An open letter to the owners of the Dodgers, Time Warner Cable and SportsNet LA
My mother is in her mid-70s. Her husband (my step-dad) is in his mid 90s. They are two of the most dedicated fans of the L. A. Dodgers that I know. In the vernacular of Tommy Lasorda, "...they bleed Dodger blue." My mother was at almost every game the Dodgers played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. My step-dad was at opening day at Chavez Ravine in 1962. Though they didn't know one another in 1962, they kept going back to the Ravine in spite of the lack of water fountains. Even on a hot summer day, better to be at a Dodgers game and overpay for a cold drink than to not watch the beloved bums.
They loved the "Moon shots" and marveled at the exciting thievery of Maury Wills. When Drysdale and Koufax held out, they held their breath until calmer heads prevailed. The retirement of Walter Alston caused tears, the hiring of Lasorda replaced them with cheers. Fernandomania was an obsession they loved and there are no words for their reaction to Kirk Gibson's home run to remember in 1988. We all cursed Jody Reed's stupidity.
They were part of a group of season ticket holders until going to the games was no longer practical, due to my step-dad's health. To attend a game today would cost them $200 just to get to the turnstile. It hasn't been a problem. Until now, nearly every single Dodgers game each season was on television.
Now we have Sports Net LA. Owned by the Dodgers and broadcast only on Time Warner Cable. (TWC) at the moment. TWC wants big bucks to license the new Dodgers' network to other cable and satellite providers. It is somewhat understandable, given the huge investment TWC made in securing the rights to the Dodgers for a long term. At least it is to shareholders and investors.
It is not understandable to my mother and step-dad, because they're fans. They love the Dodgers win or lose. They'd rather have a team with half the current payroll that they can watch in their den at night than the current $234 million squad they can only listen to on the radio.
TWC and the Dodgers are making a major error here. They are failing to learn the lessons that should have been learned from a certain former owner of the club. Frank McCourt managed to do something we previously thought impossible. Own and run the Dodgers in a way as to cause attendance to fall sharply. We still loved the Dodgers. We just hated McCourt. In fact, I personally gave up my season seat interest when he bought the team and I haven't been to a game at Chavez Ravine since. If TWC doesn't find a way to make the deal with DirectTV, Dish, AT&T Uverse and the others, the fans who don't go to the stadium are going to lose interest. Rapidly. Getting it back won't be easy.
At a time when the team's #1 starter may miss the entire month of April, or longer, it would be the perfect moment to fix this problem by bringing the Dodgers into the homes of the fans who love them madly.
* * *
They loved the "Moon shots" and marveled at the exciting thievery of Maury Wills. When Drysdale and Koufax held out, they held their breath until calmer heads prevailed. The retirement of Walter Alston caused tears, the hiring of Lasorda replaced them with cheers. Fernandomania was an obsession they loved and there are no words for their reaction to Kirk Gibson's home run to remember in 1988. We all cursed Jody Reed's stupidity.
They were part of a group of season ticket holders until going to the games was no longer practical, due to my step-dad's health. To attend a game today would cost them $200 just to get to the turnstile. It hasn't been a problem. Until now, nearly every single Dodgers game each season was on television.
Now we have Sports Net LA. Owned by the Dodgers and broadcast only on Time Warner Cable. (TWC) at the moment. TWC wants big bucks to license the new Dodgers' network to other cable and satellite providers. It is somewhat understandable, given the huge investment TWC made in securing the rights to the Dodgers for a long term. At least it is to shareholders and investors.
It is not understandable to my mother and step-dad, because they're fans. They love the Dodgers win or lose. They'd rather have a team with half the current payroll that they can watch in their den at night than the current $234 million squad they can only listen to on the radio.
TWC and the Dodgers are making a major error here. They are failing to learn the lessons that should have been learned from a certain former owner of the club. Frank McCourt managed to do something we previously thought impossible. Own and run the Dodgers in a way as to cause attendance to fall sharply. We still loved the Dodgers. We just hated McCourt. In fact, I personally gave up my season seat interest when he bought the team and I haven't been to a game at Chavez Ravine since. If TWC doesn't find a way to make the deal with DirectTV, Dish, AT&T Uverse and the others, the fans who don't go to the stadium are going to lose interest. Rapidly. Getting it back won't be easy.
At a time when the team's #1 starter may miss the entire month of April, or longer, it would be the perfect moment to fix this problem by bringing the Dodgers into the homes of the fans who love them madly.
* * *
posted by me at 5:15 PM
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