Take me out to the ballgame, take me out to .... church?

Published on Saturday, June 3, 2006 by The Nation
The Rockies Pitch Religion
by Dave Zirin

In Colorado, there stands a holy shrine called Coors Field. On this site, named for the holiest of beers, a team plays that has been chosen by Jesus Christ himself to play .500 baseball in the National League West. And if you don't believe me, just ask the manager, the general manager and the team's owner.

In a remarkable article from Wednesday's USA Today, the Colorado Rockies went public with the news that the organization has been explicitly looking for players with "character." And according to the Tribe of Coors, "character" means accepting Jesus Christ as your personal lord and savior. "We're nervous, to be honest with you," Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd said. "It's the first time we ever talked about these issues publicly. The last thing we want to do is offend anyone because of our beliefs." When people are nervous that they will offend you with their beliefs, it's usually because their beliefs are offensive.

As Rockies chairman and CEO Charlie Monfort said, "We had to go to hell and back to know where the Holy Grail is. We went through a tough time and took a lot of arrows."

Club president Keli McGregor chimed in, "Who knows where we go from here? The ability to handle success will be a big part of the story, too. There will be distractions. There will be things that can change people. But we truly do have something going on here. And using us in a powerful way

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0603-21.htm

I can't see how it can help. I mean, we all know that Jesus Christ can't hit a curve-ball. If they really want to win, then they need to follow Jobu.

:rofl:

Fuck you, Jobu. I do it myself.

as I recall.

Yeah. ::shiver:: It's terrible. I specifically hide out the depths of prosperous, progressive, educated downtown Denver for just that reason.
Although, interesting to note: Denver County, Boulder County, and every county with a major ski resort (i.e. anywhere any reasonable human would desire to live in Colorado) went blue as the sky in 2004. It's just the rural or suburban blighted shitholes where they love Bushie and "Left Behind". But you're right, Xxxxxtreme Jesus!!!! is everywhere. That's why we're the thinnest state in the nation (true)... CONSTANT nausea brought on by the bible bangers.

I see they're currently in the cellar of the NL West ...

Seriously, my mom and I could manage that team better than the clowns who've been in the front office since 1993. If they're looking for players with "character" instead of skills, they deserve what they get.

Seems like every time I turn on a ballgame, I see at least two former Rockies playing on *better* teams. If these guys are good enough for the Yanks, Sox (Red and White), Braves etc, why not the Rox? I really gave up on them when they let Juan Uribe go. Here was a guy who could get on base most of the time, even if he didn't get a hit, steal, score from first base, play a mean outfield etc. And they were paying him 300k a year. Nope, not good enough. Then he went to Chicago and won a ring. Go figure.

If we could put together a team of ex-Rockies-all-stars, we could probably win the pennant. This kind of player selection is just another nail in the coffin. When Dan O'Dowd and the rest of the management end their mutual admiration society affiliations, maybe we'll get somewhere. 'Till that day comes, I'll tune in to good baseball on another station.

:scared:

the rockies I can live without, though they had, in the past, been a second favorite team of mine.