Availablility.
I have dropped ADT from my list of home security options. Brinks won primarily because of my annoyance with the Rose Bowl.
It made me feel better. ADT will not miss me, but if 100,000 people who were in the market for home security went to Brinks (or another), perhaps ADT would change. But alas, they don’t because it works. Simple as that.
The one thing that really chaps my ass is the stadium built with public funds to keep a team local, and then the owner of the team reaping the benefits of selling the stadium naming rights. I also miss the names of the stadiums of my youth…
Candlestick Park, Three Rivers Stadium, Riverfront Park, Memorial Stadium, Veterans Stadium, Olympic Stadium (and its predecessor, good old Park Jarry), Shibe Park, The Polo Grounds, Forbes Field, Soldier Field, Arrowhead, etc. Many stadiums were named for some local reason (see Three Rivers or Riverfront), or a public figure (like RFK). Snyder did the right thing by building a new stadium. Imagine him trying to sell the rights to rename RFK stadium? What if Ruger Firearms won the bid?
Yeah, I know some of these were named for people, owners, etc… but hell, if the owner, (like Mr. Wrigley) built the park, then he should be able to slap his name on it. If the Rooney family wanted to pony up the cash (they didn’t, the cheap bastages), Rooney Field would have been just fine by me. But Heinz Field? And I big F*CKING ketchup (catsup) bottle in the endzone? Just embarrassing.
I know it’s money. But I don’t have to like it. I loved the name Candlestick. What a cool name! And some stadiums were actual memorials for veterans (See Memorial Stadium, Veterans Stadium, and Soldier Field). It really bothered me when they imploded Veterans Stadium for that reason. True, it was a shithole to play in, but it still seemed wrong. If you’ve ever been fortunate enough to go to a game in Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, you wouldn’t want to see it come down. I’m not sure it ever did come down, because when they were building their new stadium at Camden Yards (Which is cool, Oriole Park at Camden Yards is better than nothing), there was a lot of public static about blowing up an actual Memorial. There was/is a large memorial that encompasses one whole side of the stadium. Even if they knock this thing down, I’m guessing the wall will stay.
I think if ANY public funds go to the building of a professional stadium, the city/governing body should be allowed to name it. And when I heard the name Candlestick, I immediately thought of San Fran. Qualcomm? Minute Maid? Please. Who can (or wants to) identify with that crap?
I am showing my age. But the stadiums to me were as synonymous to the community as the teams that played there. And in major league baseball, at least, I remember when there were NO ads on the outfield wall. Even in the early days of hockey, the boards weren’t covered with anything but puck marks and blood. That was always thought of as a low class, minor league thing to do. What morons! They squandered millions. Now, it’s become a money-whore free-for-all. It’s who we are. It’s what we have to live with.
I don’t even follow soccer, but Barcelona is now my favorite team.
And RobuSensei, thanks for that info on Japanese teams. I never knew that. But I just can’t take a league seriously that has player numbers in triple digits. (Can you imagine Mickey Mantle with the number 107)?
Talk about embarrassing. I meant "And **a ** big F*CKING ketchup (catsup) bottle in the endzone?
Nice typo, swiftie.