Magic Is Right: Dodgers Aren’t Hurt One Bit By SportsNet LA Impasse
In order for the organization to truly bleed, it’s not enough for fans to be angry. It’s not enough for them to spew daily rants on sports radio and social media. It’s not enough for them to write vicious emails to Mark Walter, Stan Kasten, Magic and maybe even poor Vin Scully.
The Dodgers will feel their pain, but none of their own. As palpable as that fury may be, it actually prevents the team from experiencing the truly biggest threats.
Indifference, then abandonment.
The Dodgers’ brand won’t lose one iota of strength until fans shift from “being livid” to “no longer caring about the team.” And I truly mean stop caring. As in, “not a lick.”
We’re talking about the day when missing Clayton Kershaw’s brilliance no longer fazes fans in the slightest. The day where a spectacular (or spectacularly boneheaded) play from Yasiel Puig is met with a genuine shoulder shrug. The day when fans truly no longer give a crap about the Dodgers, because they’ve washed their hands of the entire organization and won’t ever look back.
And no matter how this moment feels now, we are a long way from that point. A loooooooooooooong way.
In truth, such a fate is damn near impossible for a franchise among the strongest in sports, much less baseball. The Dodgers are on par with the Los Angeles Lakers, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Steelers and a select few other franchises that set the bar for generational, institutional loyalty among fans.
I grew up in St. Louis rooting for the Cardinals, so I know how certain teams can truly shape the fabric and identity of a city, and even create a way of life. Stories and memories get passed down from grandfather to father to son, taking on a meaning bigger than the team itself.
Donning Dodger blue is a rite of passage for millions in L.A., and that’s not falling to wayside anytime soon, even as the organization does fans dirty.
Yes, there will inevitably be some “son or daughter of Dodger fans” kids who’ll spend a couple of years watching the Angels as a fallback, fall in love with Mike Trout, and adopt the Halos in the process. But that population represents a drop in the bucket for a franchise with so many worldwide fans.
In the meantime, far more kids will ride out the storm along with their parents and remain in the fold once TV normalcy resumes. (As for the notion of grown adults who’ve spent decades rooting for the Dodgers “switching” to the Angels or another team in protest… please. That would feel more embarrassing than vengeful.)
Yes, there are fans who’ve grown accustomed to filling time normally spent watching Dodger baseball with alternate TV options or brand new activities, which could seem dangerous in a city never been short on ways to entertain its citizens. Except it’s not really dangerous, because these aren’t habits truly changed, but rather sidelined out of necessity.
Fans have adopted Plan B because they have to, not because they want to. There’s a huge difference, and until that shift feels apparent, this is nothing more than a temporary exercise in killing time.
CONTINUE READING: What Dodgers Fans Can Do
Adam, in this article you mention fans sending angry emails to Stan Kasten, Mark Walter, etc… I’ve tried to find out how to get the email addresses of Dodger executives, not to send angry emails but to share a couple of marketing/media/fan experience ideas I have. I finally just posted my ideas through the “contact” section on the Dodgers’ website but I honestly believe my comments don’t get seen or if they do they don’t get the right eyes on them and get trashed immediately. They are really great ideas. How does someone find the emails of Dodger’ executives. I don’t want my ideas filtered by someone who gets paid to filter and sort the “comments” page. Thanks, Jim G.
There are so many technological workarounds, I think there are more people than TWC or the Dodgers even know are watching the games, including myself, without having TWC in my house! The internet has brought a different angle compared to when other cities couldn’t watch their teams. I’ll still go to Dodgers home games mainly because I can watch them on TV with no issue and no TWC.
One day, they will realize how stupid this is and will agree to a deal. The ones that should revolt are the sports bars and restaurants that are losing business because they can’t show Dodgers home or away games! That would make a bigger impact than the average fan. Thanks…Dwayne
Try [email protected] or ladodgers.com,and see if your email gets through to the power mongers. I’ve said that all along that if the fans don’t show their disapproval,and attend games at a record clip, the Dodgers aren’t suffering at all !
You know who I feel sorry for? How about those naive advertizers on LASportNet who are paying full price for ads that at least 70% of Dodger fans are not seeing? They should wake up, demand a refund and cancel altogether. Dodger fans would think higher of you! There is no Magic in Dodgertown – just GREED.
I really do not understand this BS at all. LA is the capital city of TV, and broadcasting, and these cable companies are like greedy oil companies!! It is complete BS!!! Why has the MLB not stepped in on this? Why are other cable providers not allowing games to be televised, and or why have they not set up a partnership with other providers? Why don’t other MLB teams in California have this problem, and if its about money and being the best, and acquiring players well I sure don’t see other MLB teams in California having a problem with that, nor do I see it as problem for them to win World Championships…ie the Giants!! Greedy assholes period!!!
Why all the crying Dodger fans? I was banished to Kansas several years ago and haven’t missed a Dodger game yet. Pony up and buy a subscription to MLB.com. Life is good.
we can’t its blacked out.
Ken Mueller, I would pay for MLB.com in a heartbeat, but local games are blacked out. MLB has the authority to make this change, but I don’t see that happening any time soon! Baseball is a business and to hell with the fans! Magic Johnson just said it “nicer”. I pay for MLB.com at Bat so I can listen to the games, but quite frankly the last 3 I turned off. Leave a pitcher in to load the bases. And don’t use the same lineup that won 6 games in a row????? Stupid and Frustrating!!! Not sure I even want to watch them on TV any more. I certainly don’t have my usual yearning to go see a game. SAD!!!!!
I beg to differ. it’s ignorant. being in oc my little league team last year was 6 dodger fans and 5 angel fans. this year it is 10 angel fans and 1 dodger fan. we just want to watch baseball the kids say. there’re no Puig Jerseys down here, no Kershaw..all trout and pujols. it wasn’t like that 2 years ago. not at all. I am a diehard and even I m having a hard time caring and I have been a fan for 30 years. it’s hard to identify with things u don’t see.
This TV deal situation to me is a bad bad thing, I don’t care what Magic
Johnson thinks about this not hurting the Dodgers brand, which i can’t
believe he said by the way, talk about not thinking before you speak,
with a young superstar who Is the face of MLB today just up the fwy in
Anaheim and can be seen on TV every game, what do you think is gonna
happen, today’s younger generation may like baseball but they didn’t
grow up playing baseball in the streets all day everyday
till the Sun went down live and breathe it like my generation did, they
had and have even more today to many other High tech toys and Options,
if you ask me, if they can’t watch the dodgers they will just move on to
other things, there goes the future fan base, they better fix this and
stop sweeping it under the rug like nothing’s wrong, they are not seeing
the whole big picture, the ramifications could be very bad, I’m just
saying
TWC, Direct TV only have a responsibility to their shareholders. Guggenheim Partners is the sole steward of Dodger Fans and they are who Dodger Fans should hold accountable. And Magic is a (dinky less than 1% minor insignificant face and mouthpiece) owner of the Dodgers. Mark Walter runs the Dodgers and Magic answers to him. And Mark Walter answers to his company owner Mr. Schwartz. Dodger fans appear to be unimportant to all entities… including Guggenheim Partners. Focus people.
The only way to turn this around is to do what we did when we got mccourt booted, we as a fan base need to boycot the games and in this case we need to ask of our brother fans that have TWC to cancel subscribtions and join us to full victory! They are declining us the last years of Vin and that in itself is a crime.
Spot on, Andy. TV or no TV, there are ways to stay up with what the team is doing because of the Internet. I get updates on Facebook because I can join several Facebook groups for free that keep me posted. It’s not as good a seeing it live, but the updates often include video clips of the action. Nothing replaces actually attending a game in Dodger Stadium anyway – even TV. Go Blue Machine!
Nobody … NOBODY … is irreplaceable. Even the vaunted Dodgers can become ho-hum. Damage is being done to the Dodger brand and even Mr. 1%, though he says otherwise, knows that. There’s always someone waiting in the wings to take over the top spot.