But For The Love Of The Game ...

The young man had raised the now enormous black Angus steer since it's weening as a small calf, caring for it faithfully each day, and had won numerous ribbons and awards at various county fairs and livestock shows ... the powerful bovine seemed almost like a part of the family, even like a friend at times ... but today things were different ... the boy's father had loaded the majestic animal onto a cattle hauler in which it would be carried away to the stockyard for auction, then on to a slaughterhouse to be butchered for beef ... most likely ending up on someones' dinner plate in New York City or Boston.

The brooding teen stood there leaning against the rough rail fence as he watched the big semi pull away from the farm and vanish tauntingly from sight, warm tears streaking down his freckled cheeks ... his father reassuringly placed a calloused hand on the young lad's slumping shoulder, and while reaching him a thick wad of cash with the other he said ... "boy, you know this is a business, we're not in it for fun, we're in it for money, and that steer was worth a lot of it ... so take this cash, and go buy yourself another one ... but remember what I said, this is a business!"

America has endured many tough and heartrending times since her birth, such as the awful terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Franklin D. Roosevelt's "Day Of Infamy," the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the Great Depression of the 1930s and numerous wars among other infamous troubles ... all unforgettable experiences, but how soon we do forget ... a few days ago Atlanta Braves fans experienced what could be characterized as their "Day Of Infamy," the day John Smoltz, for whatever reason, after 21 faithful years, was no longer a member of the Atlanta Braves organization and on his way to Boston ... this is in no way comparable in scope to the misery and suffering of the aforementioned national hardships and atrocities, but nonetheless shocking and disheartening to most genuine Braves fans ... the resulting affront of disgust and outrage being conveyed recently by scores of angry Braves fans on various blogs and other media outlets has been at Brobdingnagian proportions ... and this is some of what Atlanta Braves GM Frank Wren had to say about that, "It's not unlike talk radio, and I've stopped listening to talk radio. I don't think the average sports fan calls talk radio, nor do I think he goes on the blogs. That's a special group of fans ... someone who wants the experience of making a call or typing a sentence. I don't think that represents the masses" ... "if you go by those, you get a somewhat distorted view" ... in other words, Frank Wren doesn't give a tinkers' damn as to what fans think ... "you know this is a business" ... but how soon we do forget.

Now that I have had a day or so to contemplate and reflect upon these recent noteworthy happenings, the following observation could most likely be just another of my ofttimes distorted perceptions ... but I believe the predominant factor that has most folks so stirred with rage is not primarily the loss of the beloved, ol' standard #29, that's only part of it ... I believe it has more to do with the stark and sudden realization that Braves owners and management could care less about the desires of the fans, and have little respect for their thoughts or feelings ... enabling John Smoltz to walk has merely served to drive that fact home ... for some loyal, longtime fans it's extremely difficult to differentiate between the business end of baseball and the love of the game ... however it's quite another story as for the younger crowd, who mainly base their loyalty to certain players according to levels of performance ... do well and you're a favorite, not so well and you're a worthless bum ... immediate gratification at all costs ... this is the crowd that corporate, sports franchise owners and management are targeting with flashy advertising and slick marketing ploys ... this is the crowd with empty heads and full wallets who are willing to spend money on overpriced beer and overrated players, no matter the brand, no matter the name on the back of the jersey, as long as the beer is cold and the player is a winner ... this is the preferred crowd ... after all "this is a business."

The only voice fans have that is loud enough to be heard by greedy and arrogant team owners and management is their absence ... those rows of empty seats shown in these respective photos are the only thing that will get their attention ... but we all know that a true, efficacious boycott directed toward the Atlanta Braves organization will never come to fruition ... just as with most unpleasant occurrences, the steaming fervor which has erupted over the John Smoltz departure will soon cool and be all but forgotten by most of those "average" Braves fans ... and as warming beams of spring sunshine begin to leach the sting from the chilly breezes of our winter of discontent, the boys of summer will again take to the field for yet another season of play in the grand old game ... the game will continue, business as usual ... the '09 Atlanta Braves will have a new ace on the hill in place of the old one, and the 25-man roster will have been filled by warm bodies, whomever they may be ... and once again "the Braves take the field" ... not the Atlanta Braves of years gone by, those Atlanta Braves that folks had come to love, those Braves are gone forever ... no, this will be the corporate-friendly version of the Atlanta Braves ... and the preferred crowd will again be filling the seats ... and filling the pockets of bottom line-wary owners and management ... as they spend their money on overpriced beer and overrated players, no matter the brand, no matter the name on the back of the jersey ... and as the dust settles and the tears dry up, there will be a handful of others there too ... "that special group of fans ... those not representative of the masses" ... those loyal, longtime fans who have had their hearts crushed more times than they care to remember ... those fans who will never forget, but who are ever willing to forgive the sour moves of the past, including the obvious and brazen-faced disrespect shown to them relative to the inglorious treatment of future Hall-of-Famer John Smoltz ... those fans will be there ... and as an excited boy stands there peering through a chain link fence watching his favorite slugger drive the baseball over the centerfield wall to vanish tauntingly from sight, a broad smile streaking across his freckled cheeks ... his father reassuringly places a calloused hand on his young son's proud shoulder, and while reaching him his old baseball glove with the other he says ... "boy, some say this is just business, only played for money, but we're not here for that ... so take this ol' mitt, and go have yourself some fun ... and remember what I said!" ... but for the love of the game!

--sja