"Joining in on the fun is simple: Go to the section where the party is happening, take off your shirt and start twirling it above your head. Soccer-like chants or singing usually follow injecting a jolt of energy for a sport that is occasionally chided for its lack of energy inside the stadium. After getting it's start in St. Louis last Friday, it has spread across the league to places like Detroit, Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, Seattle and Anaheim, California."
"Chad Bitzer who has been coming to Mariners games for about 13 years was among the shirtless fans in Seattle. His reasoning was simple: "Cause everyone else was taking it off. Why not?" "It's fresh. It's a beautiful night. Take it off," Bitzer said. "Great Northwest night. We live for the summers. We live for the good weather.""
"Ground zero for the shirtless outbreak was in St. Louis last Friday, when a club baseball team affiliated with Stephen F. Austin State University was in Alton, Illinois, for the National Club Baseball Division II World Series. The Cardinals offered tickets to the team, and 17 players attended. That group started the fun, dozens of others joined and suddenly their were a couple hundred fans creating a ruckus in right field that helped propel the Cardinals to a 5-4 victory in 11 innings over the Kansas City Royals."
"Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol loved the energy so much that he bought tickets for the shirtless revelers for Saturday's game and they returned. "It's hard not to have fun when the fans are like that," Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn said on Friday. "We've got the best fans in the world, but it seems like the younger generation makes it more like a college atmosphere.""
“Tarps Off” is a new, loud, goofy fan trend at MLB ballparks where mostly young men remove their shirts and twirl them above their heads. Soccer-like chants or singing often follow, adding energy to a sport sometimes criticized for low in-stadium intensity. The trend began in St. Louis and spread to cities including Detroit, Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Anaheim. A Mariners fan joined because others were doing it and because the weather made it feel fresh. The Cardinals’ club team connection helped spark the outbreak, leading to hundreds of shirtless fans in right field during a 5-4, 11-inning win. Cardinals players praised the atmosphere as more like college energy.
Read at www.npr.org
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