Not All Red Sox Fans Participated in the Standing Ovation For Adam Jones

Adam Jones got a standing ovation at Fenway Park on Tuesday night. Just spend 30 seconds on the Internet this morning and you’ll see a headline about it. There are over 51,000 Google News results for “Adam Jones Boston standing ovation,” including one from this very site.

No one will be asking for proof that people in Boston cheered for Adam Jones last night. Though, as noted during the broadcast it was a sizable percentage of fans who stood and cheered. It was not however the entire stadium. There are people sitting quietly in every image and video of the ovation.

Now, let’s not make any sweeping generalizations about the people who didn’t move. Maybe they’re just die-hard fans who refuse to cheer for an opponent. Or they were distracted by their phones. Maybe they hadn’t even heard about Jones being the target of racist taunts at Fenway the night before. Who knows.

The folks who remained in their seats or didn’t cheer could have been the people who don’t own season tickets and don’t actually live in Boston. They are the people we hear about whenever something bad happens in Boston. They just show up and ruin it for everyone. Sometimes they say mean things. Sometimes they stay quiet. When something happens Boston fans are quick to point out that it isn’t all Boston fans. Just like during the standing ovation.