Triple-A All-Star Game

Impressive,

For the past three years I have been excited and curious to see the Triple-A Baseball All-Star Game, which was played today in my city of Portland. Though I was mostly looking forward to seeing the stars of the future, the city had its eyes on another goal: impressing Major League Baseball enough to bring a team to Portland. The prospects of this are doubtful.

Portland just doesn't seem to have what it takes to bring home a Major League club, whether you look at the mind-bogglingly small crowds, or the attempted waves in the heat of a close game*. Frankly, Portlanders just don't care for baseball that much, and the ones that do would rather take the 2 hour train ride down to Seattle and watch a real game with real fans than try to stay awake in the midst of an unenthusiastic Portland crowd.

This is not to say we're not enough for other sports. Portland has a very successful basketball organization in the Blazers, who sell-out nearly every home game, and are home to the rowdy Timbers Army, which will only expand come 2011 when our USL (United Soccer League) team is replaced by a more powerful and competitive MLS (Major League Soccer) squad.

And then there's loyalty to your team. Portland is home to some of the most loyal fans in the nation, which is a plus for the basketball and soccer world, but a minus in the baseball realm. As I briefly brought up earlier, most baseball fans in Portland (however few) have already lined themselves up behind the Seattle Mariners organization, which would put a potential MLB team in Portland out of business as soon as the team hits the field. I myself, a long time Seattle fan, don't believe I could bring myself to back a team that would end up rivaling the Emerald City boys.

Fortunately I won't have that problem, because Portland won't have an MLB team... ever.

Sincerely,
Lucas Biespiel


*There are rules to when the wave is appropriate to be used:

1: The difference in score MUST exceed 3.
2. The game must NOT be interesting.
3. If the wave is to be used after the 7th inning stretch, the difference i score MUST exceed 5 (if the difference is exactly 5 look to see if fans are enjoying the game, it's you're call)

The wave's intent is to entertain fans who were not being entertained by the game. DO NOT break these guidelines, or else you risk ridicule from true baseball fans.