Opening Night at the Diamond
The Diamond was SOLD OUT. People actually went to a baseball game and were excited to be there. It was hard to ignore the buzz. Yesterday’s home opener was going to be crazy. Richmond has realized that it had made a mistake by letting its previous team go, and they showed their support by making […]
The Diamond was SOLD OUT. People actually went to a baseball game and were excited to be there. It was hard to ignore the buzz. Yesterday’s home opener was going to be crazy. Richmond has realized that it had made a mistake by letting its previous team go, and they showed their support by making it out to the yard.
I just kept wondering, could the Flying Squirrels replace the R-Braves?
I have to admit, the stadium felt nice. It’s still the Diamond. Until you knock down that huge structure, it will always be the Diamond. Still, gone is Connecticut. There are new concession areas. There are crazy games throughout the innings. The vendors wear pirate costumes. The field looked wonderful. The mascot is disturbingly crazy. This organization has made a point to bring a different feel to this place, and it is quite noticeable. From a production standpoint, there is no arguing that they stepped up and delivered.
The only question is whether the fans of this area can actually embrace the team. First of all, people around here loved the Braves organization. It makes sense. They were the nearest NL team (until Washington brought baseball back). The parent club was on tv every day thanks to TBS. The Squirrels have the Giants as a parent club. There is no affinity for them here in Richmond, so the love of this team will have to be the very team itself. It will have to take time some time before people get to know these players. I consider myself an above average baseball fan and yet it is taking me a few games to figure out who’s who.
In the end, we need to make sure that we do everything to keep this team here. If last night showed me anything, baseball does belong in Richmond. Opening night is now a thing of the past, but there are fun promotional nights around the corner. Every home stand there will be something that will bring us back, and it may be the green grass, the smell of hot dogs, and the crack of the bat.
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