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By Nestor
Aparicio
Washed-up
show host and owner
“Deposed by The Sun…Rejected by WBAL…Pissed
off on the internet” |
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| What Free The Birds is all about |
I've had almost a month
to take things in, digest just what the
heck happened on September 21st
downtown, inside and outside of Camden
Yards.
My first thought is this: I will ALWAYS
be proud of what we did, going back to
tell management how lousy we think
they've been.
From how lousy, WE, the fans have been
treated to how our past heroes have been
treated to how the team stinks not only
out on the field, but more importantly,
out in our community where WE live. And
how our hearts aren't in it anymore, but
we really DO want to feel connected
again, especially as a mere handful of
us are watching the baseball playoffs
every night in our living rooms...continued |
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Dear
BALTIMORE Orioles fan:
After handing out FREE THE
BIRDS signs at the Ravens
game yesterday, I feel a
little better about our
chances of having a
legitimate "crowd" tonight.
Many, many people were very
encouraging with their kind
words about "not giving up
the fight." And many people
told me they'd "see me
tomorrow."
I hope every WNST supporter
and true Orioles lover will
consider coming downtown on
a beautiful night for
September baseball and spend
the $9 to join our crusade
to try to save Baltimore
baseball from more tyranny
with this lousy ownership
group.
That said, I don't expect
that we'll get 40,000 FTB
people tonight, but again,
the head count just doesn't
matter to me this year. I
just want to support the
local downtown businesses,
send my message, allow
others to send their message
and have a little fun at a
baseball game.
The number one question:
"What do you have planned,
specifically, for the game?"
The answer: "I have no
plan!"
Other than a peaceful
demonstration, I have no
"desire" or "structure" for
tonight's protest, other
than to let the management
know that we're still here,
and we're still watching,
and we STILL know that they
are completely incompetent
when it comes to running a
baseball franchise in
Baltimore.
(And, quite frankly, they're
not very nice, either! And
don't underestimate that! I
think the biggest problem
they have at this point is
that they're hard to "like,"
as much as anything. Matter
of fact, their consistent
actions, cowardice and lack
of accountability makes them
seem downright evil. They
engender FAR more anger
amongst Baltimoreans than
sympathy, that's for
sure...you should've HEARD
the stuff people were saying
to me when I handed them
signs today!)
People are still quite
PISSED! But they feel
helpless.
All that matters is this: We
WILL be heard if there are
enough of us tonight! That
much I can guarantee!
Like I said five days ago,
PLENTY of Baltimore's sports
fans know that there IS a
protest being held tonight.
All I can do is tell them. I
can't make them come
downtown or "care" any more.
And if you DON'T care, I
can't say that I blame you.
The 40,000 empty seats
tomorrow night would be the
evidence that you are in the
majority if you DON'T care!
Free The Birds is really a
"hardcore" movement, only
supported by people like me
who care so much, and miss
Baltimore baseball so much,
that we're willing to do
something about it.
We will begin our pre-game
"festivities" at Maggie
Moore's at 4 p.m. We'll walk
to a few other bars and
spend some money with the
local businesses.
If you must "forego" the
indoor tailgating, please
meet us on the Babe Ruth
statue promenade at the foot
of Eutaw Street at 6:30
sharp. We'll convene, "count
heads" and go to a ballgame.
Free The Birds is tonight.
Temperature at gametime,
according to the Weather
Channel and the ghost of Rex
Barney, is expected to be 78
degrees.
I hope the ghosts of Bill
Hagy, Elrod Hendricks and
many others is with us in
Sects. 380 through 388
tonight.
If you're on the fence, I
hope you reconsider and
decide to come "just
because."
Why not? |
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The Media's coverage of "Free the Birds": |
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Click
here
to
buy
Free
The
Birds
t-shirts
and
gear! |
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Click
here
to
buy
Free
The
Birds
t-shirts
and
gear! |
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This whole thing was started by a man in Dundalk who loved the Orioles |
| (This is Part 1 of a 19 Chapter Series on how baseball and the Orioles created WNST) |
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When I first started getting that urge during the All-Star break that maybe we should try to storm the castle that is The Warehouse and attempt to overthrow the King -- again it was a well-documented email from a guy who said that even the Berlin Wall fell because people like us made it fall that started this whole thing -- I started to do some serious soul-searching.
About my life, and what it's become. And where I'm going. And what's important. And really what makes a fool like me tick. Maybe, like Dudley Moore's character in the movie "10," I'm having my "mid-life" crisis at 38, who knows?
But when you've been talking to and with people for four hours a day, five days a week, every day for almost 14 years about basically the one civic thing we all have in common besides taxes -- black and white, young and old, rich and poor, Jew and Gentile, male and female and that would be SPORTS -- and, no less, for a completely wide open audience of anyone who cares to eves drop on your life, and then, poof, you just disappear for 18 months -- believe it or not, you find that you talk "to" and "with" yourself a LOT.
And -- after much deep and very sincere self-analysis -- I'm here to tell you that for me, personally, I've concluded that every single good thing or worthwhile pursuit in my life came directly because of or through my lifelong passion for baseball and the Orioles.I'm going to say that again, because for all intents and purposes, this is the thesis of my mid-life term paper that will be The Moon or some future book title over the next month and why I've been in mall parking lots handing out little orange cards and behaving more like a very revved-up version of Marty O'Malley meets Bob Ehrlich meets Howard Beale from the movie "Network:" EVERY SINGLE GREAT THING IN MY LIFE CAME BECAUSE I LOVED BASEBALL AND THE ORIOLES AS A CHILD!...click to continue |
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