Barackin' the National Pastime

You have to love the imagination of minor league baseball promoters. Coming this June 23, the Brooklyn Cyclones will open their season by renaming themselves, for one game, the Baracklyn Cyclones, "honoring the 44th president of the United States with a night of patriotic partying at the ballpark."


As I have made clear, I enthusiastically support President-Elect Obama (even if recent choices leave me ambivalent). And so I think this promotion is pretty cool. In fact, I hope I can convince some family members who live near NYC to attend the game and score me my very own Barack Obama bobblehead (only in America!).





Given my criticisms of promotional events such as "Faith Night," am I suddenly a hypocrite? I don't think so, and here's why. Although one could argue that temporarily naming the team the Baracklyn Cyclones exhibits the same kind of partisanship seen when Faith Night clearly favors evangelical Christianity over other faiths. However, whereas Faith Night struggles to make the event inclusive for non-evangelicals, the Brooklyn event will ackowledge that non-Obama supporters might still wish to attend a baseball game. Thus, in addition to having an "Economic Stimulus Package," through which ticket prices will revert to 2001 rates, and a "Universal Health Care" program that hands out free band-aids to the first 1,000 fans (what calamities await these folks?), the game also will have a "Joe the Plumber Special," allowing any plumber named Joe to receive two free tickets, and a "Bi-Partisan Consolation Prize," so that anyone named McCain or Palin receives a free bleacher seat.



In sum, it appears that event is designed to capitalize on the considerable energy created by the Obama campaign and the optimism that is attached to his imminent inauguration. Is it partisan? To a degree, but it's also inclusive. I've never argued against partisanship here (rhetoric is partisan, folks); I'm just looking for everyone to have a seat at the table, er, ballgame.