Victims

My thoughts from the protest.

1. More than anything else, it seemed like people were looking for a leader.  I noticed a larger than normal group up and move after the 2nd, and lots of people seemed like they were wondering whether they should leave at the beginning or end of the 3rd.  I was in right, and noticed many, many, many green shirts that ended up not leaving.  I thought to myself "God, if everyone wearing green in this stadium gets up, we'd be in good shape"  Buster Olney called it "poorly organized", and I tend to agree, not to knock the guys who planned it, though.
2.  I know this is sad, but I ended up not getting up.  The few in my section that got up were quickly met with signs protesting the protesters.  But the thing that influenced me to stay the most is that I wanted to see exactly what was going to happen.  I had a perfect view of the entire park, and I wanted to see what was going to go down.  
3. I think the thing that hurt the protest the most was the Pirates getting out to a lead.  A big lead.  People were happy.  If it was 4-0 Nats after 3, things may have turned out better (for the protesters).  I noticed A LOT of people in green shirts, even the ones they gave away, staying put.  I guess it was more of an "Ehhhhh...People aren't getting up....I've got my sandwich....We're winning....screw it".
4. I really agree with Charlie.  It seems as if the Nuttings have now built a gerneration of Zombie fans if you will.  I was sitting behind a typical pony tailed, uneducated yinzr, who sat there and kept saying "I....I love the Pirates....I'm gonna support them no matter what".  Perhaps the style of protest was the biggest problem.  It was perceived by many as a walkout on the team, not the ownership.  I think many of us here are suprised at the lack of participation, because we feel so strongly about it.  We read into the moves as messages from ownership.  The average fan doesn't, whether we like it or not.  Is it sad that the mean Pirate IQ around here has plummeted? Yes, but the next time the die hards try to pull something like this off, there needs to be better information provided.  Hand out pamphlets at the entrances or something.  The media was a big help, but they are obligated to present both sides of a story.  If protester propaganda was created, maybe more people would have understood.
5. The initial response seems to be that this was a failure, but I really think it succeeded.  ESPN covered it.  Thats a victory in itself.  Part of me wonders if the Yankees were watching.  They effectively pay our players now, and I think the Pirates BEST shot would be the big city owners coming after Bob and Kevin.  Someone in a big city is gonna notice what is happening to their revenue sharing money, and they'll be pissed.  And God knows the Big Boy owners get what they want.