The Pirates Care Not For Your "Protest"

As anyone who has watched a Baltimore Orioles game in the last decade knows, fan protests never work. They're usually more of a boon for the radio station that sponsors them than anyone else. Not that it's a problem; they garner some publicity and allow a bunch more fans to leave a game early, all the better to begin drinking earlier.

One thing you shouldn't do, though, if you're a team being protested is pretend the whole thing doesn't exist. The Pirates, whose fans have a walkout scheduled for the third inning this Saturday, are deliberately deleting all references to the protest from their Web site's message boards and instructing team employees to avoid all comment.

They have asked their television announcing crew not to discuss the walkout with the media. They have removed all comments about the walkout from their message board at pirates.com. They have the support of their television rights holder, FSN Pittsburgh, which does not plan to show the protest as part of its game coverage.

Now that's being fan-friendly! If they were really devoted to the cause, the Pirates would make the ushers restrain the fans and not allow them to leave their seats. You will stay and you will LIKE it!

Pirates Fans Planning A Walkout [Larry Brown Sports] Protest News [The Parrot]