(In Photo: Lou Gehrig playing baseball with kids)
Back when I was a kid, it was a big deal to get an
autograph, but nearly impossible because around that time, the 1980’s,
something was starting to happen between the players and the fans, a
separation. Now, in this day and age,
there is a significant divide, almost like we’re looking at players through cages
longing for a moment or signature with them.
Only a few get it and the ones that do today sell them on eBay. None of this makes sense to me, what the hell
happened?
Suzie Pinstripe wrote a brilliant piece titled CONNECTION ISN'T WHAT IT USED TO BE and it opened my eyes and many others to something I’ve started to notice
over the years. Sure, we’re still fans
and sure, we still root for our guys like crazy, but if you truly want a piece
of signed memorabilia and you’d like to personally witness the event happen, you need
to go to a card signing and stand in line for hours and hope you meet the player
before being whisked away by his “people” so they can keep the line moving. I’ve been there, I get it, but there are too
many cooks in the kitchen these days. There are too many layers and much less interaction with the
players. I long for the "old days."
I love watching the video of the Yankee championships when
we’d lock up a World Series of playoff series and the fans would dart onto the
field. Sure it was dangerous as hell,
but it was real. Hank Aaron broke Babe
Ruth’s home run record and I specifically remember seeing a guy run out on the field to pat Hank on the back. Remember, that was at the height of Aaron getting threatened because he was black and
about to break a white man’s record.
In
the end, he was embraced by that white fan who patted him on the back. I always
found that moment to be ironic. Again, that was real.
It changed though and fans can’t run on the field anymore. Fans can't walk on the field of Yankee stadium out to the monuments to exit the park after the game. All that is gone. But what about when Babe Ruth
used to just sit with kids and chat it up?
Sure, it was as photo op, but it was still real. What about my friend Bonnie who used to
babysit for Mickey Mantle’s kids when he lived in the suburbs of New Jersey. And what about when you could just sit there
and wait for players to sign a card for you before a game, and the players stuck around and did it... maybe even interacted with you. Remember that? I told you once before in WHAT YANKEE BASEBALL MEANS TO ME, about when I was a kid and
Gary Ward, a new Yankee in 1987 walked up and signed a baseball card for
me.
I became an instant fan, not because he was the next Mickey Mantle, but
because he took a moment to interact with the fans. Gary Ward of all people, and I still cherish
that baseball card all these years later.
Times have changed haven’t they? Everyone’s getting a piece,
except for the fan. Am I faulting
anyone? No. It’s big business now, bigger than ever and these
are big athletes, but so were Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle. Hey, you know what I’d like to see happen and maybe even start
a trend? I’d like players to just “show up.” Let's get back to these players being real again.
We just saw it with CC Sabathia and his wife Amber were in Hoboken to help rebuild for people who lost everything in Hurricane
Sandy.
You may have heard of the story of
Brandon Phillips just showing up at a little league game because one of the players
asked him to on Twitter, read HERE. It’s real… and our kids will never see this unless the players break away
from the structure and big business and just do it because they want to thank
the fans.
So I say, I hope more of these players follow in those footsteps and give it a shot!
Look, we're going to keep banging this drum. It’s important to the fans and it’s something
that’s important to us here at Bleeding Yankee Blue. Maybe we can open the eyes of some of these
players, for the better of the game, after all, it could be fun...it could be real again.
Please comment, we have DISQUS, it's easier than ever. Let me know what you think and follow me on Twitter @BleednYankeeBlu and join the group Bleeding Yankee Blue on Facebook, just type it in.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for commenting on Bleeding Yankee Blue.