a consensus that s/he couldn’t, most especially if there is something different about how they play the game that defies convention. Recent examples include Charlie Blackmon and, yes, Tim Tebow.

I hate that thinking Tim Tebow is a recent example makes me old.

I love cross-sport analogies but I hate when they are used during Play-by-Play. Quarterbacks don’t go for home runs. Come to think of it, nobody really “goes” for the home run ball. Well, except Mark Reynolds.

I hate weather delays but I love the stupid things fans do during them.

I love Coors Field and am happy to report that after spending a great deal of time there over the last few years, the magic has not worn off.

I don’t hate Dinger. I’m sorry.

I love the “Blake Street Bombers” and am generally pro-nickname. I wish “Coors Shield” hadn’t died just as it began to live.

And finally …

I hate the perspective that you aren’t allowed — as a fan, player, or media member — to have any fun while watching/playing for/covering a losing team. I hate any analogy that then compares those losing teams to regular jobs. If there were only 30 restaurants or office buildings in the world, you might have a case. But I love the pressure created by these unrealistic expectations that forces athletes to do things that we, and sometimes even they, thought were impossible.