Luigi and Ishmael, two committed Padres fans

I try to be a good Padres fan.  I go to about 30 games a year.  I listen to the games on the radio when I'm stuck in traffic.  I have the games on TV in the background when I'm at home.  I even occasionally blog on the subject.  But I am in no way a diehard fan, especially when compared to Luigi and Ishmael.  They're more diehard than John McClane.

You've probably seen them at the park.  These guys take fandom to a whole other level, one that I can barely comprehend.  I get burned out after attending 3 games in a row, these guys put together streaks of hundreds of games. If I ever become that committed then somebody see that I am committed -- like to an asylum.

Ishmael has missed one game in 17 seasons.  Luigi has had an almost perfect attendance for 10 seasons.  They both show up before the gates open, up to 6 hours ahead of time and leave long after the game is over.  That's insane, but I think you probably have to be a little bit crazy to be a Padres fan that goes to every game.  I wonder are you crazy before or do the consecutive games drive you crazy?  All I know is that my longest streak is four games and I got real loopy.

I tell you all of this because I've always been curious about their stories.  Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune answers most of our questions.

Padre diehards chase Petco perfection Page 1 of 3 | UTSanDiego.com

"He cheers us on through thick and thin," said Padres pitcher Clayton Richard. "He’s here early every day. He’s dedicated."

@dennistlin we wont stop going to the games untill we die

— luigi novello (@LuigiPadreFan33) October 1, 2013