Balfour Rage Creator Throws Out First Pitch
.@RFWill149, creator of #BalfourRage, threw out the 1st pitch before today's #Athletics game. pic.twitter.com/TYhv7dLkBF
— Oakland Athletics (@Athletics) June 16, 2013
Thanks to the @Athletics for the 1st pitch chance. Dream has been lived. Thanks to everyone for the kind words #Athletics #Thanks
— Will MacNeil (@RFWill149) June 17, 2013
Will MacNeil, a 29-year-old A’s fan from Pleasanton, California, stood on the mound of the Coliseum before Sunday’s game against the Mariners. He took a deep breath as he looked at the sellout crowd. Fans stared at him as they held their Ragin’ Gnome of Grant Balfour, the giveaway of the day.
MacNeil thought about how the A’s had reached out to him once they had heard he had created The Rage.
A fond memory entered his mind of him starting the movement in July 2011, when Grant Balfour came into the game with Metallica’s “One” playing over the PA. MacNeil pretended he was in a mosh pit and started waving his arms in a helicopter-like movement. He then thought about how the trend started to slowly catch on and how amazing it is to now see The Rage at the ballpark at the moment Balfour enters the game.
Finally, MacNeil took one more deep breath in. Realized what an honor it was to be standing on the same mound as Balfour, hoped he wouldn’t bounce his pitch, and fortunately threw a strike to Nate Freiman. He then smiled as he walked off the mound, looking forward to more people doing the “Balfour Rage” in the future.