Whatever Happened To The San Diego Chicken?

Wednesday night, July 7th at Wrigley Field marks the special appearance of a baseball legend with roots in the San Diego Padres organization. It isn't Tony Gwynn, Ozzie Guillen, or Ozzie Smith. It isn't Dave Winfield or Jake Peavy. The man making a stop at Wrigley Field tomorrow night (as part of a minor league game made possible by the traveling Chicago Cubs) is actually part man, part chicken. He is none other than Ted Giannoulas--better known to baseball fans as the San Diego Chicken. 

For 36 years now, Giannoulas has been dressing up in his chicken suit and entertaining baseball fans across the country with his antics. The story, life, and times of Giannoulas, now 56 years old, is not unlike a VH-1 "Behind The Music" episode. 

Giannoulas was a college student attending San Diego State in 1974 where he agreed to wear the Chicken suit for a radio station as part of a promotional gig (handing candy out to kids at a local zoo). After the promotional stunt, Giannoulas volunteered to attend a Padre's game in Chicken costume as a team mascot. One week's worth of volunteering turned into a 3 year run of Chicken entertainment as mascot for the Padres. But it wasn't always beautiful. 

During the first 3 years, the Chicken wore a shabby costume consisting of a paper mache' head and polyester-like red cloths to represent feathers (pictured to the left) that looked very different from the Chicken suit to which he is most commonly recognized today. Some even reported that the original costume frightened young children. Working for a radio station, the Chicken's early years involved a range of publicity stunts outside of baseball such as delivering water melons to beach sites, handing out free concert tickets, and giving away record albums to people. During this era, the Chicken made stage appearances at rock concerts at the San Diego Sports Arena with artists including Paul McCartney and even Elvis. 

Giannoulas continued to develop and expand his Chicken act through the late 70's, which apparently began to create programming conflicts with his radio station employer, KGB. With tensions rising, Giannoulas was fired by KGB in 1977. The station hired a replacement Chicken for Giannoulas after his dismissal. However, many loyal fans of Giannoulas (who knew he had been fired) booed the replacement Chicken loudly. The radio station even went to court to block Giannoulas from ever working in a Chicken costume again. However, a California Supreme Court ruled in the favor of Giannoulas, which set the stage for a triumphant return. 

In June 1979, inside a giant Styrofoam egg paraded around Jack Murphy Stadium on a truck circling the warning track, Giannoulas hatched out of the egg in an updated, brightly colored Chicken suit (the same costume he still wears today) with the 2001: A Space Odyssey theme playing in the background. This appearance, which is often referred to as the "Grand Hatching", received thunderous applause and a standing ovation from the 47,000 people in attendance. 

The Chicken was back. He went on to even bigger stages, appearing in major league baseball stadiums across the country throughout the 1980's. In his hey day, he would typically make 250 appearances in a year. He once worked for a stretch of 520 consecutive Padre home games. His signature gag during the 80's at major league baseball stadiums: harassing umpires with an eye chart. From 1980 to 1983, he costarred with Johnny Bench on "The Baseball Bunch" television show. He made an appearance at Wrestle Mania XV in 2000. Giannoulas has visited 8 countries, 4 continents, and all 50 states as the Chicken. 

At the age of 56, Giannoulas' stamina as the Chicken is starting to wind down some. Ironically, the opportunities to present are not what they once were due to the Chicken's profound influence on sports team marketing. Every professional team seems to have their own version of the San Diego Chicken these days. Giannoulas now makes approximately 50 appearances a year between spring and summer. No longer performing in front of 50,000 fans in a 1970's cookie cutter baseball stadium, the Chicken now plays in front of 7 or 8,000 people at minor league baseball stadiums scattered across the country.  

Giannoulas' influence as the San Diego Chicken in American sports entertainment and marketing can never be overstated. His success paved the way for mascots throughout professional sports. Additionally, he was the first mascot to use popular recorded music (instead of just an organ) at games. He was also the first mascot to entertain fans during game breaks such as half innings. 35 years later, professional sports stadiums are bombarding their fans with music, scoreboard games, and their own mascots during what seems every moment of a play stoppage. While some of these influences have turned to excess, the brilliant innovation behind the ideas and gimmicks belongs to Giannoulas. Without the San Diego Chicken, there would be no Philly fanatic, Phoenix Gorilla, or countless other mascots in professional sports. 

So if you have a chance to get out to Wrigley Field tomorrow night, enjoy the sparse crowd and minor league prices of admission, food, and drink. But also enjoy the entertainment and  legacy of Ted Giannoulas' San Diego Chicken. 

Also, check out the "Grand Hatching" on youtube. Great stuff. I'll try to post it later. 

The following sources contributed to this post:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/mariners/2009399864_chicken30.html

www.famouschicken.com/biography.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_San_Diego_Chicken

Cubs May Not Need To Look Far For a New GM

For the Chicago Cubs in 2010, things have gone from bad to worse to horrible. The team has now fallen 12 games below .500 before the halfway point of the season. And if you've watched the Cubs at all this year, it looks like they're collectively playing out the string with an entire half a season to play. They have been harshly criticized by fans and media, and deservedly so. While starting pitching has been solid through most of the season, hitting on this team has been dreadful. The Cubs enter the 4th of July weekend as the 3rd worst hitting team in the NL. The team has played more one run games than any team in baseball (30) and have won only 11 of them. Derek Lee and Aramis Ramirez have been in season long slumps. Ryan Theriot has 7 extra base hits in nearly 300 at-bats. Additionally, the team continues to exhibit an abysmal display of fundamentals. Players routinely miss cut off men and fail to move runners into scoring position. Overall base running has been inept. 

As the Cubs' arrow continues to point down, there are others besides players in the organization to blame for this mess. Lou Piniella, historically a very good manager, did an excellent job in his first two seasons with the cubs--leading the team to back to back National League division central titles in 2007 and 2008. However, he now appears lethargic and weathered by the awesome responsibility of trying to lead the cubs to a pennant. He says so much when interviewed by the media. His growing passiveness combined with a tendency over the last two years to unconditionally play slumping veterans over younger players has created a sagging, pulseless feeling on this team. Who ever thought that fiery Lou, the man with years of experience both as a player and manager handling the relentless media and pressures of New York, would succumb to the pressure of running the Cubs? 

Current Cubs general manager, Jim Hendry, may be the person who holds the greatest responsibility in the team's downward spiral. It is beyond the scope of this blog entry to detail all of Hendry's blunders throughout the last decade. In summary, Hendry's greatest failures include terrible organization scouting and player development from 2002 through 2006, bad contracts to free agents with back loaded money and no trade clauses, and questionable free agent signings. The Milton Bradley, Alfonso Soriano, and Kosuke Fukedome signings were colossal mistakes with reeling team payroll implications for 2011 and beyond. Jim Hendry deserves some credit for helping lead the team to 3 division championships over the last decade. And when it comes to trading marginal prospects to a vulnerable team with horrible payroll issues to get good players in return (i.e. Aramis Ramirez, Rich Harden), Jim has been pretty good at that. What general manager wouldn't be? But overall, Hendry has been given too much time and too much money to make this team better. And things have just gotten worse. 

Tom Ricketts, the new owner of the Cubs, has done a lot of things in his first year of ownership that most would consider to be pretty fun. He has handed out hot chocolate to fans standing outside of Wrigley Field in February waiting to purchase tickets for the upcoming season. He has given fans free beer at bars nearby Wrigley Field on opening day hours before the game. He's tinkered with Wrigley Field, built a shiny new Toyota sign in the left field bleachers, and has held negotiation wars with the cowboys out in Mesa, Arizona about a new extravagant "Wrigley West" spring training facility with the threat of bolting for pink flamingo grapefruit baseball in Florida (yuck). Now it's time for Ricketts to get down to business--baseball business. Fire Jim Hendry and get a new general manager. 

If Ricketts and the rest of the Cub brass decide to bring in another general manager, they may not have to look too far outside the organization. Tim Wilken, current Cubs' director of scouting (pictured above at the top) may be just the right man for the job. Wilken, who was named director of scouting in 2006, has a long, impressive history of scouting and developing major league players going back some 30 years. He spent 27 years in the Toronto Blue Jays' front office rising up the ranks. During his time in Toronto, he was associated with having drafted a host of stand out major league players including Derek Bell, Chris Carpenter, Carlos Delgado, Shawn Green, Roy Halladay, Alex Rios, Vernon Wells, and Michael Young. While with the Blue Jays, he contributed to the team's string of 11 consecutive first round draft picks reaching the major leagues. This is an incredible John Wooden-like streak. After a long run in Toronto, Wilken spent a few years working in the Tampa Bay Rays' front office as a special assistant to the general manager. During this time he helped the team make several key player acquisitions such as stealing away starting pitcher Scott Kazmir from the Mets. After a brief stint in Tampa Bay, the Cubs were fortunate to lure Wilken in early 2006 to become director of team scouting. 

Since taking over the Cubs' scouting and drafting responsibilities in 2006, Wilken's early results look promising. In his first 4 drafts with the cubs, he has selected outfielder Tyler Colvin, infielder Josh Vitters, pitcher Andrew Cashner, and outfielder Brett Jackson. Both Colvin and Cashner are currently playing for the Cubs and appear to be legitimate major league players. Outfielder Brett Jackson (pictured below) is now considered by team insiders as the fastest rising prospect in the organization. Wilken was also responsible for acquiring current Cub shortstop Starlin Castro as a free agent. Castro is doing a lot of learning on the job. But at the tender age of 20, he appears to be another at least quality-level major league player. So already in 4 years, the Cubs are seeing players drafted or acquired by Wilken climb up the ranks to the major league level. Compare these select players to the highly touted draft picks of the Cubs as directed by Jim Hendry from 2002-2006: Bobby Brownlie, Ryan Harvey, Grant Johson, and Mark Pawlek. These guys are no where to be found at the Cubs' major league level 5 to 8 years after being drafted. 

At heart, Wilken is a baseball lifer, an old scout--a guy who has a proven history of drafting and developing players at the major league level. Some critics look at his short time in Tampa and suggest that he is not ready nor will ever be ready to take on a role as general manager of a major league team. But Wilken's profile might be the perfect match for running the Cubs as a general manager given the economic dynamics of major league baseball (and the Chicago Cubs) in 2010 and years to come. It's clear that owner Tom Ricketts is focusing much of his efforts in his first year on squeezing out as much revenue for the team as possible. Nothing hurts the Cubs' payroll and revenue more than Jim Hendry consistently fouling up some horrible free agent contracts (i.e. Milton Bradley). Ricketts knows fundamentally and economically that the development of talent from within the organization is a vital component of eventual success. Look at current small market teams like the Tampa Bay Rays and Minnesota Twins and even big payroll teams like the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers. The next general manager of the Cubs will need to think like a small market team even if there is some money to throw around on free agents. 

Jim Hendry has had his time in Chicago as Cubs general manager. The team got 5 outs away from a world series in 2003 during his regime. They won 3 NL central division championships in 6 seasons. But now it's time for new owner Tom Ricketts to blow this team up and build it the right way without spending/wasting a fortune. Tim Wilken, the old crusty baseball life scout with a proven history of major league player evaluation and development going back to the late 70's, may be the perfect fit. 

The following sources contributed to this post:

http://www.toweldrills.com/2008/06/tim-wilken-director-of-scouting.html

http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/messages/chrono/21009161

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/2361674,CST-SPT-cub07.article

Super Bowl Outdoors in New Jersey? Terrible Idea

There have been a lot of really bad ideas in sports. And a lot of things that don't make any sense. The decision to have the winner of the baseball all star game determine home field advantage in the world series later that year. Terrible idea. The Big 10 continuing to call itself the Big 10 for nearly 20 years after Penn State became it's 11th team. Doesn't make any sense, does it? Another item that could be added to this list is the NFL owners' recent decision to allow New York (technically New Jersey) to host the 2014 Super Bowl--outdoors...in February. Terrible idea.

The reason that this is a terrible idea has nothing to do with my own opinion that cold weather and snow are absolutely horrible things in general that should be avoided whenever possible. I understand that some people love the winter elements, and I'm sure some fans love going to see football games in the cold and snow.

The history and tradition of the Super Bowl has always been to host the game in a warm weather climate or at least in a site impervious to horrible weather (i.e. dome host cities which now make up more than half the teams in the NFL). There is actually a Super Bowl rule stating that the game must be played in conditions no lower than 50 degrees. Doing so ensures that players and teams will perform and compete for the championship in ideal playing conditions. NFL players slipping and sliding around in mud and snow is fun to watch (for me, on TV--no way in person) occasionally during the late part of the season or maybe during a play-off game, but the risk of bad weather potentially negatively impacting player performance on the biggest stage of the NFL season shouldn't even be a possibility. Not only would the level of play be lowered, but the risk of player injury would be heightened. Why take the risk?

Playing the game in a cold weather city would potentially create disadvantages to teams from warm weather or dome cities. Weather should play out (and always has) in the play-offs and conference championships. A 13-3 cold weather team that wins home field advantage should use the cold and snow to their advantage when they play a dome team in the play-offs to advance to the super bowl. But the weather competitive edge factor should end at the super bowl. This is the way it has always been. Why risk having the weather give a mediocre cold weather team an even greater chance to knock off a superior dome team? It's clearly unfair.

Additionally, the potential of cold, snowy weather could ruin the television viewing. The Super Bowl is all about the television viewers' experience. Watching the game (and commercials) on TV among friends at a party is part of American culture. Capacity seating at the spectacle is made up more of well to do wealthy people, corporate fat cats, and celebrities looking for the next big scene at a party following the game than it is of dedicated die hard fans of either team. So what does this mean in terms of weather? If the weather turns for the worse, those attending the game (not actual fans) will scatter for cover in the bowels of the stadium leaving a smattering of empty seats in the background of the telecast. The sight of empty seats on high def during the 4th quarter of the Super Bowl is uglier than snow, wind, and ice itself.

Don't believe this would happen? You only have to look back 4 years ago at Super Bowl 41 at Pro Player Stadium in Miami when the Bears played the Colts. There was a light but steady rain through much of the 2nd half. The game was rather competitive, even as Rex Grossman and the Bears' defense was giving the game away to the Colts throughout the 2nd half. Yet, on television, there for viewing was the sight of empty seats as those in attendance scurried for shelter to avoid a light south Florida rain. The telecast just looked ugly. Not only because of soggy rain fogging up the camera shots or because of Rex Grossman's awful play, but mostly because people were leaving their seats....at a Super Bowl. That's just awful. Now imagine if the weather was really bad (i.e. snow, ice, face piercing wind, freezing rain, or snot freezing cold instead of a light and breezy 68 degree drizzle) in New Jersey in February 2014? The thought of it is too terrible for me to even picture.

It's a shame because the possibilities of pregame festivities and hype in NYC the two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl are endless. New York is America's greatest city with so much to do, even in bad weather. The media blitz could be sensational. But the New York football team owners (Woody Johnson and John Mara) who pushed so hard for this future ice bowl should have thought harder about their new shiny stadium. Why didn't they shell out more cash for a dome? Because at the Super Bowl, while hype and a long two week pregame are actually part of the experience, these things (like the weather) shouldn't be more important factors than the game itself. Brrrr and boo. Terrible idea.

The following source contributed to this post:

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/2014-super-bowl-new-york-jersey-bad-idea

Welcome To The United Center: Where It Is Always 1994

United Center, Chicago, IL: Home of the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks, site of the Barnum and Bailey Circus, Elmo On Ice, and countless other events/concerts in a given year. The United Center, or "UC" to which it is commonly referred, opened up in 1994, replacing the old Chicago Stadium--the original "mad house on Madison." And during that time, Chicago fans have seen some great highlights at the UC: the dominance of the Chicago Bulls throughout the 90's (winning an additional 3 NBA titles in their first 4 years at the UC), and the resurgence of the Chicago Blackhawks in the later portion of this last decade. When we think back to the days of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Jeremy Roenick, and Chris Chelios, we are quickly reminded about how much has changed at the United Center since 1994. But go to a Chicago Bulls game at the United Center in 2010, and you are likely to see and hear plenty of things see that will make you think you are still living in 1994. And if you're like me, instead of feeling engulfed in classic tradition, you are more likely to feel old, outdated, and not with the times. The United Center needs a musical/marketing makeover.

Back in the mid 90's, the Chicago bulls were one of the most dominant teams in all of sports. When watching a bulls home playoff game on television, NBC would make it a priority to show the captivating introduction of player line-ups. Anyone who is reading this post knows what I am talking about: stadium lights off, a couple of spotlights, Alan Parson's project "Eye In The Sky" intro, Ray Clay's voice "And now!......". This was always a revved-up, stirring moment to get the crowd (and TV audience) worked up. Now fast forward to 2010. The bulls continue to use this same introduction of player line ups for the home team. Except now there are more lasers and fire works, more video screen enhancements on the scoreboard, a different announcer, and a slightly updated version of "Eye in the Sky" with a snare drum rap beat to it. But it just seems terribly outdated. Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Phil Jackson have moved on, so it's time for the United Center to move on as well.

There are other old and outdated audio clips and songs that remain at the United Center in 2010 and need to go: coming out of an important time out or to represent a player substitution, the UC sound system continues to play the 4 tone progression that is heard at the beginning of a round on Wheel of Fortune. Why are they still doing this? Coming out of an important timeout or face-off near the very end of a game, you are likely to hear clips from one of two songs: U2's "Where The Streets Have No Name" or "Right Now" by Van Halen. Say what you want about these songs, but I think even the most loyal Van Hagar fan would agree that the song is entirely out of music context in a basketball arena in 2010.

It's as if the marketing people at the UC have not even considered making minimal changes in stadium audio effects since the hey day of the Chicago bulls during the 90's. Keeping up with the times musically from a marketing perspective is fine (and necessary) as long as it doesn't interfere with tradition. And none of these things would really be considered tradition. Some stadium classic rock anthems will always have their place no matter what personal opinion might say: YMCA, Queen songs, Rock and Roll part 2. Fine. But why is "Pump Up the Jam" by Technotronic still being played at the UC in 2010 when Joakim Noah dunks the ball and the Charlotte Bobcats call time out?

This post is dedicated to my friend, Curt, who has observed the same trend in New York at the old Yankee Stadium.

Dawson Should Go Into Hall Of Fame Wearing An Expos Cap

Cub fans aren't going to want to hear this, but when Andre "hawk" Dawson is inducted into the Hall of Fame this summer, an expos cap should be displayed on his plaque. Dawson, who waited 10 years to be voted into the Hall Of Fame, played for 4 teams over the course of 21 seasons. As most know, he broke in with the expos, playing for 11 years (1976-1986). Dawson then came to the cubs as a free agent, allowing the cubs to pay him any "fair" deal--anything to escape the astroturf of Montreal's Olympic Stadium and play 81 more games a year on natural grass at Wrigley Field. Dawson went on to play for the cubs for 6 seasons (1987-1992) before finishing his career with the redsox and marlins.

The events leading to Dawson's signing as a cub are legendary. In the the mid 1980's, with the cubs at their peak as being a miserly, penny-pinching organization, it was a miracle that a player of Dawson's stature and ability would be willing as a free agent to play for a salary significantly under his market value just to play on natural grass more often. Cub fans rooted for Andre because he was a great player; they embraced him for wanting to be a cub. Beautiful story, but this should have little to do with deciding on the hat that Andre wears into Cooperstown.

The decision regarding the cap on the Hall of Fame plaque  (classic cubby blue vs. weird, Euro-looking, multi colored "elb") should come down to two factors: longevity with a team and statistics with a team.

Take a look at the longevity factor. Andre spent 11 years with les expos, compared to only 6 with the cubs. During those 11 years, Dawson was part of something very special in Montreal. As much as hawk stood out as a rare 5-tool talent with the expos, there were several other great players that the expos developed during that era. The expo organization fielded some highly competitive teams in the late 70's and early 80's culminating in an eastern division title during the strike shortened season of 1981. In a way, Dawson's tenure with the expos represents this era of expo greats developed within the team's farm system: players like Tim Raines, Gary Carter, Tim Wallach, Steve Rodgers, and Bill Gullickson.

The Hall of Fame, after all, is a museum that aims to celebrate baseball history. If there is a place in Cooperstown to recognize Ozzie Smith doing back flips in the 80's, then there should be a place that commemorates the great scouting and player development of the Montreal Expos from the mid to late 1970's. An argument could be made that former expo Gary Carter's enshrinement into the Hall of Fame several years back is sufficient for representing these great expo teams that are often overlooked. However, while Carter was a great player, some contend that Carter's over enthusiasm rubbed teammates the wrong way, especially during his career with the mets. While there may not be consensus among baseball America that hawk belongs in the hall, the overwhelming sentiment among his teammates is that Dawson was one of the greatest and most respected players in all of major league baseball during his era.

As a member of the cubs, Dawson played for 6 years. Sadly, 5 of the teams he played for were truly horrible, including the last place 1987 team, for which he won the NL MVP. While the 1989 team ranks high among cub fans (including this blogger) for winning an NL eastern division title, that team is more remembered for the accomplishments and over achievements of some young budding stars (Mark Grace, Greg Maddux) along with some one year wonders (Jerome Walton, Dwight Smith) who faded into obscurity. By August of the '89 season, Dawson's knees were completely shot. It's a wonder he could even walk, let alone play, in the '89 NLCS against Will Clark and the San Francisco Giants. Dawson ended up slumping badly in the play off series, which the giants won 4 games to 1.

In terms of statistics, Dawson was great for both teams, but individually achieved more as a member of the expos. As an expo, Dawson was the National League rookie of the year in 1977 and was named to 3 National League All-Star teams (1981, 1982, 1983). In 7 of his 10 years with the expos, Dawson hit at least 20 home runs and stole 20 bases in the same season--something he never did with the cubs. Dawson's unique blend of power and speed, one of his greatest strengths as a player, was clearly more evident in his play with the expos. Dawson did have an incredible season with the cubs in 1987, winning the NL MVP award, and leading the NL in home runs, RBIs, and total bases--but all for a team that finished dead last in the NL eastern division that year. And while Andre did not win the MVP during his time with the expos, he did finish 2nd in voting for the award twice as an expo--once on the 1981 division winning team and again in 1983. Defensively, Dawson was superior with both teams, playing center and right field with the expos in cavernous Olympic Stadium, and as a right fielder with the cubs. Andre ended up winning 8 gold gloves through his career, but won all but two of them while playing for Montreal.

Since being voted into the hall of fame earlier this month, Dawson has made statements about his appreciation for cub fans who supported him during his 6 years with the cubs. Dawson goes down in cubs history as one of the greatest and most respected players in the team's storied franchise. And if the decision was completely up to him, Andre would probably prefer being enshrined as a cub. But his career in Montreal was longer and even better. As much as cub fans may disagree, the Hall of Fame committee should do the right thing and commemorate Dawson by displaying an expos cap on his plaque.

The following sources contributed to this post:

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Expos-or-Cubs-Which-cap-should-Andre-Dawson-wea?urn=mlb,212404

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/dawsoan01.shtml

http://www.ydr.com/ci_12585884