Should We Cheer or Boo Tony Gwynn Jr.?

If Padres baseball is your religion, then Tony Gwynn is God. When things go bad in our baseball life, we seek salvation by going to the house of God, Petco Park, to pray at the 10-foot high Tony Gwynn statue that is firmly planted in the stadium’s Park at the Park.

If Padres baseball is your religion, then the hated Los Angeles Dodgers represent the devil. At no time in our lives must we root for the Dodgers because that would be like cheering for the Devil. When the Dodgers come into town with their demonic fans, they will do anything on God’s green stadium to get inside our heads and try and get us to sin. We must rebuke them with our “Beat LA!” chant, our version of the Hail Mary prayer.

Sure, the Dodgers/Devil may win a ball game or two against us, and even hold an edge on the all-time series, but we always beat the Devil when it matters the most. Check the series sweep at the end of the 1996 season to win the N.L. West. We did that in hell, a.k.a Dodger Stadium. Then there was September 12, 1998, when the Padres were down 7-0 in the fifth inning, only to rally for 8 runs and beat the Dodgers 8-7 thus clinching another division title.

If Padres baseball is your religion, then you must worship the son of God, much like how Christians worship Jesus Christ. But there is one problem. The son of our God is Tony Gwynn Jr., who went the way of Lucifer by playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

If Padres baseball is your religion, then you boo every Dodgers batter who steps foot in the batter’s box. Now, as I was slouched in my Opening Day seat, Junior stepped into the batter’s box in the seventh inning as a pinch hitter. So this put me in a dilemma, does this rule apply to T. Gwynn Jr.?  Or is he an exception to the rule?

By cheering for Anthony Jr., we are going against our God by cheering for the enemy.  At the same time if we boo him, we are turning our back on our God by booing his son.

Now, I must admit I like baby Gwynn a lot. He is a solid defender, and  has some swagger. I spent my high school years idolizing him at San Diego State University, which is my alma mater. (Although, I wouldn’t go as far as to say I went to SDSU because of him.) When Gwynn Jr. played for the Padres, it made my baseball life complete. When he signed with the Dodgers as a free agent, I felt like my heart got ripped out.

As the Petco Park public address announcer named Gwynn Jr. as a pinch hitter, I noticed that half of the Padres fans were cheering him and the other half booed him loudly. As for myself, I decided to play it safe by doing neither. Instead, I sat in my seat quietly. However, I felt like playing it safe wasn’t all that safe. I feel like I should have done one or the other except I don’t know which one was the right one.

Now Padres fans, I’m asking you. Is it against our religion to cheer for Gwynn Jr? Or is he an exception and we must worship the son of God wherever he goes? Please let me know in the comment box. I just want to do what’s right!

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