McCourt Jester

I have this.... friend.

Let’s call him.... Erik.

Well “Erik” is a huge sports fan.

Just like me.

That’s probably why we became friends.

22 years ago.

And like most sports fans, we are passionate.

And loyal.

Even if we root for different teams.

He loves the Broncos.

I die hard with the Raiders.

And Erik is never short on an opinion.

He’s got plenty of voice.

And he’s not afraid to use it.

There is rarely a week that goes by that Erik doesn’t submit a letter to the sports editor at the LA Times.

And the topics of his ire are limited to nothing.

The Lakers.

The NHL.

The Super Bowl.

But perhaps his number one target the last few years has been the demise of his beloved Dodgers.

More specifically Frank McCourt.

The embattled owner of the team.

Long story short....  Frank McCourt owned a valuable parking lot in Boston.

He tried to buy the Red Sox.

But couldn’t.

So he took his quarters out to L.A. in 2004.

And bought the Dodgers for $430 million dollars.

Most of it in tattered pages of I.O.U.‘s.

Well about two months ago McCourt was on the radio in LA discussing his team.

And his problems.

That’s when they decided to take some calls.

Line 1, Erik from Fountain Valley.

Now I consider Erik one of my closest friends.

Heck, we’ve been co-owners of a Fantasy Football team for 19 years.

4-Time Champion I may add.

Now even though Erik and I are close, we are very different.

I have a filter.

Sometimes.

Erik... not so much.

If he thinks something.

He says something.

No filter.

Well that day on the radio, Erik told McCourt:

“I hate that you are the owner of the Dodgers and I won’t go to another game until you leave.”

The conversation went on for several minutes.

And neither side really backed down.

Although Frank tried his best to be warm.

Or fuzzy.

When it ended, McCourt said that Erik “really struck a nerve and that he would like to reach out to him.”

Two days ago at 4:31pm Pacific Time, Erik’s phone rang.

“Erik, this is Frank McCourt.”

“I’m sorry it took me so long to get back to you.”

For the first time in his life, Erik was speechless.

They spoke for nearly 50 minutes.

49 minutes and four seconds.

To be exact.

Erik knows his stats.

Let me get this straight.

In the middle of his messy divorce.

One of the messiest EVER.

And in the middle of his filing for bankruptcy.

And in the middle of watching his team.

And his fortune.

And his life falling apart.

The owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers had the time to call “a fan” to talk about his image.

For 49 minutes.

And four seconds.

Really?

That even surprised Erik.

“I’m a Joe nobody.  I’m not a season ticket holder.   I’m not a sponsor.  I’m somebody who doesn’t like him and that doesn’t differentiate me from anyone in Los Angeles.”

McCourt told Erik that he could ask anything he wanted.

Anything?

Bad move Frank.

At one point Erik told the owner:

“I can’t wait until you are gone, so I can figuratively dance on your grave as the owner of the team.”

Did I mention that Erik is sans filter?

Now I get the whole PR aspect of why a public figure that everyone despises would like to get some good pub.

A local LA television station and the LA Times both interviewed Erik today.

But maybe McCourt doesn’t realize how big LA really is.

If he’s trying to win back fans.

One at a time.

He’s got a long way to go.