Reds Announcer Calls Cubs Fans "Obnoxious"...

Following a Cardinal loss to the Giants today, you might need something to cheer you up. Reds announcer Marty Brennaman to the rescue!

Alright, to set this story up, you should first check out this audio of Brennaman from a recent Reds/Cubs game at Wrigley in which Brennaman takes Cubs fans to task after they launched a bunch of baseballs onto the field following a Reds home run.

That, by itself, is classic. But it gets better. Brennaman later took the opportunity, when questioned by Chicago media, to stand behind his comments about the Cub fans. Then Brennaman poured salt in the wounds by proclaiming Cardinal fans the best in baseball. From a Chicago Tribune article by Ed Sherman:

In an interview with Tom Waddle and Marc Silverman on WMVP-AM 1000, the veteran Cincinnati Reds announcer said he has no regrets about calling the Cubs fans "obnoxious" Wednesday after watching them throw several balls onto the field.

"If they can't understand what happened Wednesday night was completely over the top, then I'm sorry," Brennaman said. "I said how tough it is to root for the Cubs. I think a lot of people feel the same way I do, but they won't articulate it. I'm not afraid to say what I think."

Later on, Brennaman said, "[Compared to Cubs fans] Cardinals fans are hands down the best in baseball. They respect the game. They don't go to the game to do stupid stuff. …

So when do you think Brennaman will be invited to Wrigley to sing "Take Me Out To The Ballgame?

Anyway, hope it cheered you up. Redbirds go for the series win tomorrow afternoon at Busch.

Postscript 4/20/08: It's been a tough week for Brennaman. In the first inning of yesterday's game vs. the Brewers, Reds announcer Brennaman announced that a thrown pitch was a "ball," to which Reds' color-guy and former Cardinal Jeff Brantley objected that it was actually called a "strike." Brennaman took umbrage to being corrected by Brantley and admonished him on the air, then promptly left the booth. The argument was played on XM this morning, but I've yet to find the audio clip on the interweb.

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Remember that article from Yahoo! Sports baseball writer Jeff Passan that bashed the Cardinals at the start of the season? If not, I wrote about it here and here and here (I know...that's a lot of blogging on one article, but I was pissed). Anyway, it appears thousands of Cardinal fans read the Passan article and sent nasty emails to this guy, so Passan responds here. He still pisses me off.