North American Radio Tv Station Guide
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The last thirteen seasons have been rough on Orioles fans. From the retirement of the city’s bestloved son Cal Ripken Jr.; to the departure of Pat Gillick, Davey Johnson, Mike Mussina, Roberto Alomar and a great deal of other key team parts; to the ill-fated signings of Albert Belle and Miguel Tejada; to the precipitous decline of the once-beloved Rafael Palmeiro. Not to mention, of course, their team getting perennial cellar-dwellers in the American League East, and getting the literal definition of a “once-proud” franchise. Probably the worst part of all of this for an O’s fan is seeing beauteous Camden Yards filled to the rafters with the enemy, their home invaded by visiting Yankees and Red Sox fans. It was bad when I went to games in the 90s and the Orioles were good; with owner Peter Angelos having alienated sufficient longtime fans to the point of departure and with such “premium” game tickets costing more, a good deal of persons gauge the audience for Yankees or Red Sox games at Camden Yards to be perhaps 20% Orioles fans these days. And that’s being kind. The overpowering majority of these Red Sox and Yankees fans, of course, aren’t bad fans at all. They’re just cheering for their team in a dissimilar ballpark, on occasion because it’s either too difficult or too highpriced to go to games in their own home venue. Many of them love Camden Yards and say not one thing but nice things when it comes to local fans. They love their team sufficient to travel to see them, and it brings dollars to the local economy that Angelos’s club isn’t doing on it is own. But there are a few, like the Yankees fans who leave early when their team is losing, or the newly proud Red Sox fans who were nowhere to be found before 2004, who crow and beat their chest and get in home fans faces, as if they had something to do with their team’s success. Orioles fans welcome Red Sox fans to spend cash at Camden Yards-but when they commence calling it “Fenway South”, they’ve crossed the line. I think it’s time for the Birds faithful to rise up and respond to this. I don’t recognise if this ever happens, but sometime in November, before group tickets at Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium go on sale for 2012, a radio station or somebody with an audience needs to arrange a promotion where Baltimore buys tickets for a big group-at least 1,000 if possible-of Orioles fans to attend Orioles games at Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium. Maybe even more than one game. Perhaps a contest to win tickets-people will have to bellow “O” as loudly as they may on the air, or something like that. And these fans ought to be encouraged to cheer loudly for each Orioles achievement, each hit, each out, each error the other teams commit. They need to clap and high five and be on their feet often. Chant “O-R-I-O-L-E-S” way too frequently. Shout the “O” as loudly as possible in the national anthem, and sing “Thank God I’m A Country Boy” in the seventh inning stretch. And scream to the heavens if the Birds win. Set limits on behavior, of course. No starting fights. No instigating home fans. No disrespect. No spitting or grabbing private parts. No obscene gestures. Tell persons how outstanding their ballpark is. As an individual who sympathizes with the plight of the Orioles fan, I’d be happy to work with any radio or TV station running such a promotion, and perhaps making Fenway Park and Yankee Stadium E-Guides portion of the package. Orioles fans that have hung in there through the bad times is worthy of at least a little fun. I’ll float the idea to galore radio stations. We’ll keep you posted. Who knows, perchance someday Fenway Park may become “Camden Yards North”. |
