Taking back baseball -- a sports fan revolution

As the 2001 Baseball All-Star Game approaches, another major event looms just over the horizon. Is it the trade deadline, the pennant races, or the playoffs and World Series? The answer is none of the above. The only major event that baseball fans should be concerned about is the end of the collective bargaining agreement in October, 2001, and the very real threat of another baseball strike prior to the 2002 season. Yes fans, another strike can happen.

It is already July, and there is no new collective bargaining agreement. Of course not. Fans are faced with a few unappealing scenarios. Owners and players will drag us through nauseating negotiations and either settle at the eleventh hour, sacrifice spring training 2002, or worst of all, take us through another major strike. However, this will only happen if fans let it happen. Unfortunately, most fans say, "There is nothing that we can do. Owners and players will do whatever they want to do." My one word response is, WHY?

Have you ever seen another industry where the consumer of the product is taken more for granted than Major League Baseball? What baseball fans for the most part fail to realize is that as a collective group, they hold all the power. The only reason that owners and players make millions of dollars is because of the fans. No fans, no millions.

The sad truth is that fans have never given the owners and players any reason to fear or respect them. So we as fans can either choose to continue to be disrespected by the owners and players, or once and for all stand up and be counted.

So rather than bemoan the state of baseball with its wild salaries and potential strike, fans can use these factors as a wonderful opportunity to take back baseball.