Back in late February, I wrote a response to
the Crier’s Feb. 28 editorial “Save the Weekend“,
in which I said that “the paper’s criticism of
savethefamegame.com and the growing number
of people nationwide who have voiced their own
opinions is misguided.” The response was
passionate because I am passionate about
baseball, but even more so about Cooperstown.
Cooperstown is a place that has always
respected the past and has always respected
traditions, and I like to think that the Hall of
Fame Game is a Cooperstown and baseball
tradition worth trying to preserve for my
generation, and for those generations that will
follow.
Since 1940, generations of Americans have
built their own personal and family traditions
around making the pilgrimage to Cooperstown to
see two Major League teams play in the sport’s
celebrated hometown. Fathers and sons, mothers
and daughters, and friends and neighbors alike
have been able to experience firsthand the glory
of the national pastime in a setting that is
intimate, pure, and inspiring, and more true to
baseball’s history than any other setting you can
find today.
Equally compelling to me in my decision to try
to make a difference is that Cooperstown is my
hometown. It is where I was allowed to experience,
learn, mature, and to develop into the person that
I am today, and it continues to move me every
time I return. I haven’t been a full-time resident
of Cooperstown for over a decade, but there is not
a day that goes by when I don’t feel that I am a
part of the Cooperstown community.
So I launched savethefamegame.com, a
grassroots campaign that has given people from
all over the world the chance to stand up to this
decision, too, and people have responded. People
are choosing to fight because they don’t like how
the Commissioner’s Office and the Players
Association are treating baseball only as an
industry, always choosing to chase the extra
dollar without regard to serving the sport’s best
interests as a national game and as an integral
part of our American identity and history. Most
importantly, people don’t like how MLB and the
union are treating baseball fans.
People are responding because they don’t want
to be the people who sat by and allowed
Cooperstown to lose out to someone else’s bottom
line, and as a result have an integral part of its
own identity and history taken away from it
without a fight.
Some people — even if they are not from
Cooperstown or the surrounding area — are
responding because they are concerned about a
small-town, tourism-based economy of 2,000 fulltime
residents losing a day during the summer
when there are 10,000 people on and around Main
Street.
Some people are responding because they’re
concerned about Cooperstown Central School
students losing an opportunity to fundraise for
their senior trip or other class activities, taking
the burden off the local community to fund
activities that have a lasting impact and benefit
for those who are able to experience them. They
are responding because they are worried about a
family of four losing an up-close-and-personal
opportunity to see Major League teams and
players.
Whatever each individual’s personal reason for
voicing their opinion may be, the group all shares
the same passion, and that is to save the Hall of
Fame Game and preserve a great Cooperstown,
American and baseball tradition.
Kristian Connolly grew up in Cooperstown and
now resides in Washington, D.C. He is the creator
of the web site savethefamegame.com, which is
dedicated to reversing the decision to end the
annual Hall of Fame Game after the 2008
contest.
inactive
June 12, 2008
Many reasons to save game
- inactive
-
- Littering a major problem The annual observation of Earth Day is April 22, and the Earth Festival that has been held in Milford for the past five years is this Saturday.
- Mayor, board deserve praise Hats off to the mayor and village board for their work on formulating a budget for the coming year that calls for a reasonable tax rate increase while maintaining services and planning for capital improvements.
- It’s time to be creative For the last few weeks, we’ve devoted a lot of space in the paper to the dire news coming out of Cooperstown Central School regarding their projected budget for next year. With state aid decreasing, teachers and programs may be eliminated next year to make up the shortfall.
- Time to work together The election is over and we offer our congratulations to Joe Booan, Alton Dunn III, Lynne Mebust and Leslie Friedman for their victories.
- Katz is our choice for mayor Next Tuesday’s annual village election has a full slate of candidates for mayor, trustee and justice. Our choice for mayor is Jeff Katz, the senior member of the village board and the current Deputy Mayor.
- We’re in this together This year’s village election offers an interesting look at a pervasive aspect of small town politics _ newcomers versus native sons or daughters.
- Jump is annual highlight Our hats go off to all jumpers who took the plunge into freezing-cold water during the 15th annual Goodyear Lake Polar Bear Jump held on Saturday.
- Classic changes should enhance fans’ experience After last year’s inaugural Hall of Fame Classic, we wrote an editorial outlining some changes that we felt would make the game more appealing to baseball fans. Coincidentally or not, we’re pleased to see museum officials have addressed most of those concerns for the second Classic, which is scheduled for Father’s Day, June 20.
- Every little bit helps The village’s attempt to capitalize on some of its unique baseball heritage is a step in the right direction. The plan to take advantage of the village’s iconic Doubleday Field by licensing the commercial use of images of the field and marketing a newly developed logo creates a welcome new revenue stream.
- Village should speak up Two weeks ago, Congressman Michael Arcuri said what should be obvious to everyone _ our water supply is our most valuable resource.
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