My Sportsman of the Year: Kyrie Irving
December 16, 2014Michael Brantley Breaks Out – WFNY’s Top 10 Cleveland Sports Stories of 2014: No. 9
December 16, 2014The Holiday Season is upon us, and for many, the holidays are a time of rituals and traditions. Here at Waiting For Next Year, we believe in tradition as well, and one of our personal favorites is the annual WFNY 12 Days of Christmas contest series! This is now the seventh year in a row we have done this contest, as hard as that is to believe.
How does it work? It’s simple. Every week day from now through Christmas, we will have a different contest with a different prize package to give away to you guys. It’s our small way of showing our appreciation and saying thanks for hanging in there with us for another year. Each day will feature a different, unique contest. Some will require getting a correct answer, some will be selected randomly among all entries, and some will feature haiku writing, of course. So check back every day for your chance to win one of our prize packs!
Previous Day’s Winner
Once again, I say this with all genuine sincerity, I wish all of you guys could win. Congratulations on a job well done with the haiku. People might wonder why we do so many haiku contests, but it’s because no matter how many times we do it, I never stop being impressed with the creativity you all show.
Because it wouldn’t be fair for myself or anyone else at WFNY to pick a winner based on merit, we instead turned to an old friend of the site, Mr Random Number-Generator and we asked him if he could pick a winner without any of the built-in bias we humans might have. He said he was happy to try his best, and after careful deliberation, he has decided that RGB wrote the winning haiku:
Duck and run Johnny
Ring ring goes the money phone
Wreck this league, yeah right
Congrats RGB! And congrats to all of you who wrote a haiku for the contest yesterday. All of you are winners in my eyes!
For Day Seven we have have a couple items from two of WFNY’s friends and partners in Two Bucks and GV Art and Design. We have a $10 gift card to Two Bucks and an XL WFNY T-Shirt from GV Art and Design. Win this prize and you can look extra stylish as you enjoy the fine food at your favorite Two Bucks location!
Today’s Contest
It’s Day Seven and we haven’t really done any Indians-themed questions yet. I think it’s about time we fix that, don’t you think? It can be a little harder to come up with a question when the Indians aren’t in season, but that’s a lousy excuse. It’s time to show some love to the Indians. Some people flat out hate nostalgia, but I never have. I’m fascinated by it. I enjoy thinking about the feeling of nostalgia. So for today’s contest, we’re going to get a bit nostalgic. Today’s question is: What is your fondest memory of the Cleveland Indians?
The winner of this contest will be selected at random among all entries that answer the question and are submitted before the deadline of midnight Tuesday evening. To enter, simply leave a comment in the Comments section below ((and as always, please be aware of our Before You Comment guidelines and technical information)) with your answer to the question. For example, if I were entering the contest, I would say: “My fondest memory of the Indians is the first time going to Jacob’s Field with my family and seeing Jim Thome in person. Omar Vizquel was always my favorite player, but there was just something special about seeing Thome play in person for the first time, even if it was in a loss to the White Sox. But not even Frank Thomas could ruin my memory of that fun day with my family and seeing such a beautiful park in person”. See? It’s that easy. So what are you waiting for? Go get your answers in below, and good luck!
The Fine Print (in normal sized font) and Rules
Only one entry per person per day is allowed. This is very important. Anyone who submits more than one entry is immediately disqualified. Only one winner per household per year is allowed. Winners will be notified via email. Prizes will not necessarily be delivered by Christmas, but we will try our best to make it happen.
31 Comments
I was at the White Sox game in 2013, Terry Francona benches a rookie hitting 700, to pinch hit Jason Giambi… Then he hit a walk off home run, best game I’ve ever seen.
XL shirt only? Peculiar.
I think I was 7 or 8 years old, my dad knew some of the guys who were in the ground crew at the old stadium. We were able to watch batting practice on the field. My favorite player was Brook Jacoby, I was a little intimidated, but he came over and chatted with us for a few minutes…loved it and will always cherish that memory. Go Tribe!
9/9/91….Sitting directly behind home plate vs. Boston, best seats ever…
It was a Monday make-up game, so attendance in cavernous Municipal Stadium was 1695.
Yes, that’s one thousand, six hundred and ninety five.
Oh, and the Tribe lost 4-3. We went 57-105 that year.
My favorite Indians memory was Joba Chamberlain & Company getting swarmed by midges while the little bugs miraculously avoided every one of our players.
My fondest memory of the Cleveland Indians is a fuzzy collection of memories from the 80s that all blend together at this point.
They start on Sunday afternoons 2 miles from the Cleveland Municipal Stadium, which I called Marlboro Muni due to the prominent Marlboro advertisement above the center field scoreboard. Of course, at that distance, there were places you could park for free if you were willing to hike a bit through town. We obviously weren’t worried about the traffic after the game. The walk to the stadium was always filled with random conversation, stories, and wondering if Brook Jacoby, Cory Snyder or Andy Allanson would be the day’s hero.
Those memories continue on the way into the stadium to settle in behind the black tarps draped just beyond the RF fence that were never quite secured and would blow in the wind. The row behind ours was reserved for the buffet line (grocery bags of snacks being allowed in those days). The row in front reserved for putting our feet up. Seats between each person reserved to bang those magnificent wooden seats upon the metal frame to hear the most beautifully echoing noise in all of the world.
In the early innings, we would cheer for both the team, for our favorite scoreboard graphics to appear, and estimate the number of people in attendance (at times, it may have even numbered 10K!). The food would get eaten and the Indians would fall behind on the scoreboard.
By the middle innings, we were all settled into our basic routines.
My dad, constantly calling out positive messages to the batters 400 feet away to help them hit the ball. “Good eye”, “way to foul it off”, “here we go – here we go”, and when his favorite Mr. Franco stepped to the plate, the RFer was serenaded with a simplistic song of “Hooooooooooooo-Leeeeeeeeeeee-Ohhhhhhhhhhh” for the entirety of the at bat. Funny how I didn’t realize then that that constant stream of positive messaging would become my own brand for coaching youth sports later in life.
My siblings would mostly play, push the limits for the rules that were in place (no leaving the area, no climbing over seats, no annoying the few others that may be close enough to possibly get annoyed). At some point during each game, someone would find the bag of popcorn, split it open and begin a massive popcorn fight. Supposedly, this wasn’t allowed and after a little while it would get shut down. But, the popcorn bag would also be there the next time we came too 🙂
My mom would talk with my dad, any family friends that came with us that day, watch the game and keep us kids in line when needed or just sit and talk and play when that was needed.
I would mostly watch the game though it didn’t take much to get pulled into the fray with my siblings either. At the time, I didn’t understand why we didn’t always get to watch Greg Swindell pitch. He was the guy I wanted to see, so why didn’t the team put him on Sunday? I cheered for my favorites and really everyone and learned how to enjoy sports even through some bad games and seasons.
By the end, we were usually ready to leave. We packed and cleaned up (if you can make the mess, then you can pick it up as well), heading out for the long walk back to the car. A little more tired, perhaps a little sad about the team on the days where we lost a close one, but also a happy, strong family that got to spend a day at the ballpark.
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Avatar note: On one of those Sundays, my dad and 3 of my siblings went for a restroom break before the inning ended. As they hit the walkway to the concourse, a big hit by the Tribe caused them to pause and take in the action. Unbeknownst to them, an artist was capturing the some aspects of the stadium including this moment in time. Years later, my parents saw an oil painting hung at the Cleveland Clinic that sure looked like our family. After tracking down the artist, the dates and location in the stadium confirmed it was them and the artist was even kind enough to give my family a copied rendition of the painting, which now hangs in my parents living room and is used as my avatar here.
it was revealed in the Torre/Verducci book that the Indians had an insect expert who was a friend of the team call and make sure the team knew what to do. that spraying bug spray would attract the little guys due to the moisture and that the Indians felt bad about not telling the umpires, but they didn’t want to give away the secret to Joba who was clearly self-destructing under the swarm.
Well I no longer believe in miracles now, thanks for that btw, but:
http://media.giphy.com/media/14o8siNSgciWoo/giphy.gif
I went to Game 5 of the ’95 Series. The atmosphere was incredible. Even downtown that afternoon you could feel it. The whole city was buzzed. That evening, Belle and Thome went deep and we won 5-4, as Orel Hersheiser beat Greg Maddux. Just a fabulous day.
Great story, mg. Hope you win.
just because there’s a scientific basis doesn’t take away the miracle.
Thanks. Figured comment #20K needed to be something over the top and Andrew provided the perfect baseline for it. I don’t care about the prize though, I’m here for the stories 🙂
Whatever summer it was that they decided to start hanging the Indians flag below the American flag atop the Terminal Tower. I was able to con my Dad into taking me to 4 or 5 games that year. Its a really long story but to make it short my Parents never wanted to be “home” on the weekends (because their boss might ask them for a “favor”) so we drove around a lot looking for inexpensive ways to whittle the days away (I spent SO much time in marinas looking at boats with my Dad, but thats another story)
Anyhow, if the timing was right and we were driving near downtown and the flag was out, I KNEW I could talk my Dad into taking in a game. So much better than must boat interiors or rides to Vermillion to look at cottages. That Indians flag created many happy memories for me.
Those were also the last few games I saw with my Dad, as they DID finally get their cottage in ’89, and once the Jake opened, tickets were pretty scarce. He died in ’99, so I still think about those games fondly
My fondest memory of a Cleveland Indians game was in 1993. I was 16. I remember it best because it was the first time we went to Cleveland (being from PA) solely to see the Indians play, and it was just my Dad, my brother, and myself. It was in the dog days at the old stadium, so we had really good seats. Nothing really of note to the game. Nothing exciting happened. My brother and I clowned on Junior Ortiz. But it was just a great time all around.
July 11, 2014 – The return of the King. I’ve been a Cleveland sports fan for many years with no championships to brag about and nothing more than heartbreak and agony to show for it. July 11 was truly the most feel good moment of my Cleveland fandom. I was having lunch in a restaurant when the news broke, prompting me to stand and clap/cheer loudly/make a general rukus, much to the astonishment of everyone else in the place. Next to a Super Bowl (or at least a very deep playoff run), a World Series or an NBA championship, I just can’t imagine anything topping this.
Taking my Dad to the playoff game we last year. My Dad helped me fall in love with the Indians but this was the first playoff game we went to together.
When they got the last laugh on Jack Parkman obviously.
Going to world series game with my dad in ’97.
The 95 Indians. They were a special team and so much fun to follow.
I was at Game 4 of the 2007 ALCS game with my wife, sitting 2 rows from the top, straight down the right field foul line(worst seats ever hahaha). The Tribe won convincingly and it was the most energetic, exciting game I’ve ever been to. If you haven’t been to a playoff game at Progressive Field put it on the bucket list. Win or lose, the atmosphere is completely different. I was at the 2013 Wild Card Game against the Rays to compare it to. Same energy even though we were losing the entire game
Organizing a big group to go to the last series of the 2005 regular season against the White Sox. The Tribe was 3 games back with a chance to tie for the Division. There were even some extra permutations involving the Red Sox losing the last game and Tribe winning the last game to force a one game playoff.
But they did not get a single win, and Chicago went on to sweep the Astros in the World Series. But it was still fun most of the time.
I think the avatar story is the coolest of all
My favorite Indians memory is the 1995 season. I was 7 years old at the time, and everything seemed so magical that season. That team was never out of any game and was so much fun to watch. I still can’t believe they didn’t win the World Series — that was the first real dose of reality for me as a Cleveland sports fan.
My fondest memory of the Cleveland Indians was being a middle schooler and getting Denis Boucher’s autograph, at an autograph station set up in the old Cleveland Stadium, and speaking to him what little French I’d learned in school that year. He was totally taken by surprise. Looking back on it, I think that must have been a pretty fun memory for him, a journeyman pitcher who was probably more at home on the Canadian teams he played for (he played for both Montreal and Toronto), and who probably didn’t have too many French-speaking kid fans in Cleveland.
There are other memories, and perhaps some that are more fond in different ways, but that one is good for its uniqueness.
When I was younger, I wasnt really able to watch the games. Most of my early fandom was through listening on the radio to Hammy and Herb Score. There were a few walkoff homeruns that stand out. My faborite was when Albert Belle hit a walkoff grandslam off of Lee Smith.
My fondest memory of the Cleveland Indians was the Indians utter dominance over Angel’s closer Troy Percival especially at Angel’s Stadium. It seemed like he blew a save to the Indians once or twice a year (and this was an all-star caliber closer) it got to the point where he would come into the game for the 9th and the Indians fans in the crowd would cheer, and the Angel’s fans would look at us in confusion.
Sitting in the last row of the upper deck seats for a game in ’96 because it was sold out. Holding the homemade posters I made and still thinking I would make it on the big screen, despite the crazy seats.
Being at a game in the 90’s when I was a child when the crowd chanted “Joey” in Belle’s return with the Yankees.
Bat Day at Municipal Stadium. It was always great to see the place filled, and Bat Day was louder than most.
There’s obviously a lot of good (and bad) memories there, but the moments that stick out the most have to be all the time I spent working the Kosher stand in the mid-late ’90s; the 1995 ALCS win against Seattle when Lofton stole home; and listening to Herb Score announce Thome catching the ball to clinch the AL Central.
And of course that first game, as a three-year old (?), beating the Yankees 11-3, sitting there eating lunch with my family and family friends which include a lifelong best friend.
So….ummm, you know you won Day Three, right? Have you checked your email?