I think it was my brother and his friends that came up with the “fan score” for rating the people that sit around you at a sporting event. It is a simple system where standing and cheering when Schilling has 2 strikes on a batter with 2 outs in an inning is a plus, and wearing a pink red sox hat and referencing Fever Pitch is a minus. Yah, it’s a little arrogant, but fun all the same. That being said, Bill Simmons had a great run down of the eight responsibilities that a fan has during a baseball game. I thought this was well said, and it reminded me of the “fan score”.

You only have eight responsibilities during a baseball game: Take your hat off for the National Anthem; don’t take your shirt off; don’t bring your baseball glove if you’re over 13; don’t wear a jersey with your own name on it; don’t run onto the field; don’t reach into the field of play to grab a pop-up or ground ball if it could adversely affect your team; don’t boo one of your own players unless it’s absolutely warranted; and don’t throw up. That’s it. Everything else is up to you.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, reading a book from 20th row center court seats at a Celtics game…yah, thats hall of fame bad fandom. Not to mention that these people showed up 8 minutes into the first quarter, and left 2 minutes into the 4th quarter when Paul Peirce and Carmelo Anthony were participating in a Bird/Wilkins like back and forth in a tight game.

Be a good fan.