Walk-out
“The ’70’s are over Mr. Lebowski! You lost! Get a job, you bum!”
In honor of sit-ins, protests, and over-zealous Hollywood celebrities who think that because they played-a-person-who cared-about-politics-in-a-show-one-time-so-everyone-should-obviously-listent-to-them, 1,000 Baltimore Orioles’ fans timed a walk-out at 5:08 pm of the make-up game yesterday. The time was specfically chosen to honor former Oriole greats Brooks Robinson and Cal Ripken. Orioles’ fans, who used to continually pack the house in the best ball-park in America, aren’t casual fans and have finally taken as much as they can handle. They got it right this time. Instead of not showing up for a game, which is what Pirates’ fans and Marlins’ fans have been doing for years, they actually showed up and made it obvious that they will not stand for the well below mediocrity level that has been set in Baltimore by the owner. Not showing up for games hurts both the fans and the city. It makes the city look bad, and eventually the team will just threaten to leave. Then the fans get nothing. Also, many tickets are owned by season ticket holders. They’ve already paid, so their hurting themselves also. This way, the fans show up for tickets they’ve already paid for, thereby getting at least SOMETHING for their hard-earned buck, and the walk-out makes it wholly obvious to EVERYONE involved that the fans are pissed off. Maybe this is the beginning of something that will spur the O’s management into action. I’m an O’s fan, and I’m sick and tired of nothing ever getting done to improve the franchise. They’ve been in dire need of pitching for years and an infusion of young talent. Instead, the team has continually settled for retreads. As much as I loved B.J. Surhoff and Jeff Conine’s heart and soul, they never should have been starting, and they certainly should not have continued to be brought back year after year unless they were the savvy veteran that was a great clubhouse presence. Instead, they continued to get run on the field without the O’s ever adding anything.
Phew, I’m off my horse now. I still thought it was great though.
Sarcastic, yet poignant column time: Team USA is officially no longer the most dominant basketball power. So the men have been struggling for years in the international game; who cares. What really hurts is that the women lost to Russia. Are there any international women’s teams? It’s pathetic that we can’t win on the international level in either gender for a sport we invented and have controlled forever. I didn’t even know other countries had women’s teams. But seriously, how far has USA hoops fallen when our women can no longer dominate the game?
Urban watch: Still unsigned as far as I know. If any of you loyal readers hear anything post it here.
