Some fan went through the trouble of creating an inappropriate sign that was a to-do list of the Rays. First on the list was Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter who had his own television show for years until he was killed by a stingray in 2006 tragically. And second was the Rays winning a world series, which wasn't crossed off yet.
The team issued a statement on what happened shortly after the game. “Last night Rays mascot Raymond was handed an inappropriate sign brought to the game by a fan. Fans are welcome to bring signs into Tropicana Field provided they are not offensive. The Tampa Bay Rays regret that this particular sign was displayed in the ballpark, and we apologize for the lapse in judgment.”
Now one might ask, what the hell was the mascot thinking?! Was he trying to lose his job or did he just have an eight year-long grudge against the crocodile hunter, because this sign was offensive and pretty obvious that it was poking fun at someone's death. But RAYMOND, or whoever was inside the suit, holds up hundreds of signs a year, while also dancing around, taking pictures, and giving kids hugs. I'm sure it's gotten to the point where the mascot doesn't even look at the sign and just holds it up, because it's so hard to see inside those things and he probably never imagined it would be inappropriate. So hopefully the latter of the two reasons the sign was held up is true. But hey, maybe the crocodile hunter made a few enemies along the way and one just happened to be a mascot at a baseball game. Probably not, but one can always imagine.
