Hades Tigers/Fan Culture

COMMUNITY REPORTS
The remainder of this article contains lore created collaboratively by the Blaseball community.

Never Look Back

The Hades Tigers’ slogan, “Never Look Back,” is emblematic not just of their pitching strategy, which leaves them open to second base being stolen at an alarming frequency, but a way of life. A typical Hades Tiger fan will refuse to dwell on their past failings or answer questions about historical events more than a few days old. At its most extreme, this behavior results in a complete refusal to acknowledge that the past even exists or use rear-view mirrors. Curiously, this does not prevent the Tigers from discussing team and player statistics at length, as these exist in the present moment as an observable fact.

Whether this is a religious practice, a compulsion of some sort, a forgotten curse, or simply a cultural difference is a closely-guarded secret of the Tigers.

The Historian-Wizards are the only subset of Tigers fans who regularly observe past performance, and these individuals are tasked with maintaining records and procuring statistics for the team’s fans, coaches, and management. The Historian Wizards claim that this ability stems from their spiritual and/or temporal orientation is such that these activities are, in fact, merely a different way of looking forward.

"Never look back" took on new meaning after the resurrection of Jaylen Hotdogfingers and the incinerations suffered as a consequence of it. Fans have rallied behind newcomer Usurper Violet's mission to end necromancy.

The Tiger's motto was always more aspirational than actualized. The flames of Landry's incineration did nothing to cauterize the wound to the team's psyche, left to fester in the air above Sixth Circle Stadium season after season. While our fortunes waned we could not help but chase the memory of the Tigers at our prime. Like Orpheus before, we looked back.

Between our mournful longing and facilitation of abject heresy in the resurrection of Jaylen Hotdogfingers, we had only ourselves to blame when the gates of Tartarus leaked a presence into our midst to fill the void we would not. The eternal storm flared and shifted in hue, heralding his arrival. The Usurper walks among us.

Chants

The Hades Tigers have several team and player-specific chants. Their most common chant, "MANY STRIPES / ONE TIGER" is a call-and-response, often heard when the Tigers score, showing the unity of the fans and the team, as well as the typo'd team name mentioned above. A less common team chant is "Yes, YES!" which stems from an ancient poem titled The Tiger, written by famous poet and 6 year old Nael.

Some of the iconic players on the team also have chants used by the fans when they're on the field. Whenever Landry Violence was at bat fans could always be heard chanting "Violence is the answer" or "Violence is always the answer," a play on the phrase "Violence is never the answer," which, as we all know, is completely false. "It's time for violence" could also be heard when Violence was up to bat. These chants live on to keep Violence in memory, despite his incineration.

Other player-specific chants include:

• Fish Summer: "HOT FISH SUMMER," a reference to the fact that they are hot, and also Fish Summer. Upon hitting a home run: "WHAT A CATCH!"
• Paula Turnip: "TURN UP FOR TURNIP"
• Jessica Telephone: Upon hitting a home run, a "RING" for each run scored. Sadly, Jessica was lost to the Pies in Feedback during Season 4, but we still wish her well and cheer for her.
• Peanutiel Duffy: "PERFECTLY ORDINARY [type of play]" after a hit.
• Zion Aliciakeyes: "EYES ON ZION"
• Yazmin Mason: "FEAR THE DEER"
• Moody Cookbook: "COOK THE BOOKS"/"BOOKS COOKED"
• Nagomi Meng: Upon the first out, fans cheer "GOMI", after the second out "GOMIGOMI", after the third out "GOMIGOMIGOMI". Meng has expressed gratitude to fans for this chant because she frequently forgets the number of outs that happened during the inning.
• Carmelo Plums: "PLUMBOP" after a hit. "PLUMS DEFROSTED" when they start to heat up.
• Usurper Violet: "USURP THE BASES"/"USURPATION OF [BASE]" for a base steal.
• Richmond Harrison: "GONG" on a home run.

Incineration

Up to the Season 3 championship, the Tigers were one of the few teams that had managed to avoid suffering an incineration. Due to this, fans developed a superstition, often refusing to use the word "incineration", believing that saying it will jinx the team. While this streak was ended by the tragic incineration of Landry Violence, the superstition has persisted. The most popular Tiger fan friendly alternatives are "Cursed Fire", "The Zoom", or "an invitation to Australia."

Since Landry's incineration, fans of all teams have taken to saying "Rest in Violence," often abbreviated RIV, when a player is incinerated. After the Tigers' dramatic recovery in Season 8, this phrase has morphed into a new chant: "Rise in Violence."

Team MVP

Starting from Season 4, Tigers fans vote for each season's MVP of the team through a ranked choice ballot. The election link will usually be found in the teams' Discord channel or Twitter profile.

Season 4 election results:

https://www.rankedchoices.com/season3TigersMVP

MVP: Yazmin Mason

Sunbeams Antirivalry

Fans of the Hellmouth Sunbeams have a unique relationship with the Hades Tigers that can only be described as the antithesis of a rivalry. Whenever the two teams play each other, fans cheer on the opposing team and can often be heard shouting "TIGERBEAMS!" This affinity is often attributed to the two teams having home cities located in similar environments - other teams tend to be uncomfortable in the extreme heat of the Hellmouth and Hades.