There was a bit of internet hysteria this weekend when a handful of Braves fans took great umbrage at Nats OF Bryce Harper dragging his cleats thru the Atlanta “A” inscribed in the dirt behind home plate at Turner Field. “#RespectTheA” was the hashtag the Braves’ social media mavens attempted to popularize, which is pretty fucking rich considering their pending move to Cobb County is more disrespectful to Atlanta than anything Harper could come up with on his own. Even so, SBN’s Grant Brisbee is pretty psyched at the prospect of logo tarnishment becoming The Next Big Thing :
My dream is to make this a thing, an arms race, a part of the theater. Players could actively scout out ways to defile the logos when they’re at different ballparks. They’re already getting heckled and booed, and it would be a delightful release. Drag a cleat through the dirt. Methodically futz up the patterns in the outfield, inning by inning, until the 50-foot grass sock at Fenway resembles something obscene. This could be something. This could be something.
All it takes is an enterprising soul, the Bill Veeck of baseball players, someone who appreciates a slight detour to the WWE side of professional sports. Baseball can definitely use someone who makes logo defilement a part of their road trip routine. He could scout out targets in every park, and maybe a grounds crew could mess with him, setting the logo in something that’s more like quick-set cement, and watching the player get his cleat caught and look like a dummy.
It’s a tradition waiting to happen.