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Saturday, April 26, 2008

N.Y. Daily News: Spector: Hey Dodgers - Brooklyn isn’t yours anymore

Reporting live from the solemn Ebbets Field Power Memorial services...Jesse Spector.

What’s not awesome is that the Dodgers are running ads to celebrate their 50th anniversary in Los Angeles. I just saw one between the 11th and 12th innings featuring Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sharing his favorite Dodgers memory. So, what’s his favorite Dodgers memory in this 50th anniversary in Los Angeles? Sitting in the left field bleachers in 1956 and watching Jackie Robinson steal second base.

In a way, I guess it works - Kareem is an L.A. legend with New York roots, just like the Dodgers. And the ad goes right to the old standby that you can never go wrong with Jackie Robinson. Except that this ad campaign is highlighting the Dodgers’ 50 years in L.A., and Kareem’s memory is from Brooklyn.

In another 47 years, when the Portland Nationals are celebrating 25 years in Oregon, I hope they ask me to be in an ad where I talk about getting to see Vladimir Guerrero in Montreal.

Look, the Kareem thing is well-intentioned, I suppose, but it’s also mildly offensive to me as a Brooklyn-born baseball fan, and feels like they’re wrongly capitalizing on Robinson’s legacy from Brooklyn to promote their California history. It’s now between the top and bottom of the 12th, and they just ran a similar commercial with Ron Cey. Much better.

Repoz Posted: April 26, 2008 at 02:54 PM | 19 comment(s)
Related News: General, LA Dodgers

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1. TerpNats Posted: April 26, 2008 at 03:21 PM (#2759848)

Portland Marlins, perhaps. But not Portland Nationals.

And I say this as the son of Brooklynites.

2. The Most Interesting Man In The World Posted: April 26, 2008 at 03:22 PM (#2759853)

I didn't realize that horses were still being buried in New York.

3. Hello Rusty Kuntz, Goodbye Rusty Cars Posted: April 26, 2008 at 05:41 PM (#2759944)

##### ##### #####.

4. Lassus Posted: April 26, 2008 at 07:17 PM (#2759982)

The Daily News spits out crap like this on a, um, daily basis, so whatever.

5. Baseballing powerhouse Crispix Attacks Posted: April 26, 2008 at 07:20 PM (#2759986)

Blargh. Brooklyn is part of the history of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Maybe if they had changed their name and look when they moved, it wouldn't be seen as part of their history. But they didn't change.

Who cares?

6. Bob T Posted: April 26, 2008 at 07:58 PM (#2760043)

But Kareem and Jackie Robinson both were college stars at UCLA. Kareem, when in high school, got a postcard from Jackie Robinson encouraging him to attend UCLA (which would be an NCAA violation now).

Should L.A. sports fans have to relinquish any fondness for Kareem Abdul Jabbar because he went to Power Memorial High and he "belongs" to New York?

This stuff still wasn't as bad as Roger Kahn's crap in the Los Angeles Times.

7. bads85 Posted: April 26, 2008 at 08:47 PM (#2760111)

Hey Brooklyn,

The Dodgers aren't yours anymore.

8. RMc is the President of the United States Posted: April 26, 2008 at 10:16 PM (#2760242)

In another 47 years

Sorry, but baseball will be gone by then, even though this guy will hit the Series-winning home run in 2042.

9. jesse spector Posted: April 27, 2008 at 12:18 AM (#2760324)

Howdy... I thought I'd address some of the comments here... I didn't hate the ad, but just found it a little off-putting. I understand that Brooklyn is part of the Dodgers' history, and that's fine -- my point was that for an ad campaign celebrating the Dodgers' 50 years in Los Angeles, they should be focusing on those 50 years.

Should L.A. sports fans have to relinquish any fondness for Kareem Abdul Jabbar because he went to Power Memorial High and he "belongs" to New York?

Not at all. Personally, I think of Kareem as an L.A. guy.

This stuff still wasn't as bad as Roger Kahn's crap in the Los Angeles Times.

Thanks?

Sorry, but baseball will be gone by then, even though this guy will hit the Series-winning home run in 2042.

I didn't realize that character appeared on DS9 so many times. So the London Kings will be around in seven years, and the Cubs will somehow beat Miami in the World Series (according to Back to the Future 2.)

10. Tuque Snider is the new Gagne_55 Posted: April 27, 2008 at 01:58 AM (#2760363)

it’s also mildly offensive to me

To hell with baseball. Getting offended is now America's new national pastime.

11. bads85 Posted: April 27, 2008 at 02:10 AM (#2760367)

my point was that for an ad campaign celebrating the Dodgers' 50 years in Los Angeles, they should be focusing on those 50 years.

You missed the point of the ad --- and it is a very obvious point. Jackie Robinson transcended geographic borders and moved people across the nation, including people in Los Angeles. Because of Robinson, Kareem already had a bond with the Dodgers before they moved to Los Angeles.

12. dahlian Kirby, children's author extraordinaire. Posted: April 27, 2008 at 02:10 AM (#2760368)

Personally, I think it's ridiculous for the new Mets stadium to have a Jackie Robinson pavilion.

13. Gold Star for Robot Boy Posted: April 27, 2008 at 02:11 AM (#2760369)

To hell with baseball. Getting offended is now America's new national pastime.
YOU TAKE THAT BACK. RIGHT NOW.

14. Hello Rusty Kuntz, Goodbye Rusty Cars Posted: April 27, 2008 at 02:13 AM (#2760371)

DON'T MAKE FUN OF AMERICA, ########

15. Vaux, A.B.D. Posted: April 27, 2008 at 02:21 AM (#2760376)

Will baseball still be around in 47 years? Baseball will be--the game--unless civilization is destroyed. The current major leagues would either have to screw up a lot or public tastes would have to change a lot (or the U.S. being conquered by a country that hates baseball) for an MLB not to exist in 47 years that clearly descends from the one we have today. One of those things is certainly possible, but I don't think particularly likely.

16. battlekow Posted: April 27, 2008 at 02:48 AM (#2760380)

You're a really serious dude, Vaux.

17. You can't lose with Randy Winn, says Flynn Posted: April 27, 2008 at 04:33 AM (#2760388)

Personally, I think it's ridiculous for the new Mets stadium to have a Jackie Robinson pavilion.

Well yeah, considering there is very little in the way of public remembrance of the New York Giants, whose fans seemingly just got on with it, either in becoming Yankee fans,just being Mets fans, or just plain ol' still rooting for the Giants, rather than wailing long and loud over their team.

By the way, does the NY Giants Historical Society have a website?

18. TerpNats Posted: April 27, 2008 at 10:32 AM (#2760414)

You missed the point of the ad --- and it is a very obvious point. Jackie Robinson transcended geographic borders and moved people across the nation, including people in Los Angeles. Because of Robinson, Kareem already had a bond with the Dodgers before they moved to Los Angeles.

Robinson also spent much of his youth in southern California and was one of UCLA's all-time greatest athletes. Because of that, I'll give the Dodgers a pass on this one. It's not as it some old fogey was praising the glories of Zach Wheat.

19. jesse spector Posted: April 28, 2008 at 01:52 AM (#2761062)

You missed the point of the ad --- and it is a very obvious point. Jackie Robinson transcended geographic borders and moved people across the nation, including people in Los Angeles. Because of Robinson, Kareem already had a bond with the Dodgers before they moved to Los Angeles.

I don't think I missed the point -- I get Jackie Robinson's importance. And if it was an ad for the Dodgers' anniversary as a major league franchise, I'd have no problem with it at all.

As it is, I don't have a huge problem with it, which is why I wrote, "In a way, I guess it works." It just feels to me like if the Yankees were running similar ads for the history of Yankee Stadium, and someone talked about the Jeter flip play, which happened in Oakland. This ad campaign is about 50 years in Los Angeles, where Robinson didn't play a single major-league game. I'm well aware of Robinson's California connections, especially at UCLA, but the issue here -- at least to me -- is that this is a commercial that just left me scratching my head.

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Saturday, April 26, 2008

N.Y. Daily News: Spector: Hey Dodgers - Brooklyn isn’t yours anymore

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