This is a call to all you baseball fans out there in the MD/VA and even DC area. James Earl Jones said it the best in Field of Dreams:
“The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it's a part of our past, Ray. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again.”
I remember the day when I was a young boy anxious to go to the Oriole’s game just to watch Cal Ripken Jr. He was the face of the franchise and will always embody greatness. But we as fans of one of the greatest franchises to grace this nation have lost our steam. I am constantly outnumbered by opposing fans, and I know the Detroit Tigers cannot travel that well. We all know the saying “poop flows down hill”, well that is precisely what happens when the Red Sox and Yankees come to town. Poop flows directly down the eastern seaboard and piles up in our ball park. This poop we speak of is the Yankees and Red Sox fans that outnumber the proud black and orange loyalists. Fellow O’s fans, we can no longer allow this to happen, NOT UP IN HERE!
This is a Bird Call. Let’s get back to the hard-nosed, blue-collar baseball we are used to. Cal Ripken Jr. played 2632 games (yes I know that off the top of my head because that is the number of greatness) in a row through the dog days of summer, injuries, sickness and who knows what else because he embodied the Orioles spirit. Blue collared, hard-nosed, grind it out type of baseball. And we as fans embodied that culture. We are no damned Yankees. Thank goodness we are not the Red Sox “nation”. We didn’t have to change our name like the Devil Rays. And we live in the United States of America. This ain’t Canada! These colors DON’T RUN! Orange and black!
Let’s get back to putting fannies in the seats and orange on our heads. I know we have been in a rut and I am just as guilty as the next O’s fan of being so frustrated that you make a vow to stop caring so much next year (which never happens). Times are tough. As a country we are struggling. We are constantly evolving and changing. But baseball is America’s pastime and baseball will never leave our hearts.
We have a real chance here, O’s fans. We have fresh bats and promising new arms. We have a lot of young talent coming through our farm system and a lot of veterans to show them the way. This is our time. It only takes one year to turn a program around. Let’s take pride in our team, in our city, in our state. This is our land. THIS IS BIRDLAND!
And if that wasn’t enough read this snippet from a recent rally held by Buck Showalter with a slew of disgruntled O’s fans.
Buck: “Fans of Birdland. I am Buck Showalter!”
Disgruntled O’s Fan: “Buck is Ten Feet tall!”
Buck: “Yes, I’ve heard. He wins games 10 runs at a time…and if he were here, he would consume the Blue Jays with suicide squeezes from the dugout and double switches that would make even the best N.L. managers green with envy.
I am Buck Showalter! And I see a whole stadium of my Birdmen, here, in defiance of the evils of the A.L. East! You have come to cheer as Orioles fans! And Orioles fans you are! Now what will you do with that O’s hat? Will you cheer?”
Disgruntled O’s Fan: “No, we will run to the Phillies. And we will thrive.”
Buck: “Aye, Cheer… and you may cry… Run to the Phillies… and you will thrive… at least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now… would you be willing to trade all those players for one chance… JUST ONE CHANCE… for a shot at the playoffs and tell all those Yanks and Sox fans that they may take our Mussina’s… BUT THEY WILL NEVER TAKE OUR RIPKENS!!!”
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