Jersey says “GO?”/Brooklyn says “NO?”

Photo taken from The Daily News

“How does one obtain 18 losses in a row?” a teenage boy playfully asked his friend. Using his hand as a mic, he waited for a reply.  “Uhmm… you call yourself the Nets and miss all of ’em in sight?” “Correct!”

The two boys passed by my stoop laughing, but for many sports fans around Brooklyn, this is a serious matter.

With the extensive planning by Bruce Ratner, the Atlantic Yards Project includes the creation of Barclays Center, the projected new sports stadium for the New Jersey Nets to call their new home. This center is expected to bring more to the community than just “concerts, fine arts performances, circuses, college basketball games, ice shows, and music award shows.” It also promises the return of an element of Brooklyn that had been dismissed for over 50 years– the spirit of fanatic pride.

The last time Brooklyn was home to a sports franchise was in 1957, when Walter O’Malley announced the end of the 67 years run of the Dodgers in the city.

Originally, Walter O’Malley, owner of majority of the Dodgers, planned to keep the team in Brooklyn. It was the stadium Ebbets Field – worn down, rigid, and old – that caused the lack of sold tickets at home games.  Due to these conditions, the 32,000-capable seating of Ebbets Field was only being filled to about 13,000 per game.  The only resolve was a new stadium.