Thursday, May 17, 2007

Baltimore: A city full of fair-weather fans? I think not...

As I do most days at this time of year (between final exams and summer jobs starting), I spend a lot of time listening to 1570 WNST-AM, which is bar none my favorite radio station...and that says a lot considering my father works for the Baltimore Sun! But, of course, the Sun is the major newspaper in the area, and they provide OUTSTANDING coverage on local sports. Schmuck, Preston, Maese, and Steele are my personal favorites. As far as radio stations go, I feel that WNST is the only local sports station that takes the gloves off and tells it like it is, so if you get a minute during your commute to work or when you're bored at home, take a listen.

I had been listening to the Rob Long Show this afternoon, and heard a Yankee fan call in who began claiming that Baltimore sports fans are fair-weather fans. To tell you the truth, I hear this A LOT from out-of-towners, and never really took it to heart because I know that is not the case. They look at how most of us feel about the Orioles nowadays, but I don't think that they fully grasp the situation that is happening down there at the Warehouse.

If you look back at the history of the Baltimore Orioles, we have been BLESSED to be graced with such a wonderful history that goes along with this franchise. Earl, Brooks, Frank, Boog, Cal, and all the great feelings and memories that go along with the mention of those names. But Peter Angelos has single-handily stripped this franchise of that nostalgia in many different ways, not to mention we haven't had a Baltimore baseball icon since Cal retired.

In my past blogs, I have made references to the lack of leadership on the field. Don't get me wrong; I watch every game, root my heart out, and probably care too much about the O's. I love Roberts, Markakis, Bedard, Patterson, Hernandez, Millar...basically the players who give a crap, and that seems to be the majority. In fact, I feel that one day Markakis or Roberts may move into that icon role, but with the situation at hand, you have to blame the owner for the depleting fan base. Peter Angelos is the raison d'ĂȘtre for this fair-weather fan notion.

Angelos fired the voice of the Orioles, John Miller, who will probably be in the Hall of Fame someday. He's so good that ESPN picked him up to do some broadcasting, which speaks volumes about his talent. And Angelos made it personal with Miller, but that's a different story. He fired Davey Johnson, who, in my opinion, was the best manager we had since Earl Weaver. And why did he get fired? Because of "personal matters" between he and Angelos. But when Davey was here, the ORIOLES WERE WINNING! Wow, what a concept. And they were winning with a team that was being paid less money than the team we have now who just embarrassed themselves north of the border earlier this week.

He has refused, and from what the Orioles office is telling the media is still going to refuse, to put "Baltimore" on the away jerseys. The city and the fans deserve to be represented on the away jerseys. And, frankly, he has been nothing less than a jerk to the media and to the fans of the birds. Most importantly, he has refused to shell out the money that he certainly has and hire the proper personnel to field a competitive team in the AL East. When he decides to not pinch pennies, he spends money unwisely (see Sammy Sosa, Danys Baez, etc.).

That is the cliff notes version of what Angelos has done to this franchise. For those who are in the know, this sounds like a broken record. We've all heard this before, but it all relates to the reason why Camden Yards, which is one of the most beautiful ballparks in the majors, is struggling to put people in the seats. But so do the Nationals, who were begging for a team for about 20 years, and STILL struggle to put 10,000 people in the stadium each night. And even for the Yankees or the Red Sox fans, their attendance numbers declined when they were losing. For the Yankees, their big attendance boom came in Derek Jeter's rookie year. The Chicago Cubs consistently sell out Wrigley Field, and unless you've been living under a rock, you know about their current situation.

Basically what I'm getting at is that every situation is unique. Baltimore sports fans are very knowledgeable about what's going on down there off of I-395. It's not that Baltimore fans are fair-weather fans, it's that, for some fans, not going to the games is the only way to show the owner that we do not approve of his actions, and that he is ruining a franchise that we all hold close to our hearts. Say what you will about the current team and the owner, but I think we all get a little giddy when the Orioles go on a winning streak (see Spring/Early Summer 2005). That attests to the fact that we DO care, we still LOVE the Orioles, but there needs to be a change. People that call us fair-weather fans simply do not fully understand or fully appreciate what is going on down there at the Warehouse.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

my wife is a Sox fan, and that's all I hear from her and her family...i'll be sure to show this to them