While writers and pundits decry the fact that Manny Ramirez isn't being made into a total pariah as the result of his drug suspension, the fans are making their thoughts about the man very, very clear:
When Manny Ramirez returns to Dodger Stadium, so does Mannywood.
The fans have spoken, the Dodgers say. They want their "Mannywood" T-shirts, and their special block of seats adjacent to left field.
When Ramirez was suspended May 7 for violating baseball's drug policy, the Dodgers withdrew the Mannywood promotion. He is scheduled to be reinstated July 3, and the Dodgers plan to reinstate Mannywood on July 16, in their first home game after his return.
"We decided to reopen Mannywood directly based on our fans' interest," Dodgers President Dennis Mannion said.
It's important to remember that we watch baseball to be entertained. Manny entertains people, and thank goodness most people appreciate that that matters way more than the moral of ethics of PEDs, however interesting a subject it may be.
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The fans want cheaper food, quicker lines, and cheaper parking too. I'd have more respect for them if they said they need to generate revenue to pay his contract rather than do something questionable in light of the suspension and say the fans want it.
Quit your moralizing. He still plays forthe Dodgers, and the tickets get sold whether there's a Mannywood or not. Remember the Dodgers have been among league leaders in attendance for decades. What WOULD be disingenous is if they forced a Mannywood section on fans who didn't want it. As it stands, it costs them next to next to nothing to do it so why not?
yup, it's true, the Dodgers draw tremendously. I've actually been at a Dodger game and heard people, as they arrived in the 3rd inning, ask the score. Told it was scoreless, one of them said "good, we didn't miss anything" and the others with him agreed. And then there was the great shot of the parking lot as Kirk Gibson's incredible home run cleared the right field fence. You know, the shot of the hundreds and hundreds of brake lights of the fans (?) leaving. So yes, they have lots of people attending. Never a better example of quantity being emphasized over quality.
I see. You'd rather have 3 thousand a game, but they stay till the end. Got it.