Monday, June 25, 2007
-- The Protest that Will Fail.
-- Penguins get something old, something new.
---Protesting the Protest---
From The Average White Guy:
Pirates Protest Information...
====
I suppose I shouldn't complain that there is finally going to be some kind of public protest because of the way that the ownership and management has been running this team into the ground.
The Pittsburgh media outlets have all caught wind of the protest itself, as well as tomorrow's press conference of sorts at about 2:15PM. Other websites that have long been opposed to the McNutting ownership are fully backing this.
The gist: Everyone wears green to the June 30th game against the Washington Nationals. They walk out after the 3rd inning, never to return to PNC Park until there is a massive change in the way the team is run (theoretically, the proof will be when the Pirates are contending again).
Well, their hearts are in the right place, and I suppose this could be considered a first step, but this particular method will certainly fail.
1) While the organizers of this protest say that they will pay for one game's admission, then leave mid-game, they speak for only a few people (relatively speaking) who will do this.
2) The media, particularly FSN and NewsTalk 104.7, are clearly on the side of the ownership. The TV outlets who are following this will mention that it happened, maybe interview a few people on their way out, but the time on the news will be 2 minutes or less. That's enough time for people to miss the story because they were in the bathroom or on the phone. It will not be a heralded story, and, after the All-Star Break, most will have forgotten about it. The movement will gain no further momentum.
3) There are people out there who have suffered through virtually every Pirates home game in person for the last 15 years. They'll continue coming through. There are people like Ron Florian and Paul Wright who will continue to come to the park because they want their kids to see it. There are the businessmen who come to the park and bring clients. They don't give a rat's ass about the game, but have no problem paying $6 for a beer.
4) Fireworks and bobbleheads and Ladies Night and Pup Night and Big'n'Rich and Live will be enough to keep the casual fan from coming into town for the game.
Incidently, June 30th is Bob Walk bobblehead night.
Now, I've always been taught that if you critique something, you have to provide an alternate plan to gain any sort of credibility. So, here's the brainchild, but, first, this preface from the United States Constitution:
Amendment I - Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; OR THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE PEACEABLY TO ASSEMBLE, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Envision this. Game going on inside PNC. Thousands gathered in the parking lot, along the Riverwalk, near the Roberto Clemente statue, wherever. Some of them have pocket radios or walkmans listening in. No one is sitting inside the stadium. No one is paying for the overpriced snacks and beer. They're all sitting on lawn chairs along the riverwalk, talking to each other about the game...or, heck, about the weather. They've brought their own food and drink with them. Then, Jason Bay or Adam LaRoche goes yard. And from outside the stadium, the masses cheer.
How surreal would that be?
To me, doing this kind of thing game after game that would be supporting the team and the players, but not supporting the syndicate that runs them.
Now, the reason I mentioned the Constitution is that if people are assembled peaceably, there is no legal reason that the crowd could be dispersed by law enforcement. Know your rights.
I don't remember how much it is to park in the PNC or Heinz Field lot, but how hard would it be to support the struggling PAT transit authority to ride that to the game?
And just think of the creative signs these fans could come up with to carry around?
Final equation, in this case, is that Pirate games are enjoyed (or not) in a crowd setting without money funneling into the syndicate's pockets.
Outside of the obvious names (e.g. "The Plan that Would Never Work" or "Impossible"), what might be a good name for such a movement? You're all creative types out there, especially when it comes to this kind of thing.
A one-day flash-in-the-pan walk out is a fair start, but a day-in, day-out (peaceful) demonstration outside the walls of the stadium that Pittsburghers' tax dollars helped to build... I like the sound of this more and more...
Regardless of how impractical it would truly be.
---Making Strides---
First of all, I'm a jerk for neglecting to mention in my last post my congratulations to Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin for coming home from Toronto with some hardware called "Hart" and "Calder", respectively.
Some were discontented with coach Michel Therrien missing out on the Adams Trophy, but it's kind of hard to win that award when you happen to coach Calder and Hart trophy candidates on your bench. He pretty much would have had to win the Stanley Cup in 16 straight games to win that award.
In other news, it's not surprise that my friends over at ThePensBlog are ecstatic that Gary Roberts is coming back to play for another year.
John Fedko is not out of woods on his call-in show yet.
And, apparently, Mark Recchi will bring us a grand total of 2-to-3 good weeks of hockey as he laces up for '07-'08.
Angelo Esposito managed to also fall to the 20th spot in this year's draft. Eventually, we'll get a top-ranked defensemen, but a left-handed shot is an excellent pick-up.
"Angelo's Italian Army" is already spinning its way through blogdom as the nickname for the fanbase. But if we've got Captain Crosby and Geno, I was thinking Pizan A.E. You know...like that animated movie?
Ok. I know that sucks for a mainstream nickname in an overly P.C. society, but I may refer to him as that on my blog exclusively.
The pick demonstrates Ray Shero's ability to look long term. Esposito wasn't the stud last year that he was the year before, but Shero's vision is able to transcend the "What have you done for me lately" mentality and pick up someone who is more likely than not to help this team soon.
Sky's the limit, baby.
---Thanks and Milestones---
I discovered that other Pittsburgh sports blogs aside from the ones that had already been listed on my sidebar have me on their lists. Sorry, guys! I had no idea. It's been rectified.
Shoutouts go out to the following sites:
- Black&Gold Girl from Nonstop Pittsburgh Steelers.
- ThePacmanJones
- BigBenNews
Thank you very much.
Also, thank you to all the Pittsburgh sports nuts (and google spiders and my own visits) who've helped Steeltown Sports finally surpass the 10,000 visitors milestone in just a little under a year.
I had no idea what I was getting into. While I don't hold a match to some of my favorite sites in a lot of ways, I'm glad you bring me to your screens. Even if it is only to make fun of me, laugh, point, and say, "What an idiot!"
-- Penguins get something old, something new.
---Protesting the Protest---Pirates Protest Information...
Print Flyer
(and hand it out!)
====
I suppose I shouldn't complain that there is finally going to be some kind of public protest because of the way that the ownership and management has been running this team into the ground.
The Pittsburgh media outlets have all caught wind of the protest itself, as well as tomorrow's press conference of sorts at about 2:15PM. Other websites that have long been opposed to the McNutting ownership are fully backing this.
The gist: Everyone wears green to the June 30th game against the Washington Nationals. They walk out after the 3rd inning, never to return to PNC Park until there is a massive change in the way the team is run (theoretically, the proof will be when the Pirates are contending again).
Well, their hearts are in the right place, and I suppose this could be considered a first step, but this particular method will certainly fail.
1) While the organizers of this protest say that they will pay for one game's admission, then leave mid-game, they speak for only a few people (relatively speaking) who will do this.
2) The media, particularly FSN and NewsTalk 104.7, are clearly on the side of the ownership. The TV outlets who are following this will mention that it happened, maybe interview a few people on their way out, but the time on the news will be 2 minutes or less. That's enough time for people to miss the story because they were in the bathroom or on the phone. It will not be a heralded story, and, after the All-Star Break, most will have forgotten about it. The movement will gain no further momentum.
3) There are people out there who have suffered through virtually every Pirates home game in person for the last 15 years. They'll continue coming through. There are people like Ron Florian and Paul Wright who will continue to come to the park because they want their kids to see it. There are the businessmen who come to the park and bring clients. They don't give a rat's ass about the game, but have no problem paying $6 for a beer.
4) Fireworks and bobbleheads and Ladies Night and Pup Night and Big'n'Rich and Live will be enough to keep the casual fan from coming into town for the game.
Incidently, June 30th is Bob Walk bobblehead night.
Now, I've always been taught that if you critique something, you have to provide an alternate plan to gain any sort of credibility. So, here's the brainchild, but, first, this preface from the United States Constitution:
Amendment I - Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; OR THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE PEACEABLY TO ASSEMBLE, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Envision this. Game going on inside PNC. Thousands gathered in the parking lot, along the Riverwalk, near the Roberto Clemente statue, wherever. Some of them have pocket radios or walkmans listening in. No one is sitting inside the stadium. No one is paying for the overpriced snacks and beer. They're all sitting on lawn chairs along the riverwalk, talking to each other about the game...or, heck, about the weather. They've brought their own food and drink with them. Then, Jason Bay or Adam LaRoche goes yard. And from outside the stadium, the masses cheer.
How surreal would that be?
To me, doing this kind of thing game after game that would be supporting the team and the players, but not supporting the syndicate that runs them.
Now, the reason I mentioned the Constitution is that if people are assembled peaceably, there is no legal reason that the crowd could be dispersed by law enforcement. Know your rights.
I don't remember how much it is to park in the PNC or Heinz Field lot, but how hard would it be to support the struggling PAT transit authority to ride that to the game?
And just think of the creative signs these fans could come up with to carry around?
Final equation, in this case, is that Pirate games are enjoyed (or not) in a crowd setting without money funneling into the syndicate's pockets.
Outside of the obvious names (e.g. "The Plan that Would Never Work" or "Impossible"), what might be a good name for such a movement? You're all creative types out there, especially when it comes to this kind of thing.
A one-day flash-in-the-pan walk out is a fair start, but a day-in, day-out (peaceful) demonstration outside the walls of the stadium that Pittsburghers' tax dollars helped to build... I like the sound of this more and more...
Regardless of how impractical it would truly be.
---Making Strides---First of all, I'm a jerk for neglecting to mention in my last post my congratulations to Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin for coming home from Toronto with some hardware called "Hart" and "Calder", respectively.
Some were discontented with coach Michel Therrien missing out on the Adams Trophy, but it's kind of hard to win that award when you happen to coach Calder and Hart trophy candidates on your bench. He pretty much would have had to win the Stanley Cup in 16 straight games to win that award.
In other news, it's not surprise that my friends over at ThePensBlog are ecstatic that Gary Roberts is coming back to play for another year.
John Fedko is not out of woods on his call-in show yet.
And, apparently, Mark Recchi will bring us a grand total of 2-to-3 good weeks of hockey as he laces up for '07-'08.
Angelo Esposito managed to also fall to the 20th spot in this year's draft. Eventually, we'll get a top-ranked defensemen, but a left-handed shot is an excellent pick-up.
"Angelo's Italian Army" is already spinning its way through blogdom as the nickname for the fanbase. But if we've got Captain Crosby and Geno, I was thinking Pizan A.E. You know...like that animated movie?
Ok. I know that sucks for a mainstream nickname in an overly P.C. society, but I may refer to him as that on my blog exclusively.
The pick demonstrates Ray Shero's ability to look long term. Esposito wasn't the stud last year that he was the year before, but Shero's vision is able to transcend the "What have you done for me lately" mentality and pick up someone who is more likely than not to help this team soon.
Sky's the limit, baby.
---Thanks and Milestones---I discovered that other Pittsburgh sports blogs aside from the ones that had already been listed on my sidebar have me on their lists. Sorry, guys! I had no idea. It's been rectified.
Shoutouts go out to the following sites:
- Black&Gold Girl from Nonstop Pittsburgh Steelers.
- ThePacmanJones
- BigBenNews
Thank you very much.
Also, thank you to all the Pittsburgh sports nuts (and google spiders and my own visits) who've helped Steeltown Sports finally surpass the 10,000 visitors milestone in just a little under a year.
I had no idea what I was getting into. While I don't hold a match to some of my favorite sites in a lot of ways, I'm glad you bring me to your screens. Even if it is only to make fun of me, laugh, point, and say, "What an idiot!"
posted by Steeltown Mike at 7:07 PM
2 Comments:
In other news, it's not a surprise that my friends over at ThePensBlog are ecstatic that Gary Roberts is coming back to play for another year.
John Fedko is not out of woods on his call-in show yet.
Cute!
I'm glad Roberts and Recchi will be back for this upcoming season...hopefully so will Armstrong, Talbot, Christensen, and Whitney.
Nice post.
Karri
Penguins re-sign Whitney and Scuderi.
Penguins sign right wing Petr Sykora, defensemen Darryl Sydor and goaltender Dany Sabourin.
Solid.
I can't wait for the games to begin.
Karri
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