So, the rally is tonight and The Baltimore Sun — apparently, trembling in the wake of King Peter — has chosen to conveniently "ignore" the existence of Free The Birds 2.
Hmmmm….last year we had more than 2,000 people that they reported as "about 1,000" — and they couldn’t get enough of "The Rally" the day AFTER the event. Rick Maese wrote a pre-rally piece, and actually encouraged people to attend. Peter Schmuck has alluded to The Rally several times over the past 52 weeks. Roch Kubatko, who also "moonlights" as a frequent contributor to our radio competitor and MASN, and David Steele were "conscientious objectors."
Apparently, they were "in Canada" during last year’s rally.
So, on the tail-end of yet another completely embarrassing summer of baseball, we decided to see if anyone still cares enough to protest this colossal disgrace going on in our community:
* the decay of the downtown business community on gamenights and the economic damage done to the community
* the overrunning of the city by Boston and New York fans, and the lack of "civic pride" Baltimore fans have in the Orioles
* the 10-plus years of pathetic baseball and "off the field" shenanigans by ownership (not to mention steroids and players) that have embarrassed every "lifelong" Oriole fan into a "purple hole" in the parking lot next door
* the loss of memories and family events surrounding the Orioles, which much like the Ravens today, were the toast of the town for three generations and something held sacred by the entire community across every social, economic, racial and religious divide
* the lack of accountability from ownership regarding the fans, the community or even their own heritage and living legends like Brooks Robinson and Frank Robinson
* the "Baltimore on the jersey" thing and all of its inherent, if not bizarre, connotations to an uber-provincial community like ours that was once robbed of an NFL franchise
* and just for good measure — the continuing broken promises of a "super TV network," one that I’m getting legally "held up at gunpoint" from every single month via my Comcast bill and looks like it was shot in Garth’s basement in all of its low-definition, community college, cable access 1983 glory.
* (Oh, any other of the myriad of stupid things they’ve done over this year or any other…there’s not enough space on the internet to list it all…start with Jon Miller and Davey Johnson and move forward from there!)
Tonight, we’ll find out if YOU are still as pissed as we are!
We’ll see if you wanna go "Howard Beale" and come downtown and yell at the top of your lungs: "I’m as a mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!"
But, it won’t be because The Sun brought any attention to it.
(Could it be those "fireworks night" ads the Orioles were buying all summer on Page 3?)
The Examiner wrote a piece about it on Thursday. It’s a MAJOR topic on MANY threads on message boards throughout the blogosphere, and a widely read "item" on The Sun‘s own message boards. WMAR-TV2 has a news piece running all day. Even Marty Bass and Don Scott, who work for CBS, plugged it this morning on Channel 13.
But, from Peter Schmuck, Roch Kubatko, Rick Maese, David Steele and company? Nary a WORD about tonight’s event. And I suppose Dan Rodricks thinks "Baltimore baseball" is still doing just fine and dandy.
I’m unconcerned. I can promote my own "publicity stunts."
After yesterday, I’m assuming most people who WOULD care enough to come to an Orioles "protest/rally" already know about it.
It’s tonight at 7. Come as you are!
But it should be pointed just where the "newspaper of record" stands on Free The Birds, and more importantly, what side the corporate bread is buttered on.
Big business at work…
