There are a lot of things out there that I don’t believe in when it comes to sports. First off, I don’t believe that being “clutch” is a real thing. There are athletes who won’t perform in the key situations or will crumble, but by looking at the numbers, no one raises their performance in the situations.
Then there’s being injury plagued. It’s a label given to an athlete who seems to always be hurt. Think Matt Forte or Darren McFadden. Is this athlete really destined to get injured or are they just a coincidence? To me, no athlete is destined to get hurt. They all work out and those who suffer injuries work even harder to prevent them. It just happens.
And then there is the impact that the fans can make. I’ve always believed that home field can help the team and that they get fired up by the fans, but I’ve never actually believed that the fans can make a difference. The athletes are conditioned to focus on the task at hand; not on the fans cheering their home team on.
On Tuesday night, at PNC Park, I was proved wrong….at least for one night.
The blackout at PNC Park for the first Pirates playoff game since 1992 was once of the loudest, most intense atmospheres that I’ve ever seen. Forty minutes before the game started, the fans were cheering the Pirates who were simply warming up. John Buck — yes, that John Buck — received a huge ovation when his name was announced.
But the real impact came in the second inning. In sports — usually in hockey — fans will chant the last name of the other team’s goalie. In the upper tier of left field, fans started chanting the last name of Reds pitcher Johnny Cueto.
“Cueeeeetooooo, Cueeeeetooooo.”
It was ringing throughout the ballpark and throughout the televisions around the world. At first, no one thought much of it. Cueto surrendered a home run to Marlon Byrd. But still, no real impact from the chants.
However, when Russell Martin stepped to the dish, the chants were louder than ever. Cueto stepped off the rubber in preparation for Martin’s at bat. Cueto shuffled the ball around and all of the sudden, he dropped it. Yes, Cueto dropped the ball on the ground and the crowd erupted.
After exchanging quick smiles at each other, Cueto stepped back on the rubber and delivered the pitch to Martin.
Martin put the pitch over the left field fence to put the Pirates up 2-0.
It’s not a trend that I’ll buy into, but at least for one night, the fans impacted the game.
Well done, Pirates fans.
