Despite the fact that I bought this hat while in Buffalo just the day before, it’s one of the few hats that I have that carry a lot of personal meaning. If you’ve actively followed these posts, or at least gone back and read a few from my archives, the logo on the front may seem familiar as I write about a similar cap back on March 5th. Of all the logos in Major League Baseball it really comes as no surprise that the two I have a kinship with most also happen to be the most controversial: Chief Wahoo of the Cleveland Indians and this one, Chief Noc-a-Homa of the Atlanta Braves.
I honestly can’t explain why I’m so drawn to it, perhaps a
little of it does stem from the backlash it has received over the years;
however, I don’t make it a point to be offensive on any level about it. To me,
it’s just a symbol of the past which has been misconstrued over the decades
when it was first introduced during the Milwaukee
years in 1954. I bring all of this up because as much as it has pitted baseball
fans or political pundits against one another for so many years, to me, it’s a
symbol of bonding that will always remind me of the greatest year of my life
with two people who have shown me a lighter side of “The Chop.”
Since this is a custom cap that I’ve already dwelled upon
there really isn’t much of a reason to re-hash on old material. If you are
interested about the history of the symbol, I highly recommend clicking on the
link from my original post above. The one thing I can give you about this one
is that it was cleverly done in the original Milwaukee styling. While the red bill and the
navy blue panels were both shared by the Braves of Milwaukee and Atlanta, the
Noc-a-Homa head in a flesh-colored tone was shown more prevalently in the early
years between 1957-1966 up north; however, there was a five-year time frame in
with the same color pattern was used in Atlanta (1967-1971), but with a much
more detailed face.
Milwaukee
Atlanta
This particular hat, or the Diamond Era cap featuring this
logo that was originally supposed to be released this season, was a hot topic
of conversation amongst the other eight #CrewEra13 invitees and myself. All of
us had in some form or another agreed that the original batting practice cap
was one of the Holy Grail pieces we wanted to add to our collection. At one
point we (more I) thought that there was some sort of box of Diamond Era Braves
caps somewhere within the confines of New Era’s headquarters, much like what
happened with the Ark of the Covenant at the end of “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”
Some of our top men are on it.
Nonetheless, this cap was still available for purchase,
which made all of us happy. In some weird way this logo became the unofficial
symbol of our trip to Buffalo
as most of us all ready had some variation of the Noc-a-Homa logo on a cap, but
more important, we all have some kind of a fascination with it.
Due to the fact that this is not a game style cap I have a
lot more freedom in how I marked this bad boy up. Rather than take a historical
route like my other posts, I decided to go with something more important to me.
R/R: Of all the Braves fans I’ve met throughout my 30 years
of existence, there are two that have made a significantly profound impact on
my life at two very important moments, and; coincidentally, they both happened
to be named Ricky: Ricky Mast and Ricky Ruby.
Ricky Ruby (@RickyRuby) and I met in the lobby of the
Lafayette Hotel in downtown Buffalo,
New York two days ago when we
both were invited to the Fan Appreciation event held by New Era on June 23rd
and 24th. Ruby hails from Atlanta
and is one of the bigger pro-Atlanta fans I’ve ever met; however, it’s not for
this that I’ll continue to remember him. One of the things that the other eight
of us quickly picked up about Ruby is that he’s a big video game and comic book
connoisseur. It was first brought to our attention at Niagara Falls when we hiked to the south side
of the mouth and Ruby text message tone went off. His tone: the “Go-Go Power
Rangers” chime that the red ranger received when ZORG was trying to get a hold
of them. Needless to say, the 11-year-old versions of us quickly came out of
hiding upon hearing it.
I found this on his Facebook page. Sorry for stealing it.
Throughout the rest of the trip Ruby delighted us with his
cavalcade of custom comic book and video game caps that he purchased from shops
in Japan
which featured Batman, Mario from Super Mario Bros. and Iron Man. But the one
topic of discussion that he and I kept bringing up was the matter of the
Noc-a-Homa Diamond Era cap. We both had different motives as far as why we want
the hat (I suppose), in that he wants it for his Braves/Atlanta collection,
where as I want it for my ownership of all the Diamond Era/Braves history
collection. In the grand scheme of things one could easily say that both falls
within the same boundaries, which I would not dispute as we’re both avid
collectors of all hats Braves.
When I got back to Portland
I made sure to give him a follow on Instagram and Twitter. Due to the fact that
I had been having issues with my phone throughout the trip to Buffalo I wasn’t
able to do it then. Once I got back and we started tweeting back and forth with
one another I got to see how big of a deal Ruby is within the Atlanta/Braves
community. I’ve always been a fan of interacting with supporters of other teams
besides my Oakland Athletics as well all have that common ground of fan hood,
we all share the same kinship for baseball. One thing that I am looking forward
to is the opportunity to get to a game at Turner Field with Ruby for two
reasons:
1. Because I’ll have someone awesome to shoot the breeze
with at the game.
2. Turner Field is one of the three Major League Baseball
parks I have yet to visit. I couldn’t think of anyone better to check that off
of my list with.
Ricky Mast (@RickyMast) and I started talking back in
February of 2012 when we were both in the running for the MLB Fan Cave this last year. On a nearly routine
basis he, a lot of the other prospective Cave Dwellers and I gabbed on Tiny
Chat. Despite the fact that we were in competition with one another, all of us
hit off fast for the same reason I mentioned above, we’re all baseball fans. No
matter what the team or rivalry is one can always seek solace in the common
ground and develop a kinship. Such was our case.
Ricky pulling off a low-key mohawk shark in the background.
Ricky being Ricky.
Mast and I first met in person in Phoenix, Arizona
as our planes landed around the same time along with Megan Washington
(@teammegan) as the two of them had arrived on the same flight. Naturally,
we all hit it off immediately as we swept through the terminals to try and find
where we had to meet the shuttle to get to the hotel.
For those of you who are NASCAR fans Mast is the son of Rick
Mast, a veteran driver who drove during the Winston Cup days from 1988-2002.
What’s most interesting about this is that despite the fact that I don’t
closely follow NASCAR I knew who Ricky’s dad was when I lived in Bakersfield,
California as two acquaintances both had posters of Rick and his HOOTERS-sponsored
car in their garages: Mark, a neighbor down the street whose daughter and I
were friends, and Rick Mears, the Hall of Fame four-time Indianapolis 500
champion who lived a few blocks away whose son was friends with my brother
Adam.
Ricky and I hit it off pretty well from the start, but we
hardly ever saw each other from what I recall in Arizona. He and I were pitted in different
groups and went to interview different teams/players as part of our final day’s
worth of challenges. In the end though, he and I were both chosen to represent
our teams as part of the final nine for the Fan
Cave in New York City.
As much as I can recall about conversations and moments that
we shared in the Fan
Cave, there are only a
few moments that I think back on regularly that always put a smile on my face.
One of the features that we had on the walls was a radio that worked based on
Bluetooth functions. Anytime the late games started up we (all nine of us)
would use it to our advantage and play a continuous amount of sound bites and
songs to help keep us entertained as the night wore on. Nothing against
watching baseball for 12-16 hours a day, but sometimes there can be a few boring
moments and breaking the monotony is necessary. One of the cards ( six of
spades) that Ricky had in his pocket was the theme song to the TV show “Night Court,” a favorite show for both of us as we were growing up. TV theme songs
and movie quotes became a regular line of conversation between the two of us.
One particular moment in which it was caught on film was when we were filming
the opening scene to the “Miggy Poco” telenovela sketch with Miguel Cabrera and
Jon Glazer of “Cheap Seats” and Conan O’Brien fame. If you go back and watch
the sketch you can see Ricky and me in the background talking; however, you
can’t hear what we are saying. In a nut shell, Ricky and I were reciting the
first interview between Will Ferrel and O’Brien when Ferrel came out in character
as Robert Goulet. A few highlights include, “Dyan Cannon, she’s got a shape
to her,” “Hello Johnny!” "Oh I’ve just been driving a lot,” and “Robert
Goulet ate too many cherry Pop-Tarts backstage.” Ricky was as big, if not
bigger, fan of ridiculous comedic quotes and standup routines as I am. There
was seldom a time when he and I wouldn’t try to make the other person laugh
from the moment we woke up to when we went back to our apartments to get some
sleep. Our dueling Harry Caray’s became quite the treat, as did the occasional
Ric Flair-style “Wooooooooo!!!” No matter what we said or how we said it, every
bit was a gem, and I can’t recall laughing harder around anyone I’ve ever met.
Ricky is also quite the accomplished musician, no matter how
much he may try to downplay it. Put an acoustic guitar in his hand and he’ll
crank out some country gold. Since I was only in the Fan Cave
for the first two-and-a-half months I didn’t become familiar with his Braves
tribute to “No Diggity” by Blackstreet with his version titled “Go Yickity,”
which was accompanied by a wonderful popsicle stick puppet show music video.
However, I was fortunate to witness three moments of his brilliance at the tail
end of April and the first few weeks of May. The first is something that very
few remember, but I tweeted about as it was going on. I’ve always been a huge
fan of the “Star-Spangled Banner’ when it’s performed via guitar. I don’t
remember the exact date but games were just about to get underway when Ricky
sat behind the couch and gently strummed away at the acoustic playing our
national anthem. The other seven Cave Dwellers were going about their business,
typing things up, talking, etc., but I completely tuned everything out to
listen to Ricky play. It was one of the most endearing moments I recall from my
experience.
The second moment came on May 3rd when Patrick Corbin and JJ
Putz of the Arizona Diamondbacks stopped by for a visit before the opening game
of their weekend series versus the New York Mets. A few days prior we had been
sat down by the executives to talk about how we were doing after the first
month of being there. I won’t go into too much detail now as I’m saving the
whole discussion for a later post, but from what I recall from what Ricky had
told me, they had said that he needs to produce more original material. I was
shocked by that comment, but Ricky, being the loyal and diligent guy that he
is, ducked into the corner and immediately got to work. What he came up with is
a version of Hootie and the Blowfish’s “Hold My Hand” but sung as a tribute to
Braves’ catcher Brian McCann.
For the time it took him to put it together and
the balls he had to play it front of everyone, including Corbin and Putz, it
was astonishing. Putz ended up getting it on video as he and McCann were good
friends, but I’m not sure if Ricky ever got any feedback on it. But that’s not
the end of this. I’m still not sure if Ricky knew this in advance or if I just
didn’t check the schedule of upcoming visitors, but Darius Rucker, Hootie
himself, paid a visit to the Fan
Cave shortly after Putz
and Corbin left. As it turns out Rucker is a big Cincinnati Reds fan, and of
course I was coaxed into showing off my Reds tattoo to Rucker, at which he was
pleasantly surprised by the detail (thank God). At the same time Ricky was
asked to play his version of “Hold My Hand” for Rucker, which Ricky, once
again, knocked right out of the park. I’d say as far as creativity goes, Ricky
definitely grabbed the bull by the horns. Literally.
The third moment came on May 22nd when Billy
Butler, Aaron Crow, Bruce Chen, Brayan Pena and Jeff Francoeur of the Kansas
City Royals paid us a visit. Most of this day I paid tribute to on May 23rd
in one of my Oakland Athletics posts, but there was one major detail that I had
left out. Unbeknownst to almost everyone, Ricky had written a song about
Francoeur as he is still a huge hit with the Braves’ fan base.
I’m pretty sure
it’s still available on the Fan Cave Web site, so do yourself a service and
check it out. This particular song was a Ricky Mast original and became a huge
hit with Francoeur and the gang. The thing that I found most shocking in the
end was that it almost didn’t air because of Ricky’s last line in the song,
“He’s a badass in the USA.”
Due to the word “badass” being used it was almost scrapped. I guess the word on
the street is that it took 10 emails back and forth with the head office to
approve of it, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned about showbiz AND the word
on the street, it’s usually pretty reliable. Either way, the important thing is
that it was approved.
On of the last little anecdotes I have from our time in the
Fan Cave has to do with one of the lesser-known rules in which Ricky had to
abide by. By now, most of you have become fully aware of the fact that I had
to, and still do, bark like a dog anytime anyone, including myself, says the
name Jayson Werth (WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF!!!) It became a bigger hit than I
expected, especially with kids who came to take a tour. Now, one of the rules
of the house that followed was that I had one for Ricky. Anytime I said Chief
Noc-a-Homa Ricky had to reply with, “I love Ted Turner!” Probably the
best/worst moment of this came on New Year’s Eve of this last year when I was
in Ft. Lauderdale with my girlfriend Angie
(@sconnieangie). It was a little after midnight EST and the bar we were at, America’s
Backyard) started playing the Florida State/Atlanta Braves chant song. You
know, the one they do as everyone does The Chop? Anyway, I was pretty drunk
when it came on and I decided to text Ricky about it, at which I also mentioned
Chief Noc-a-Homa. Within a matter of seconds I got a sold, “I love Ted Turner”
in response. I don’t remember much of the night after that, but seeing that
text again in the morning put a solid smile on my face as I was more than
likely barfing.
After I was eliminated from the Fan Cave
at the end of May I did my best to keep in contact with Ricky and few o the
others guys. One moment in particular that I’ll never forget is how I almost
caused an accident in Los Angeles
in an attempt to take a photo of a Ralph’s grocery store. As weird as that
sounds there is a very good reason for doing so. Of all the movie quotes that
Ricky and I bounced off of one another, there’s a line from “The Big Lebowski”
that came up the most. The scene in which it takes place is after Donny, played
by Steve Buscemi, has a fatal heart attack and Walter (John Goodman) and Jeff
aka The Dude (Jeff Bridges) are sitting at the desk of the head of the mortuary
to negotiate (shout about) the price of the urn in which Donny’s ashes are
placed. After not coming to an agreement in regard to a portable receptacle,
Walter shouts, “God damn it!!!” followed by, “Is there a Ralph’s around here?” It
became our bread and butter play. Anytime I shouted, “God damn it!!!” Ricky
would always follow up with, “Is there a Ralph’s nearby?” Seeing how I was in
LA, where the film took place, and there was an actual Ralph’s “around here,” I had
to do it. From what I recall, Ricky was most pleased.
In the months to follow Ricky and I spoke less and less,
which was mostly fueled by something stupid I said during the 2012 MLB All-Star
game, which I’ll get into detail about when I reach that post. After Ricky was
eliminated I pondered for a good few hours before sending my apology. I was
happy that he responded, but was really upset that he was let go. Of the nine
of us, I am confident to say that he was the second-most interactive with fans,
but truly the most talented of the group.
Months would go by before we spoke again, which came on a
really weird night. Back in December of 2012 I was one of thousands of victims
involved in a shooting that took place at the Clackamas Town Center Mall in
which I worked. Once again, I’ll go into more detail later in the year, but of
all the people to hit me up in the wake of the aftermath, the one that meant
the most was Ricky. It’s one thing for people that I regularly talk with to
know what was going on and check up on me, it’s another thing for someone to be
genuinely interested in my well-being after months of silence.
Not a day goes by that I don’t regret what I said, to cause
the shift, but I’m glad that steps have been taken and we’re talking again,
even if through the occasional jokes on Twitter. It’s only fitting I suppose.
That was pretty much what our relationship was based on from the start. And I’m
certainly not complaining about a good laugh in my life.
