On Saturday I took-in a Wilmington Blue Rocks game. For those of you unaware, the Blue Rocks are the Class A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. A minor league baseball team. I used to go more often, then I kind of let it slide, so to speak. Earlier this year, I ordered an 8-game partial season package so I could go on eight Saturday nights.
The games start at 6, the parking is free and the ballpark is less than 45 minutes from home, so why wasn't I going more often? Exactly the question I asked myself.
They have a nice ballclub down there. Lots of good hitters and an exciting brand of baseball. Granted, you have to be a baseball fan to appreciate the minor leagues, which is where I come in.
In addition to a third row seat being 8 dollars, the concession prices are reasonable and the team treats its fans with respect and gives out a lot of SWAG (Stuff We All Get) which is both a good marketing device and a nice treat for those of us who go to the games.
It's a great ballpark, and every seat is good. You can hear infielders calling pop up's, umpire calls and the odd manager argument. Did I mention that the parking is free? The only strange thing is that the fans aren't as hard-core as I'd like. I cheer for the players and get worked up over great plays, but it seems as though the fans are out for the evening regardless of the team. That's fine, but for a Phillies fan, it's a little odd. I'm not going to stop cheering, though. I'm also going to dedicate myself to going more than the eight times for which I have a ticket.
If anyone from the Blue Rocks has stumbled here on some random Google search, let me tell you how much I enjoy the games and tell you what a great organization you're running down there.
On another note, I'm often puzzled by lazy journalists who roll-out the hate talk when someone from Philadelphia does something stupid. They start with the old snowballs at Santa reference which, by the way, is as old as Santa, and proceed to the City of Brotherly Love stuff. We're linked to that saying when things go bad, but we never hear it when we do something right, as the Phillies and their fans did on Saturday with the ceremony honoring the late Harry Kalas.
Nine thousand fans showed up and paraded in front of his casket. Most of them stayed for the speeches and tributes, most notably by Mike Schmidt, who was eloquent in calling Harry's life "bountiful." Another home run for Michael Jack.
I felt no need to go, preferring to have my private thoughts - as I do in most cases. I watched on television. For those who chose to go, they and the Phillies paid tribute to Harry with class and dignity, and I'm guessing that no journalist or TV talking head will roll-out the Brotherly Love reference.
So, a little haiku for the lazy journalists:
How come we don't hear
"City of Brotherly Love"
when we express it?
1 comment:
Exactly.
National media seem to take every last opportunity to say things like, "Well, you know how those Philadelphia fans are." But we seldom, if ever, hear one of them take a positive example as proof that maybe we aren't all that bad.
I still remember listening to Jon Miller deriding Phillies fans for being "hard" on Pat Burrell during one of his really bad seasons a few years ago -- but to my recollection, the hometown fans were unusually kind to Burrell, rarely booing him at the time, despite a batting average around .200 and pathetic run production. It was like Miller replaced reality with what his prejudicial mind expected to hear.
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