my name is sophie, i am a german student from munich, germany. i study american culture and currently i'm trying to write a paper on the expos being moved. i had thought that san juan was being considered as a permanent base for them and that would have been interesting in terms of the first mlb team in latin america. but as i see, that's not the plan, so i had to change plans. i think a good topic would be the fan's identification with their team and the impact such a move would have on them.
now here are some of my questions:
what do you feel is the general opinion among expos fans concerning the relocation? is it tragic? can it be compared with relocating the dodgers or the giants?
are fans upset? what do they want for their team besides keeping it in montreal? is there a favorite place they would want to see them go to?
would they still follow the expos even if they were situated at a different place or would they find a new team to root for?
is it true that it was being discussed to move the twins last year? was that a bigger/not as big of a deal?
do you think it makes a difference that the expos play in canada? would US fans react differently?
i know this is a whole bunch of questions all at once. but i guess you can see where i'm getting at. it would be great if you could tell me whatever you think could be helpful for me. both facts and "fans' emotions" would be perfect. or else if you know of any good websites that i could look up, tell me, cause all i have is the internet. baseball is very much unknown around here!!!!
i would be happy just to hear anything from you, don't hesitate if you don't want to answer everthing, i can understand that's a lot of work!!!
thank you so much in advance,
hope to hear from you,
sophie
Answer Hi Sophie,
Sorry for the delay, was on holiday for 3 weeks.
I will give you the general answers for your essay, and you'll easily be able to make something fruitful out of it.
-- what do you feel is the general opinion among expos fans concerning the relocation?
People don't even care anymore. General opinion is sad. About 1,500 hardcore fans, maybe, and when I say hardcore, that who goes to the stadium at least 15-20 times a year, are really pissed and saddened and still believe they can stay, but about 90% of the general opinion is "I don't care, I hope they leave". It's sadly come to this
-- Is it tragic?
Yes, for us hardcore fans, but for most of the population, if you ask them if it's tragic they'll laugh at you.
-- can it be compared with relocating the dodgers or the giants?
Can you kill a bear with a tothbrush? Not even close. Just as irrelevant as when the Browns left St. Louis for Baltimore.
-- are fans upset?
Same answer as with your is it tragic question
-- what do they want for their team besides keeping it in montreal?
Like I said earlier, they don't care. If you asked them to try hard, they might say a new stadium, but they'll never say they want them to keep the stars, cuz they know it's fiscally impossible
-- is there a favorite place they would want to see them go to?
Yes, downtown Montreal :-)
-- would they still follow the expos even if they were situated at a different place or would they find a new team to root for?
That I can only answer for myself. I would definitely root for another team, rooting for a team that's been here 35 years playing somewhere else would be unbearable
-- is it true that it was being discussed to move the twins last year?
Yes, and much like the Expos, it was all about the stadium. The owners have the money, and the Twins made the playoffs. They aren't going anywhere
-- was that a bigger/not as big of a deal?
Probably a bigger deal because it was a US-based team, and the Twins don't have much trouble supporting, it's just that it was hard to think of them being, for example, the Charlotte Twins or whatever, more so than let's say the Washington Expos
-- o you think it makes a difference that the expos play in canada?
Yes, and I'll tell you why. Revenues in canadian funds, salaries paid in US funds, and $30 million in salary is $45 million canadian, you do the math :-)
-- would US fans react differently?
Well, Minnesota fans sure did, and so did the politician(s). Government doesn't care about the Expos now, but when they leave, they'll see the economic impact they had, albeit as low as it is, it is still substantial
