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With the regular season wound down, celebration scenes in locker rooms are being shown again.
But, what puzzles me are how raucous the celebrations are now. Was it always this way?
As I kid, or otherwise, I don't ever recall such big celebrations for merely making the postseason. What's worse is the tarps covering the lockers now also serve as additional billboards.
It seems that no other sport I'm aware of goes to similar lengths.
Yeah, it's a long season, and you've won the division. But that's really just jack compared to the ultimate goal of winning the championship, or even the pennant.
And no, I don't blame Dan Gurney.
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Most of that meant absolutely nothing to this UKer until the last two words, Dan Gurney. Among many things I know about the man do I take it you are referring to the fact that he introduced the idea of spraying champagne on motor racing podiums or am I way off base?
Paul
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Well in truth, losing players simply empty their respective lockers and head to the nearest golf course. Team celebrations are more for fan consumption than player satisfaction, especially at the entry playoff level.
Celebrations by teams ought to be reserved for League Championships or WS titles.
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It wasn't done to the same degree as it is but yeah, even old schoolers celebrated this. Even though they keep messing with the game by adding divisions and new wildcard entries to the post season (thus more teams), it's still an accomplishment to even make the post season. No other sport even comes close to the 162 game regular season schedule. But again, to answer your question, yes the celebrations are a little more exaggerated these days. I agree that they should at least be a little more muted if not reserved for round advancement.
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And what a waste of champagne!
Yes, I know, it isn't champagne unless it comes from Champagne but "sparkling wine celebration" doesn't carry the same panache. And it must be the really cheap stuff.
voodoo, I'm not the biggest baseball fan; I like hockey (Red Wings!) and US football (o those Lions) but the Detroit Tigers are an old established baseball team and tho baseball was partly invented to to make a cricket match faster, it's still too slow for me. But Detroit could use something positive happening so let them waste champag-er, sparkling wine...
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The post victory celebrations for the division and league pennants started getting excessive in the late 1980s. I think Mickey Hatcher even wore swimming goggles into the lockerroom when the Dodgers won in 1988!
I haven't seen the branded tarp thing because I lost my taste for baseball back in the 1990s after the strike.
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DP wrote:
And what a waste of champagne!
Yes, I know, it isn't champagne unless it comes from Champagne but "sparkling wine celebration" doesn't carry the same panache. And it must be the really cheap stuff.
voodoo, I'm not the biggest baseball fan; I like hockey (Red Wings!) and US football (o those Lions) but the Detroit Tigers are an old established baseball team and tho baseball was partly invented to to make a cricket match faster, it's still too slow for me. But Detroit could use something positive happening so let them waste champag-er, sparkling wine...
Good for Detroit. It's Champagne. Just simply "reject" any other classification that doesn't suit you.
The Oakland A's deserved to celebrate. There'll be another wahoo if they win the AL West tonight. Yea.
