Just Go Away

With the Nationals playing their first home opener, it is time for American writers to finally cork it. Montreal baseball fans have gone through enough. In the bizarre and twisted saga known as the Expos, the ultimate finale was death without dignity. The demise of the Expos is incredibly surreal. Now, as if this wasn't enough, American journalists are gleefully kicking a former partner while it's down.

The way the media in major U.S. media outlets have dealt with and portrayed this city and its fans has been nothing short of shocking in its apathy and sheer idiocy. What bemoans most fans is how little respect and courtesy they have been accorded.

Three decades of of blood, sweat and tears have been invested in Nos Amours and baseball execs and journalists have shown no class towards Montreal baseball fans. All scored cheap points when things were not so good here. They talk as if they didn't even bother to examine the situation and circumstances surrounding the Expos. It is not necessary to point out all the unfair jabs thrown towards this city by smart-alec radio hosts and other assortment of so-called baseball experts and fans. Yet, I can't help but mention a few.

Montreal is a city with a baseball heritage that stretches back 100 years. It was home to Jackie Robinson, where he was treated with respect as any human being demands.

Later, the city was justifiably accorded a MLB team and instantly the Expos were a hit. Jarry Park was a special place during a remarkable time in this city. Jarry was our Polo Grounds. The Expos eventually moved into the Big O but this did not remove the fascination Montrealers had with the Expos. It was home to hard luck competitive teams with colorful and talented players often overlooked by mainstream American outlets. Montreal had a great thing going. I know I was there.

Our summers were filled with baseball broadcasts in two languages by commentators who were every bit as good as any on the continent. Baseball was a part of the sports fabric and culture of this Province. The myth of Montreal being a one sport town was evident during those years. I know I was there and saw the diamonds packed. Val-de-ri, Val-de ra....still have no clue what the hell this means but man was it fun to chant when the Expos were clubbing the Mets or Phillies.

What about the attendance? The jokes thrown about are given by short sighted morons who only choose to understand snap shot history. Overall, our attendance figures, even with the mid-90s factored in, left us right about in the middle of the pack. Imagine fricken that.

I compare how MLB handled the Expos to a a parent abandoning a child in need. Montrealers, without a doubt, must accept some blame for the demise of Nos Amours, starting with the incompetent owners, but this does not excuse the behaviour of MLB.

Does Bud Selig et al (and I mean just about everyone over at ESPN and SI) REALIZE HOW MUCH LOVE,TIME AND MONEY Montrealers expunged into their ball team? Shouldn't this be discounted in the negative rhetoric about the Expos? I don't think it was too much to ask for them to measure their words and show some class.

Montreal lost its team. Washington, a failed baseball town, is now being treated as though it was natural choice all along. The fact that the Expos are being erased as but a mere hiccup was the last straw. MLB thinks they gained much but they last much more.

What makes a sport transcend itself is its soul. Its soul is an amalgamation of the energies given to it by its fans. The Expos were a part of this process.

I don't know if an outdoor downtown stadium would have saved this team. Though the idea of baseball in the heart of one of the coolest cities with an established baseball fan base in North America deserved serious support. Alas, everything was stacked against it - the business community and fans alike.

AN anti-business climate in the local media, pathetic squabbling Keystone owners and apathetic American journalists make a terrible recipe for creating an atmosphere for 81-game support.

One last note about the fans. They are not absolved in any of this. The last Expos home game was a narcissistic affair. 30 000 fans showed up with the lame 'Loria and Selig Sucks' signs yet I did not see anybody with a 'Montreal Fans' suck signs. Yes, the fans have had to deal with much (1994 murdered baseball in this town) but the fact is that the fans had a chance to support the club when it was in trouble. There were some Expo clubs that deserved it. But we turned our backs on them. End of story. We too should look in the mirror.

The Expos lived on their soul and history in the end. The mere fact that we drew a few thousand fans was a gigantic testament of our dedication to the Expos. If we were an American town, we would have been portrayed as an underdog. A feisty town that stood for something. In 1994, we saw the writing on the wall and baseball ignored us. So we turned our backs too. I will continue to enjoy baseball for its own sake. It does not begin and end with MLB for me. Here's to all of you who kicked us while we're down...use your imagination here.

With this I close by saying that the old saying 'if you don't have anything good to say don't say anything at all' is appropriate advice to anybody who can't shut it. Leave the Expos be and let us grieve in our own way.

Just go away and let us be.