EDITOR'S NOTE: After re-reading this article, I can see how this article might appear racist. Please take this entire article with the jest I intended it to have. I'm not making (or at least trying to make) any generalization of any Black people or trying to pass any judgment on any particular person or type of person. My anecdotes, although true, are not meant to be nor should they be any sort of representation of any larger whole. That being said, be rational and think about what I'm saying and tell me I'm not right.
This is not the most gangsta baseball players and a team full of Milton Bradley's and Ron Artest's. This is a rank of the most gangsta fans; which hats and teams do gangsta most root for? Anecdote: I was in a public speaking class with a prominent football wide receiver (unfortunately not the current Tampa Bay wide out Regis Benn) and he often wore a Tampa Bay Rays hat. One day we asked him to name just ONE Tampa Bay Rays player (this was less than one year after TB went to the World Series). He named us David Ortiz. Now on to the show!
5) Los Angeles Dodgers
When I first think Dodgers, I think of Yuppies in Hollywood paying WAY too much money to see a game they're not really watching. But I'm overlooking Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg in "Nuthin' But A 'G' Thang" and one of the greatest centers for hip-hop in the past 40 years- L.A. Plus, I wanna root for a team where I make a hand gesture that represents my team's logo and my city.
4) New York Yankees
I first said a big fat "NO" to putting the Yankees on this list. Not because I'm a homer Red Sox fan, but because EVERYONE is a fair whether fan and has a Yankee hat. But I thought about it more and the current King of Hip Hop, Jay-Z, loves his Yankees and there are a lot of others that follow in his footsteps. And since the beginning of rap's creation (which started in New York), rappers have rocked the "NY" cap. You don't see any rappers with a Mets hat do you?
3) Atlanta Braves
Atlanta has become the king of hip hop since Outkast first come out with "Rosa Parks" and "Bombs Over Baghdad" and the A-T-L have been rolling strong since with guys like J.D., T.I., and LUDA! The Braves are HUGE in the Dirrrrty South and everyone down therrrr's gotta rock the "A" hat and apparently not pronounce or spell their words correctly.
2) Chicago White Sox
The Cubbies are on the North Side and the ChiSox are on the South Side. And you know what's on the South Side: gangstas. Walk around my "beloved" Northern Illinois University see how many brothas wear White Sox hats. ANECDOTE: I was on a bus during my time at University of Illinois and my freshman year was the year the White Sox won the World Series. Behind me were some brothas and a sista. The sista was wearing a brand new White Sox hat and the brothas asked her to name one White Sox player. Her response: "[words I can't say because I'm white] who cares? I like the hat!" Hmmm, seems to be a theme here.
1) Washington Nationals
I was having this argument with my brother about the most gangsta teams and that sparked this blog post. He put our White Sox first, but I think the Washington Nationals take the cake. You don't seem TOO many Nats hats and fans, but when you do, you know they're a gangsta. I mean, you had to be if you were going to support the Nationals before this year. I also take the White Sox out of the #1 spot because hell, my brother and I are huge White Sox fans and sport the ChiSox gear. I know too many "non-gangstas" like myself to put Chicago #1. Although the Nats may not have quantity, they have quality.
Honorable Mentions
- Oakland A's. My brother put the A's at #3 on his list just because it's Oakland. Ice Cube recently did a 30 For 30 documentary about the merger of L.A. gangsta rap and sports. But the "sport" was mainly the Raiders, not the A's. Plus, too many nerds who live in their parents basement who read Moneyball loves the A's so I can't in good conscience put them in the top 5
- Baltimore Orioles. I'm currently watching the entire series of The Wire. Half the show follows around bad-ass cops chasing drug dealers and the other half follows around the drug organization. And all are Orioles fans. But Baltimore doesn't really scream "gangsta" does it?
The 5 Least Gangsta Teams
5) Chicago Cubs
4) Seattle Mariners
3) Houston Astros
2) Minnesota Twins
1) Milwaukee Brewers
Honorable Mentions: New York Mets, San Fransisco Giants
