CubaManiac
11-03-2003, 02:27 AM
cut & paste
sun sentinel
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No. 1 fan reigns as the king of baseball
Vanessa Bauza
November 2, 2003
HAVANA · Havana's Latin American Stadium, home to the city's dueling
baseball teams, seats about 40,000 screaming fans. But only one boasts a
permanent place in the second seat of the seventh row between third base and
home: Armando Torres Torres, Cuba's most famous fan.
In a nation where arguing over innings and pitches, fly balls and grand
slams is a sport in itself, Torres Torres has built his life around being a
baseball buff.
In more than 30 years he has missed only a handful of games at the stadium,
a track record that in 1998 earned him a bronze plaque on his stadium seat.
Fiercely loyal to the city's Industriales baseball team, he has rattled more
than a few rival pitchers' nerves in his long career as an aficionado.
With a sharp tongue, silver whistle tied around his neck and vocal chords
that just won't quit, he is Havana's go-to man for cheers and jeers. "I have
a potent voice, you can even hear it in center field," he says with obvious
relish. "Many people, and doctors, are amazed that I can yell for nine
innings and not lose my voice. God gave me that gift."
His repertoire includes standing on his team's dugout -- security guards
make an exception for him -- with a worn broom as though he were sweeping
away the visiting team, leading the crowd in a roaring countdown from 10 to
1 as though in a boxing match or coaxing thousands into a wave. Local TV
cameras often capture his antics, making him a colorful personality known
across the island. A yellowed envelope he has filled with dozens of
newspaper clippings and photos from as far back as the 1970s attests to his
stamina.
When the Industriales travel to rural provinces outside the city, Torres
Torres often gets to ride on the players' bus. In 1999, when Cuba's baseball
team played the Baltimore Orioles in Camden Yards the Cuban government
invited Torres Torres to attend the game as part of a carefully selected
delegation.
Last week, while the Florida Marlins trampled the New York Yankees for the
World Series title, Torres Torres cheered the Cuban team to a 4-2 victory
over Panama in the Baseball World Cup. Sorry, Florida fans: Torres Torres is
a staunch Yankees fan.
With a slight build and thick black-rimmed glasses, the 63-year-old dry
cleaner, known simply as Armandito "el Tintorero," looks as if he might be
more at home in a library than leading a sea of rowdy fans. He says a
childhood spent at an orphanage for boys where sports education was
emphasized instilled in him an appreciation for a wide range of games,
especially soccer, cycling, volleyball and boxing. He never married and
lives with his disabled younger brother.
Torres Torres clocks in at a large dry cleaning factory several blocks from
his home at 7 a.m. every day, as he has since 1970. These days he shuffles a
little from task to task, sorting bundles of shirts and pants between the
noisy industrial washers and steam irons. After lunch, when his shift ends,
Torres Torres often negotiates inefficient buses to attend up to two
sporting events back to back.
Co-workers marvel at his staying power.
"He's on his feet all day in this steam and he still goes to the games,"
said Manuel Menendez, who has worked on and off with Torres Torres for
decades. "Sometimes he asks us for a quarter to take the bus."
"He moves thousands of people just by standing up," said Jesus Peñalver.
"He's the soul of the stadium."
Torres Torres says he's just doing what he loves.
"When my team wins I feel like the president of the republic," he says. "Why
should I stop now?
Vanessa Bauzá can be reached at vmbauza1@yahoo.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/cuba/sfl-abauza02nov02,0,1070608.column?coll=sfla-news-cuba
sun sentinel
----------------------
No. 1 fan reigns as the king of baseball
Vanessa Bauza
November 2, 2003
HAVANA · Havana's Latin American Stadium, home to the city's dueling
baseball teams, seats about 40,000 screaming fans. But only one boasts a
permanent place in the second seat of the seventh row between third base and
home: Armando Torres Torres, Cuba's most famous fan.
In a nation where arguing over innings and pitches, fly balls and grand
slams is a sport in itself, Torres Torres has built his life around being a
baseball buff.
In more than 30 years he has missed only a handful of games at the stadium,
a track record that in 1998 earned him a bronze plaque on his stadium seat.
Fiercely loyal to the city's Industriales baseball team, he has rattled more
than a few rival pitchers' nerves in his long career as an aficionado.
With a sharp tongue, silver whistle tied around his neck and vocal chords
that just won't quit, he is Havana's go-to man for cheers and jeers. "I have
a potent voice, you can even hear it in center field," he says with obvious
relish. "Many people, and doctors, are amazed that I can yell for nine
innings and not lose my voice. God gave me that gift."
His repertoire includes standing on his team's dugout -- security guards
make an exception for him -- with a worn broom as though he were sweeping
away the visiting team, leading the crowd in a roaring countdown from 10 to
1 as though in a boxing match or coaxing thousands into a wave. Local TV
cameras often capture his antics, making him a colorful personality known
across the island. A yellowed envelope he has filled with dozens of
newspaper clippings and photos from as far back as the 1970s attests to his
stamina.
When the Industriales travel to rural provinces outside the city, Torres
Torres often gets to ride on the players' bus. In 1999, when Cuba's baseball
team played the Baltimore Orioles in Camden Yards the Cuban government
invited Torres Torres to attend the game as part of a carefully selected
delegation.
Last week, while the Florida Marlins trampled the New York Yankees for the
World Series title, Torres Torres cheered the Cuban team to a 4-2 victory
over Panama in the Baseball World Cup. Sorry, Florida fans: Torres Torres is
a staunch Yankees fan.
With a slight build and thick black-rimmed glasses, the 63-year-old dry
cleaner, known simply as Armandito "el Tintorero," looks as if he might be
more at home in a library than leading a sea of rowdy fans. He says a
childhood spent at an orphanage for boys where sports education was
emphasized instilled in him an appreciation for a wide range of games,
especially soccer, cycling, volleyball and boxing. He never married and
lives with his disabled younger brother.
Torres Torres clocks in at a large dry cleaning factory several blocks from
his home at 7 a.m. every day, as he has since 1970. These days he shuffles a
little from task to task, sorting bundles of shirts and pants between the
noisy industrial washers and steam irons. After lunch, when his shift ends,
Torres Torres often negotiates inefficient buses to attend up to two
sporting events back to back.
Co-workers marvel at his staying power.
"He's on his feet all day in this steam and he still goes to the games,"
said Manuel Menendez, who has worked on and off with Torres Torres for
decades. "Sometimes he asks us for a quarter to take the bus."
"He moves thousands of people just by standing up," said Jesus Peñalver.
"He's the soul of the stadium."
Torres Torres says he's just doing what he loves.
"When my team wins I feel like the president of the republic," he says. "Why
should I stop now?
Vanessa Bauzá can be reached at vmbauza1@yahoo.com
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/cuba/sfl-abauza02nov02,0,1070608.column?coll=sfla-news-cuba