Zach Thompson, 23, wants the Orioles to tell him exactly why he and his 19 friends were escorted by four cops and several ushers from Oriole Park at Camden Yards an inning after the team recognized them as the “Fans of the Game.” The Parkville resident said the group was thrown out because Red Sox fans complained it was cheering too loudly. — Courtesy photo

Tony Giro, The Examiner
2008-05-23 07:00:00.0
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Here’s one for Luke Scott's notebook.

Zach Thompson and Matt Ward settled into their seats alongside 18 of their friends at Camden Yards to watch a recent game between the Orioles and Red Sox. They are part of a generation of young fans who have to watch “Orioles Classics” to see the team win big games.

Thompson wore an orange T-shirt emblazoned with the letter “E” so he could help his buddies spell out the first name of one of his favorite Orioles: Luke Scott. To Thompson’s gang, it’s L-u-u-u-u-ke Scott, as one person sported the L, 17 wore a U and one donned the K.

It certainly was a great night to be an Orioles fan — one so great Thompson, 23, and Ward, 21, will remember it forever.

After all, it’s not every day you are honored by your beloved team for being the “Fans of the Game” one inning — and then get thrown out like Uncle Phil tossing D.J. Jazzy Jeff out of the Fresh Prince’s mansion the next.

The reason they were shown the exit faster than a Danys Baez fastball? Thompson, Ward and Co. apparently cheered too loudly for the home team that — get this — surrounding Red Sox fans complained enough to have the crew kicked out just minutes after being highlighted on the Jumbotron.

“It’s bad enough we’ve had to watch bad baseball for 10 years, then they do things like this on top of it,” Thompson, a Parkville resident, said. “Some of us still support and love them, but the same ushers who reprimand Orioles fans let Sox and Yankees fans chant, stand and do whatever they want. They take over our stadium, and we’re the ones who are asked to leave. Go ahead and kick out the true fans they still have and see where it gets them.”

Here’s what it will get the Orioles: even more empty seats in baseball's best stadium.

The Orioles certainly have put a better product on the field but continue to alienate a once-proud fan base through poor public relations decisions.

Orioles fans haven't flown the coop solely because of 10 straight losing seasons and being promised Rocky Coppinger, Sidney Ponson, Matt Riley and Josh Towers were the next Dobson, McNally, Palmer and Cuellar.

“I went to a lot of games growing up and it's nothing the players did, so I'm still going to support them,” Ward said. “I'm not going to let one incident make me not be an O's fan anymore. But when you go and give the team some positive energy, that's not the way you should be treated — especially when attendance is bad and the players they've been putting on the field haven't been great. It's embarrassing for the organization to kick fans out.”

A representative from the Orioles said the team is trying to cultivate a fun, family atmosphere at Camden Yards and, “Fans are ejected as a last resort. It usually involves obsessive use of profanity and/or overly confrontational behavior.”

When asked exactly why Thompson, Ward and friends were ejected, the representative declined comment. But what will happen if Orioles fans are kicked out of the stadium the first time a Yankee fan complains during the teams’ series that begins on Monday afternoon? Before that happens, it’s time for the Orioles to apologize — not just to Ward, Thompson and their flock, but to Baltimore. Until the Orioles change the way they treat people, they won't regain this town's trust no matter how many games they win.

Memo to Mr. Angelos and minions: Marketing doesn’t always mean having the catchiest jingle or leading the league in floppy hat and bobblehead giveaways. Often times, the best marketing is free. It’s in the way you treat people — the ones who spend their hard-earned dollars so the Orioles can pay grown men millions to play a kids’ game.

Just look at the “Lukegate” group.

Twenty tickets on the third-base line: $500.

Beer: $5.50 a pop.

Hot dog: $4.50 apiece.

Getting escorted out by four cops and a bunch of ushers with no clear explanation: The (New) Oriole Way.

“My first love was the Orioles and this is how they treat fans who want to stand up and cheer for them,” Thompson said. “The Ravens don't treat their fans like that. One Red Sox fan was tormenting Orioles fans and cussing and was never spoken to by the ushers.”

I want the Orioles to win and love them more than Kevin Millar loves frosted tips. If I didn't, I wouldn't have named my first son Brooks.

But it’s time for them to take the name of the city they represent out of the witness protection program and put it back on letterhead, stadium ads and most importantly, the road uniforms. It’s about readjusting the sights to hit their target audience. And until the Orioles end two decades of neglecting a once passionate fan base and improve their public perception, Baltimore will never again be a baseball town.

Tony Giro is a lifelong Baltimore sports fan who blogs on examiner.com for fans. If you subscribe — it’s free — you’ll be e-mailed each time Tony posts a column. He can be reached at timeout@baltimoreexaminer.com.