I have received several hundred emails regarding Free The Birds 2…
This is the best so far…and sadly, I feel it is where the rally movement is…
Apathy, depair and helplessness have again inflicted Baltimore…
Kinda reminds me of about 1980-81-82 with the Colts…
No one seems to care enough to get pissed off enough to do anything about what is damaging on so many levels, not the least of which is economically to the center of the city…
I thought the 70,000 sitting on the hill in Cooperstown wanted that feeling AGAIN sometime…
Instead, the weekend was more like the reading of the rites…
Onward we march to football season!
The "Oriole Way" is dead and no one seems to care…
Below is the letter:
Nasty,
Sorry I didn’t respond earlier about free the birds. In part it is because I am not sure I will still be in town because I have accepted a position at a small litigation firm in north jersey and am moving to Manhattan (but not exactly sure when). The other reason I didn’t respond was because I wasn’t exactly sure how I felt about part 2.
As you know I was a big supporter of Free the Birds and really admire the efforts and passion you bring to the cause. I thought that the walkout was brilliant last year and it took the organization by surprise. The post game quotes from that day from organization members, players and media revealed that we were not ignored and Petey certainly was irked by the whole thing. And most importantly it was the most fun any of us have had at that park in years.
Fast forward to 2007. The team, although somewhat improved, has not done a thing to restore the oriole way whether its reaching out to fans, communicating with non-MASN media, or articulating some sort of plan to be immediate contenders. While the Trembley/Mcphail shakeup was a welcome change, there is still nothing to suggest that we have our storied franchise back and sadly I am not sure we will while the Greek lawyer is at the helm.
In your blog entry, you divided O’s fans into several camps and it is in this labeling that I disagree with you. You wrote:
"The Orioles have their core audience of worshippers who will NEVER accept that this garbage that’s being "sold" as Orioles baseball is anything less than authentic. They’re still buying the lies and the propaganda, God bless ’em!"
After that your next category were people that only tune in when something big happens and include "hardcores" who are so charged up about the way angelos has pissed away the franchise. But I think you are mistaken because I speak for myself, some friends and people I speak to at the park, who are somewhere in between.
I like to call us battered wives, we understand the abuse and torture that the team put us through but for some reason we can’t walk away just yet and are gluttons for punishment. This means we still follow the team on a regular basis i.e. watch or listen to most games and even go to a bunch (I’ve been to around 15 though I haven’t paid for a single one). That being said we watch the games and follow the team with a healthy (or unhealthy) dose of cynicism and disgust. There is also a great jealousy to be like the Bostons or even Seattles of the world where there is electricity every night at the yard.
I think for the most part many in this camp stay away from the park a lot because they can’t bear to watch what has happened to this franchise. And I probably would stay away too had I grown up in the 70’s when there was that electric atmosphere that is so lacking today. But the point is I still love baseball and I still allow the abusive orioles to remain a big part of my life. (although the interest certainly wanes annually around this time of year as the team nears mathematical elimination and the ravens begin camp).
Anyway the point is I am 27 years old and besides ’89, ’96, ’97, Cal’s Record, and that magical day last week in Cooperstown, I have not borne witness to magical moments associated with this franchise and I badly want that to change as I know you do too.
Last year the idea was genius and novel but I’m not sure what it does now. I am not saying this because I am apathetic or delusional that the team is fixed. I just don’t quite know the purpose it will serve. Will it be another walkout? Just a day of loud cheering in the empty upper deck? Maybe if you provided a clearer picture about the day’s events and immediate goals people would be quicker to join. I am behind your mission to bring back our O’s 100 percent. I just fear that a similar rally potentially would be be beating a dead horse. I hope this made some sense, I realize there was quite a bit of rambling.
All the best,
J
