Out of Sight Out Of Mind

It occurred to me the other night when a Twitter Dodger fan posted a picture of the Stadium. She was at the game Friday night (presumably). Her tweet wondered where everyone was due to the visibly sparse attendance. Now, it being a Friday night AND the LA Kings were playing Game 6 (they lost but that's another story), could have been factors in the sad sight of attendance. Then of course, there is the fact that we are seven games back of the first place Giants as of today. But I couldn't help but wonder if perhaps there was a certain element of out-of-sight-out-of-mind. With Time Warner Cable having hi-jacked the viewership of the LA fans (albeit with the 25-year contractual blessing of the Dodger ownership), I wondered if that had something to do with it. I would be curious to know if overall attendance has been down or not this season compared to last season- but then again last season TWC held their viewers hostage as they "negotiated" with CBS and KCAL and once again blackouts were the norm. Tuesdays and Wednesdays were inaccessible on television. So this leads me to believe the Owners don't really care about the fans at all- after all, they did give sole distribution rights to the very cable company who took away games before AND who is known for lengthy blackouts during Superbowl games. Look, if I can't watch game at home, I forget about the games altogether. I don't get the privilege of watching the game at home and thinking: "Hm, that looks like fun. I haven't been to a game in awhile. Maybe I'll go." If I can't see on TV, I forget to go see it in person.
The season did have a weird start to it I felt. First there was the trip to Australia (DON'T get me started on THAT- we should have NEVER gone on the first place).  Second, last year the minimum game plan for season tickets was 15 in order to secure Opening Day- this year it was 30. Priced out a lot of people. And now recently, the fans were not able to watch history being made with Josh Beckett's no-hitter. Look, I couldn't switch cable providers if I wanted to- it doesn't work that way. Most cities have limited options- Pasadena has Charter and AT&T U-Verse. Time Warner isn't even an option. And the cable providers know this. So when they advertise to "Switch to Time Warner today!" it's ridiculous. There is no way I can watch the games in Pasadena. None.
Look, I thought it was neat when they made all the upgrades to the Stadium. I figured they would raise the prices some too. But to take access away altogether from so many fans? That's just rude. So now, I don't think about going to games too much. This time last year, I had gone to about ten games already (I checked my 2013 calendar). This year so far, three games. And here we are almost to June, and I only have tickets for two games in August- only because a friend is going on vacation and didn't want her tickets to be wasted. I doubt I'll go before then. I'm losing interest. Sad. I never thought that would happen. Oh I'll listen to the games on the radio since that's all the Owners want us to do anyway I guess. Maybe check the scores online. But watching it- seeing the Stadium on TV- seeing the close up of the fans- the camera panning the sky above Chavez Ravine as the blimp flies over... that all reminds me I want to go. My senses are stirred. It all reminds me that I want to be there in person. So yeah, if attendance was down yesterday according to that one Twitter Fan, that would be my guess why. Out of sight, out of mind. But hey, the Owners are getting what they wanted. I guess. I just don't understand why they wanted this. A lot of people who have Time Warner aren't even watching out of protest and disgust from what I have heard.
(Oh, and really glad they didn't buy the Clippers. Wouldn't want them taking them away too.)
Girl Talk: It's like when you and your Guy don't see each other for a while. You can sit around waiting for him to call... you can sit around waiting for Time Warner and the other cable providers to get their act together and make friends... but what are the chances? You just kinda find other things to do.
Oh sure, absence can make the heart grow fonder. But if you weren't in first place to begin with, he's never available and you were trailing behind by 7 games anyway, chances are... he's just not that into you. Out of sight, out of mind. 
Time Warner has once again blown it, as have the Dodger Owners. I guess what I would need is a surge of Fan Love. I need to be swept off my feet. By the Owners, Cable Providers and the [hypothetical] Guy.

After the clear neglect during this Time Warner experiment gone awry, I would expect nothing less than full access from all cable providers. And fresh flowers wouldn't hurt. Stargazer lilies, lilacs and/ or daffodils please.