Shelley Duncan Is My Hero
And it has NOTHING to do with his on-field performance. It has to do with his team spirit. No, no… I’m not talking about the over-enthusiastic and probably somewhat painful high-fives he dishes out in the dugout after his teammates make great plays.
He’s my hero because of this:
Yes he did. When asked by this young Red Sox fan to sign an autograph in Boston, Shelley wrote “Red Sox Suck!” over his name. That is so incredibly awesome I don’t even have words. It’s awesome because it’s funny, and because MLB players rarely, if ever, really have fun joking around about The Greatest Rivalry In Sports. It’s refreshing to see an actual sense of humor about it. Not in Boston, i guess. Unfortunately for Shelley, Sox fans have had their senses of humor slowly drained from decades of perpetual disappointment. I guess it’s easier to laugh when you’re on the winning side of things.
I get it, the kid is really young1. He’s in Boston. It’s his first Red Sox-Yankees game. He wants a big-leaguer’s autograph. Poor little kid may have been really disappointed, but to be fair… it probably seemed just as funny to Duncan at the time he did it, as it does to me right now.
They’re blasting Duncan’s prank as childish, inappropriate, offensive and all that. I really do understand where that’s all coming from, but come on. Does anyone really believe that Shelley Duncan meant it in any way other than playfully? Does it even matter? Duncan may have given this young Sox fan a more valuable gift than he realizes… I don’t know about any of you, but I’d pay just about anything to have an autograph like that.
If you want a million more (mostly made-up) reasons to idolize Shelley Duncan, you have to check out this site.
1But really, not THAT young. He’s 10. Grow up kid, life is hard.
Good for him and his ever so unique autograph. My son would probably NEVER ask for the autograph of a Red Sox player being a Yankees fan. People need to get over it all ready.
[...] it become socially acceptable to completely over-react? This has been bothering me since the whole Shelly Duncan Red Sox Autograph thing. The parents of that little Sox fan were up in arms about a playful “Red Sox [...]
Where’s Your Perspective? « Miscreant Mind said this on September 27, 2007 at 9:04 am
[...] of humor and it’s not his silly grin in the NASCAR pits last Saturday… nor is it the kick-ass autograph he left in Boston last year. [...]
Shelley Please Be My Valentine « Miscreant Mind said this on February 14, 2008 at 1:09 pm