Slapshot Monday
I sat down and watched a Dodger game today and then an HBO special on the Boston Red Sox and the curse of the Bambino. I used to be a huge fan of baseball. I would watch or listen to every Dodger game. The sound of Vin Scully’s voice was the sound of pure joy for me. And I even got to watch my team win the World Series twice (1981, 1988). But somewhere in the 1990s the Dodger were sold to Fox and it was no longer the team I knew. Players like Piazza, Karros, Hollingsworth and other were suddenly traded away and I had no idea who these new guys were… and I found I didn’t care anymore.
Well, when I watched today I noticed a few things. Only three of the players were names I was familiar with… but none of them as Dodgers. Kenny Lofton is a Cleveland Indian in my mind. Nomar Garciaparra is a Red Sox and guest starred on Two Guys a Girl and a Pizza Place… and JD Drew who was the whiney little bastard that wouldn’t sign his contract after being drafted by some team that I can’t remember now. Now at second was Ramon Martinez… the Ramon Martinez I know of was a tall, lanky pitcher and older brother of Pedro Martinez. But this was a rookie second baseman who hit a home run and had 5 RBIs.
I also noticed that the uniforms are different. On the front it says “Los Angeles” instead of “Dodgers” like it said for as long as I can remember. Also, the names on the back of the uniforms are gone. So even if I wanted to get a better feel for the team, I couldn’t. This appeared to me to be a marketing move. Make the team more popular than the players and it won’t matter what you do to the players. Both the Yankees and the Red Sox do this. Corporate baseball.
So after spending the day watching the Dodgers beat the hated Braves (I still think their the hated Braves) 12 to 5… and I still have no idea who the hell the team is. And guess what… I still don’t care. I want to. But I don’t. The team is full of people that are hard to root for and I just don’t feel like investing the time into caring so they can trade away the players again.
For now… I’ll stick with football.
I sat down and watched a Dodger game today and then an HBO special on the Boston Red Sox and the curse of the Bambino. I used to be a huge fan of baseball. I would watch or listen to every Dodger game. The sound of Vin Scully’s voice was the sound of pure joy for me. And I even got to watch my team win the World Series twice (1981, 1988). But somewhere in the 1990s the Dodger were sold to Fox and it was no longer the team I knew. Players like Piazza, Karros, Hollingsworth and other were suddenly traded away and I had no idea who these new guys were… and I found I didn’t care anymore.
Well, when I watched today I noticed a few things. Only three of the players were names I was familiar with… but none of them as Dodgers. Kenny Lofton is a Cleveland Indian in my mind. Nomar Garciaparra is a Red Sox and guest starred on Two Guys a Girl and a Pizza Place… and JD Drew who was the whiney little bastard that wouldn’t sign his contract after being drafted by some team that I can’t remember now. Now at second was Ramon Martinez… the Ramon Martinez I know of was a tall, lanky pitcher and older brother of Pedro Martinez. But this was a rookie second baseman who hit a home run and had 5 RBIs.
I also noticed that the uniforms are different. On the front it says “Los Angeles” instead of “Dodgers” like it said for as long as I can remember. Also, the names on the back of the uniforms are gone. So even if I wanted to get a better feel for the team, I couldn’t. This appeared to me to be a marketing move. Make the team more popular than the players and it won’t matter what you do to the players. Both the Yankees and the Red Sox do this. Corporate baseball.
So after spending the day watching the Dodgers beat the hated Braves (I still think their the hated Braves) 12 to 5… and I still have no idea who the hell the team is. And guess what… I still don’t care. I want to. But I don’t. The team is full of people that are hard to root for and I just don’t feel like investing the time into caring so they can trade away the players again.
For now… I’ll stick with football.
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