I don’t know what to say about this video. I grew up a Baltimore Orioles fan, but don’t follow the team much anymore. Part of it is a busier lifestyle. Part of it is my gravitation towards soccer. But a lot of it is the absolutely shitty way Peter Angelos has run the team.
When I hear the song “Orioles Magic,” I honestly get chills. I remember when it started on June 22-23. The Orioles won the game on the 22nd in the ninth inning with a home run by Doug DeCinces, did the same thing in the first half of the doubleheader on the 23rd when Eddie Murray went deep, then broke a 5-5 tie in the bottom of the eighth to win the nightcap. I remember listening to the doubleheader on the radio as my family cooked out that night. We all knew that team had something special.
Orioles Magic just happened. It developed into a marketing campaign, but that wasn’t the intention. The concept grew from a gritty team that went on a wonderful march on the way to the World Series. Orioles Magic truly meant something to the people who followed the team back then.
I certainly appreciate the energy of the current team and their willingness to connect with the many fans like me who just can’t believe what Peter has done to our team. But Orioles Magic is much more than a music video. You can’t just trot the song out with new players because when you show the new highlights, we see how empty the stadium is, and we know why.
With all due respect to Kevin Millar, he’s no Rick Dempsey, no Eddie Murray, no Doug DeCinces. I’m glad the team has started to play some better ball, but it takes a lot more than a cheesy video and a decent April to make up for what longtime Orioles fans have suffered. Show us some real magic, something close to a pennant race, then you can try and connect with the old days.
I turned 11 in the summer of 79 so that was such an important team or me growing up. It’s so sad that Angelos can’t see what he has done to that franchise.
I remember those two games like it was yesterday. Despite losing the World Series, that ’79 team is my all time favorite Orioles team. I got to go to a lot of games that season, saw the playoffs and one World Series game that year. I was 18 and was just amazed by that whole experience. It hurt that they lost the WS after being up 3-1 and yeah, I took it hard.
’83 was great, it did make up for the disappointment of ’79 and the near misses of ’80 and ’82 and I got to go to the playoffs and WS then, which was sweet.
Since Angelos, nothing but mediocrity. They are still my favorite baseball team but I know they will never win under this owner’s watch.