OT - Disco Demolition Night

Submitted by Maize and Blue in OH on
Yesterday was the 30th anniversary of Disco Demolition Night at old Comisky Park in Chicago.  This event took place between games of a doubleheader between the Tigers and the White Sox.  The Tigers won the first game, but the second game never got played because the White Sox were forced to forfeit because the festivities got out of hand and the field was trashed.

I was a 10 year old growing up in Western Michigan.  In those days, only a handfull of games were televised.  It so happened that only the second game of the doubleheader was scheduled to be televised.  Coverage picked up late in the first game and I watched the Tigers close out their 4-1 win.  What happened next was something I had never seen before and have never seen again inside a baseball stadium.  Disc-jockey exploded a large crate full of vinyl disco albums to the chants of Disco Sucks.  As Dahl left the field, the crowd stormed the field and started to riot and rip apart the field.  My older brother and I thought the whols scene was pretty cool.  My parents thought it was just another example of how the younger generation was ruining America.  It is one of those moments I will never forget.

ESPN has a very good recap of the night on Sportscenter.  I recommend it to anyone who was too young to have experienced it (or to anyone who did experience it).

Disco Sucks!

Comments

Seth

July 13th, 2009 at 9:21 AM ^

I just gave redwhiteandMGOBLUE a minus-1 for posting a form topic as a diary. I'm gonna do the same for this one. I'd be happy to discuss Veeckism and Disco Dem night on the boards, but I don't see how this fits the criteria of the diaries. I have a lot of respect for you as a poster (and for being stalwart blue in the red state) so please don't take this personally. My intent is to discourage future posters from abusing the Diaries and their prime position with lower-level content. If we in the MGoBoard community can't do a better job of deciding which posts are Diary-worthy and which are forum fodder, Brian's most likely going to step in and put some limits on who can post diaries. This would suck -- some of the best diaries I've read were from longtime lurkers and first-time posters looking to make a grand entrance with a grand, thoughtful, or groundbreaking piece.

Joined: 10/14/2008

MGoPoints: 149191

Blazefire

July 13th, 2009 at 9:54 AM ^

I totally agree. I've made one Diary entry so far, which was my fairly poorly recieved but extensively considered commentary on a solution to the BCS being found in baseball. Other good diary topics are things like the uniform tournament going on now, and extensively researched entries. Not, "I saw" or "I remember" such and such. It's honestly sort of a matter of atmosphere around here. If we want to keep a higher level of intelligence in our posts, then we have to police ourselves for it.

Joined: 04/17/2009

MGoPoints: 25038

Seth

July 13th, 2009 at 3:09 PM ^

My negative is now a positive. Thank you for explaining. As I said, I respect you as a commenter (and sometime purveyor of useful news). I think the point that needed to be raised was made, considered, and is now being had out in the forums. P.S. You might enjoy this previous diary by a blue fan in enemy territory, by Jomafalo.

Joined: 10/14/2008

MGoPoints: 149191

Maize and Blue in OH

July 13th, 2009 at 7:52 PM ^

Thanks and thanks for the link. Not much has changed in Ohio since Jomafalo was growing up. I live in suburban Cleveland and at every Cleveland pro event, they play that stupid Hang on Sloopy song and do the O-H-I-O cheer. At the Cavs games, they flash the Michigan logo on the jumbotron to get the crowd to boo during the free throws of the other team. My family and I just shake our heads and laugh. In 2006, my son's kindergarten classmates and teacher said they were going to shave his head if OSU beat Michigan. Thankfully, they didn't go through with it.

Joined: 10/01/2008

MGoPoints: 2184

StephenRKass

July 13th, 2009 at 11:39 AM ^

The OP says below that the problem was caused by the inability to post directly because of no points. Personally, I don't quite understand why the posting ability isn't flipped: no points for Board, but 20 points required for Diaries. I thought that diaries was the place for more content, analysis, etc., i.e., mtl. of more importance. Re: the OP, I lived in Chicago at the time, and am back now. Old Comiskey Park, that was a pretty wild thing. I remember that happening as a teen.

Joined: 07/15/2008

MGoPoints: 23004

STW P. Brabbs

July 13th, 2009 at 3:36 PM ^

Even granting that user participation in a sports blog, no matter how exceptional that blog may be, deserves this serious and stentorian a tone ... Is the biggest threat to MGoBlog really the mis-categorization of board posts as diaries? EDIT: I haven't been looking at the Board for a while, and it appears that the recent Board v. Diary battles hearken back to the bloody Descriptive Titles Massacres of a few months ago. I didn't realize I was sticking my neck out into such a maelstrom - carry on and god speed, soldiers of the light.

Joined: 08/27/2008

MGoPoints: 3835

Tater

July 13th, 2009 at 9:58 AM ^

Ironically enough, Dahl had worked in the Detroit market at W-4 before moving to Chicago and becoming extremely popular there. I turned the game on just in time to see the discs flying all over the place. It was definitely a surreal experience.

Joined: 08/13/2008

MGoPoints: 30584