Wednesday, September 19, 2007

FREE THE BIRDS 2 – Since this is an Orioles site as well, after all


The first post on the O’s here at the Nest is a call to action for fans. WNST-Sportstalk 1570 is having their 2nd annual “Free the Birds” night on Monday, September 24 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The O’s take on the Royals at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased for as little as 9$.

The “Free the Birds” movement is the brainchild of WNST’s owner, “Nasty” Nestor Aparicio. Disgusted with the current state of the Orioles, as the majority of us are, from the treatment of fans by stadium ushers to the play on the field to the public relations department and all the way up to the upper echelons of management and especially, ownership, Nestor started this movement as a way for fans to voice their displeasure. Last year’s rally had an attendance of several thousand and was covered by many local and national media outlets. Those of us that were there spent the first 5 innings cheering as loud as we have in years for the players on the field, chanting “O-R-I-O-L-E-S” regularly, as well as going into several versions of calls for Mr. AngelosE to sell the team. We at the Nest especially enjoyed this one:

“HEY, HEY, HO, HO – GREEDY PETEY’S GOT TO GO”

At 5:08 pm, as was the plan (honoring two of the greatest Orioles – number 5 Brooks Robinson and number 8 Cal Ripken, Jr.), we all got up from our seats in the left field upper deck and marched down through the concourse of the stadium, all the way around the field, and out at the right field standing room only section. It was a great day, and those of you that were there know that the players appreciated our enthusiasm, as evidenced by Miguel Tejada pointing at us and clapping himself several times from his position at shortstop.

Unfortunately, little has changed in the year since that first rally. The team still STINKS, management still treats the fans like idiots, and the local establishments continue to suffer from lack of business brought on by dismal attendance numbers at the stadium. And so, after initially deciding not to do a 2nd rally this year, Nestor reconsidered. There are no planned walk-outs or anything of that nature this year (at least not yet), just a night at the park for the teams disgruntled fan base to once again show it’s disappointment in the embarrassment the organization has become. It has now been a solid decade of losing for the O’s, and we here at the Nest share Aparicio’s worry that indifference and apathy have replaced anger and resentment in the hearts of far to many fans. That is just unacceptable. If you agree, and share our sentiments that the fans of Baltimore baseball DESERVE better….join us.

Read more here:
http://www.wnst.net/
http://www.freethebirds.net/

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