Baltimore Orioles: Thoughts about Putting the 2020 FanFest On Ice
The Era of No Stars
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Other than your fan favorites such as Ripkin, Murrary, Palmer, Robinson and a few other legends there really isn’t a star grab in this era yet.
There is a possibility that the organization understands that numbers could possibly dwindle. This is a rebuilding period and as much as you can love the familiar names from the glory days, the new generation of fans (be it toddler to 20s) did not grow up with world series winners unless their parents ingrained those players of importance.
Nostalgia can only take you so far until you have to attest for a team of unproven ballplayers and rotation door free agents that will be in the yard for a cup of coffee. Not to mention, players from the Showalter era that could be on the trade block for potential unproven talent.
By deconstructing events from an era of expectations to an era of being under the radar will also mean a more humble welcoming to keep fans around.
OPPORTUNITY FOR NEW BEGINNINGS
Yes as grim and as pessimistic as this article sounds, this new direction is a chance for reinvention. The Orioles can have an opportunity here to take advantage of players who are still new and wish to see the fans other than those who have found stardom and grow a distance. Expect to see more intimate events that bring fans closer as well as chances to be apart of the team’s potential rise to the top.
Cancelling FanFest doesn’t necessarily mean alienation of the fans, but an opportunity for new beginnings and something even more welcoming.
Conclusion
With their rival, the Washington Nationals hosting a World Series down the beltway, the Baltimore Orioles have their work cut out for them. Especially since it’s been now 37 seasons since Baltimore has seen a World Series victory parade.
There will be an influx of fans coming and going during this time so the fans that are loyal will stick around as long as there is a reason to see improvement. Trusting the process is going to be easier said than done, but if things are ever going to get better for this organization then practices like this will have to happen.
Doing things the way they always have been done for the sake of familiarity is not a good recipe for success.
Expect more changes and things that will shake the fanbase and the organization up. There has to be a compensation for a lack of competitive baseball for some seasons.
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However, it’s not all bad because hope and patience are present amongst uncertainty and potential frustration. All in all, fans of the Baltimore Orioles are just going to have to trust the process because their GM and his staff are one of many reasons the Astros went from bottom dwellers to appearing in two World Series in under 3 years.