So long, Ottawa Lynx

I attended the first Ottawa Lynx game back in the early 1990's and went to the funeral yesterday, September 3, 2007. This time I was with a couple neighbours, my buddy Luc and wife Melissa. Had this game been played a month ago, we'd have made up 40% of the total crowd.

OK, I'm exaggerating a little, but that is how I felt at those mid-summer games where one could pick any seat, row or section in which to seat oneself. I'd buy a ticket and roam around a bit, hoping to find someone or something interesting in that particular part of the stadium... the stadium with no name and the stadium with the world's smallest parking lot. Even the Best Buy up the road had more parking spaces in it.

There are a number of articles in the papers this morning mourning the loss of the team. Where did the fans go, they ask. While I am guilty - to a point - of having been an avid supporter in the early days and fading off as the years passed, I always made a point of attending a game or two here or there. Every warm summer night spent in the blue seats over in section LL I would remind myself how much I love the experience of having a hot dog at the ball park.

Sure, I owned a pair of partial season tickets in years one through three but then I headed off to university. I tried to make a point to attend games every now and then but clearly didn't do a good enough job. Sorry, boys - I let you down. We let you down.

To Howard Darwin, the man who brought baseball back to Ottawa, a big thank you. Even bigger thanks to Ray Pecor who tried to keep the dream alive. Will I keep track of the Iron Pigs? Probably not... it was tough to be a huge Lynx player fan with the 2007 affiliation with the Philadelphia Phillies - I had been conditioned to hate them over the years. And with no Lenny Dykstra or John Kruk around, this Montreal Expos fan just didn't have any personal attachment to the big league team or its AAA affiliate.

The only upside to the last Lynx game is that team management did a heck of a job. The same couldn't be said for those running the Expos - none of the regulars played in that last game at Olympic Stadium and most of the concession stands were closed or selling wieners with no buns. I still can't believe that the guy told me that I'd have to pay full price for hot dog components!!

The Lynx were a class act on day one... and remained so right through the end. All involved should be commended and deserved a better fate.