I'm sure it'll come as a surprise to Ichiro but Progressive Field, previously named Jacobs Field, was rated number one in a fan survey conducted by SI.com when it comes to the overall ballpark experience. The Rogers Centre ranked 18th.
The categories that each ballpark were graded in were affordability, food, team quality, tradition, atmosphere, fan IQ, hospitality, promotions, traffic and neighbourhood.
What I was most interested in was fan IQ and Jays fans earned a top-25 ranking in the IQ category - only beating out Texas, Washington, Tampa Bay, Arizona and Florida. To be honest, I'm surprised the ranking was that high. The supposed baseball IQ level of Jays fans has continued to take a beating when it comes to the post-game show. One fan complained about Halladay's nerve to pitch a complete game and wished his leg was broken again and another suggested that Ernie Whitt should be the team's new general manager.
Before I relocated out west, I was getting tired of the ever-increasing number of drunken, stupid fans at the ballpark. That was on full display during Opening Night and the alcohol-fueled Toonie Tuesdays.
I could go on a lengthy soliliquy on my feelings about idiot Jays fans (and I'm not certainly including the fine folks who visit this fine site) but I'll save some bandwidth. The survey is there for your perusal. Your thoughts, Bauxites?
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=2008052814151543