This evening, the South Oakland Ducks of the North Side travel to the edge of civilization to play the Saxonburg [Saxons?] in the opening round of the BEC/PGHNABA/SteelCityClassic Wood Bat double elimination tourney.
The Butler tournament didn't exist until we tried to contact their teams about playing in the Steel City Classic, then they under cut us and put out an inferior product.
In truely Capitalist fashion the Steel City Classic, an entity run by Joe, Vinny, and Sorosky, with minor help from myself and TC, Kenny Powers, and Tremel (sp.), was absorbed by the bigger cheaper Butler Tournament, a tournament that may not provide the same quality as the one we've been working since spring, but it will be less expensive. Does the consumer really benefit?
We've been bought out, basically.
Once we paid them they changed formats twice.
The number of guaranteed games has dropped to 4 to 2.
Let's win and it won't matter.
They are charging $15 per spectator to watch games at Pullman.
i doubt we see much of a cut from the door.
Maybe that's what we should have done, charged admission to amateur games in order to subsidize some of our cost.
Today the Ducks take the field at the same time as the legaue champ Hurricane's, Halloway hates the blogosphere, and especially this blog, but we are pulling for him, and the Fightin's today.
The backdrop here is one of our entire league being disrespected, and disregarded as fodder for the Fed and BEC teams to beat up on, while we hand over our money to subsidize their methlabs.
Normally I don't believe in playing for respect. But this is different. There is more on the line for our league in this tourney than there was when the Blues romped in the AC tourney.
As much as our league has grown and as far as it has come, - and it has come a very long way - it is clear that we still are not respected locally.
With all this bullshit dominating the week leading up to the start of the tournament, there is still baseball to be played.
If the Ducks, and the Pittsburgh NABA want the respect of these teams we have the opportunity to earn it.
***
We were put in this bracket specifically to be door mats to the Saxonburgs, (that name sounds like something out of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.)
We are South Oakland of the North Side.
We will face either a former pro or a DI pitcher, nothing we haven't seen in over the summer I'm sure.
We have an opportunity today.
This evening, the creepy, backwoods Butler County countryside will resonate with the sound of
quack.
Abe Lincoln is back with a vengeance.Bad news for Saxonburg.
