Hear me, owners… players…
Baseball is dead to me. This is absolutely relevant to the current situation vis a vis the NFL, and the factitious “NFLPTA”, an organization that was built exclusively for litigation.
Simple statement of fact. The details are in the repeated abuse of fans, both by ownership, and by players. Exhorbitant ticket prices. Exhorbitant parking prices. 5 dollar bottles of water. Who can afford to go to a game???
The legacy left to me by baseball is rooted in a childhood rich in heartbreak. My beloved Senators were a perpetual laughing stock. My heart was ripped up and stomped on by fiend 1, Cal Griffin, as he destroyed the franchise, and moved it to the boondocks of Minnesota. Robert Short (fiend 2) revived the franchise, and promptly provided us with the highest ticket prices in the league, that allowed us to watch some of the worst baseball ever. Robert Short was the prototype for our beloved Dan Snyder. For a while, his mantra was “Give away the future to get a big name now”. Soooooo he traded away one of the best defensive SS/3B (Rodriguez/Brinkman)combinations EVER for the felon Denny McLain. He brings in Ted Williams (when he still had a body, AND he was breathing) to manage. Fans, for some reason, chose not to support his boondogle… so, like the coward he was, he stole away to Texas.
I had no team. Moved to Maine in the early 70’s… what the heck, the Red Sox have a rich history… great ball park… I’ll follow them…
Then, there was “The Baseball Strike”… pure greed. PURE GREED.
Done. No more baseball for me. Many fans took years to return to the game of Major League baseball. Some, like me, never have. It will never be the same.
Football had, historically, demonstrated some level of competency in managing its affairs… the strikes were brief, and did not destroy entire seasons. The fans were kept engaged.
Not this time. Owners have set up a safety net. Players have hired an executive director whom, I strongly suspect, has his own ambitions driving his agenda, and has no attachment to the game, the league nor the players. This is baseball, all over again. The owners, and the players, expect the fans to shake it off. Not this time. Not me… there are many like me.
You are on notice. You are dawdling. Get your affairs in order, quickly. Money is tight. The money spent on you is discretionary. You are expensive. Do not take me for granted. Baseball did. They still don’t have some of us back. It hurt… but sometimes you simply must take a stand.
Are you listening? Really? Letting the occasional snippet about “progress” slip into the news does not convince me. Telling me that you care about me (the fans) is a bad idea (trust me on that). I know better. Are you moving on this? That’s all I care about. Quality football in the fall… that’s all I care about. Repetitive leaks about “how close the sides are”… a ruse to string us along? You say no…
Prove it. Get it done. Now.
HTTR