Massachusetts stand-up comics and die-hard Red Sox fans Andy Wasif and Rick D’Elia kept the jokes coming and discussed elements of their book, How to Talk to a Yankee Fan, at the Boston University Barnes ‘ Noble last night despite a small turnout.
“Thank you chairs for coming out this evening,” D’Elia joked from the podium looking out at the three audience members, one cameraman and one Barnes ‘ Noble event coordinator.
Wasif and D’Elia’s book, written as a textbook, is a guide for Red Sox fans on how to talk to Yankees fans, if they must.
“What does your average Yankee fan get on an IQ test? Drool,” D’Elia read from the book.
The book includes a foreword by former Red Sox pitcher Billy “Spaceman” Lee, facts, diagrams, evolutionary charts and personal anecdotes dealing with what they consider the “evil” Yankee fan.
“In order to talk to a Yankees Fan, you must first think like one, asking yourself three questions: Does my opinion make sense? Am I taking other people into consideration? Am I thinking in a fair and balanced manner?” Wasif said.
Barnes ‘ Noble Author Events Coordinator Jeanne Haight, who planned the event in July, said she was disappointed with the event’s turnout, although she was not surprised because of Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle’s tragic death Wednesday.
“Fenway … the Sox … it’s huge … we’ll give it a shot,” she said.
Lidle and his flight instructor were killed when they crashed into a 42-story building on Manhattan’s Upper East Side on Wednesday.
“I think there was a low turnout because of yesterday’s events,” lifetime Red Sox fan Karen Brown, who read about the event in the Improper Bostonian, said.
Wasif and D’Elia, although disappointed, said they have dealt with smaller crowds as stand-up comics. They met in 1998 through a mutual friend at a comedy competition in San Francisco and kept in touch over the years. They watched the entire 2004 Red Sox season together.
In March 2005, approximately 28 books about the Red Sox victory came out, but How to Talk to a Yankee Fan was still in manuscript form. The comics spent eight months writing the book after funneling through baseball-fan questionnaires and responses to their Craigslist.com advertisements. In July, 6,500 copies of How to Talk to a Yankee Fan were published.
Wasif and D’Elia are expecting an updated edition with a new cover within the next few months. Under their company, Dirty Water LLC, Wasif and D’Elia will be filming a television show, Sox Fan University.