In the first of our week-long series on the Los Angeles Dodgers, we look at last Saturday’s rally.

This wasn’t about the day’s game.

It’s was not about Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw, or Chad Billingsley.

This is about a bus ride to Loserville with Frank McCourt behind the wheel.

Bankruptcy has taken over all recent dialogue about the Dodgers

On Saturday, at the intersection of Sunset and Elysian Park in Los Angeles, Dodgers fans decided, for a second time in as many months, to show their displeasure with the direction and ownership of their beloved Dodgers.

Led by Roger Arrieta, founder of markcubansavethedodgers.com, fans picketed, shouted, and generally made their voices heard to any car driving by. Signs read: “Game Over, McCourt” and “Get out of Town, McCourt.”

Three years ago, the Dodgers and Phillies were the two best teams in the National League. The contrast since then has to be sickening to die-hard Dodger fans. One team has done everything they can to continue their winning ways, never satisfied even after winning the World Series. The other team, well, is the Dodgers.

If a person showed up to the rally looking to make trouble and be a hooligan, they were in the wrong place. While it may be surprising to some, the fans at the rally were not just well-behaved. They were also knowledgeable and purposeful in their anti-Frank McCourt message.

“He isn’t… here, but he needs to know and he is going to know,” said one fan. “Game over.”

While the Dodgers announced attendance well over 30,000 for the game Saturday afternoon, there were clear indications to all those in attendance that the real number of fans at the game was probably under 20,000. In other words, the fan-organized rally seemed to be making a difference.

There were plenty of good seats available as the Dodgers took the field on Saturday

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzFw_0PkglI

Christy is ready for Frank to be gone. One thing you can tell from her and others at the rally was how ingrained the Dodgers are as an icon of good times for so many Californians and especially Angelinos. The only additional question I wished I would have asked people was what the Dodgers meant to them. That being said, the protesters made it clear in their passion, emotion, and description of how the team was being run now.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=09U8WhTSoE0

Like many Dodgers fans, Roger’s “frustration level is high.” For many, that is an understatement

Eric from Covina isn’t a crazy fan using this opportunity for someone or something to yell at (like the type of person you might expect at a rally or organized protest). He’s smart and reasonable like many Dodger fans and has some excellent points.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4MoPbbyj-k

Finally, there is Mark. Mark brought his whole family out, signs and all, to protest Frank. He hasn’t been to a game yet this year and refuses to go until the team is free from McCourt’s grip.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRX0VCL1snw

In the end the biggest thing missing from the rally was one big thing that McCourt has done to anger fans. When these situations happen, they are usually based on a large breach of trust. The Brian Stow case was a tipping point for many people. But if the fan base was bought into the team and to ownership prior to the opening day atrocity, the reaction would not have been anywhere close to the same.

The fact that such a large number of “little things” can add up to two unprecedented protests of ownership really says something for the “bloodletting” that McCourt has overseen. Maybe a picture of him as a vampire rather than the one of him as a rat would have been more appropriate on Saturday.

Or maybe Dodgers fans would just as soon never see a picture of him, in any form, ever again.

owen@fansmanship.com

Check back Wednesday morning for a checklist of reasons why fans aren’t coming to games anymore.

Wednesday: Reasons why fans aren’t coming anymore

Thursday: Impact on the “little guys”

Friday: How did we get here? Best and worst case scenarios for the future

When Dallas clinched their NBA Finals series against the Miami Heat, fans and media began to bring up Cuban’s name again in relation to the dumpster fire that is currently the Dodgers’ ownership. On television, radio, and across Internet blogs, Dodger fans are practically begging Cuban to be ready if and when the Dodgers are taken over by Major League Baseball and, God willing, sold.

Maybe the most direct plea to Cuban has been through a website titled Mark Cuban Save the Dodgers, created by Los Angeles native and West Covina resident Roger Arrieta. A web designer who started MarkCubanSaveTheDodgers.com, Arrieta created the site two months ago. During the past week, he says, hits on the site have grown exponentially. On Tuesday, there were 800 “likes” on Facebook and as of Thursday night, there were about 1,250.

“My initial thought was ‘save the Dodgers’ as a general idea,” said Arrieta. “Later on, Mark Cuban came to mind. He’s had ten years of success [in Dallas] and he is someone with instant recognition.”

Arrieta’s site features pictures of Cuban with Dodgers gear on, along with images of past Dodger greatness like Sandy Koufax, Fernando Valenzuela, and Kirk Gibson. His Dodgers Fansmanship goes back to the 70’s and 80’s, and his goal is to help encourage an owner like Cuban to take the reins of the Dodgers, an organization clearly in turmoil.

Being a die-hard Lakers fan doesn’t give him any pause either, despite Cuban’s Mavs knocking the Lakers out of the NBA Playoffs this season.

“It doesn’t deter me,” said Arrieta. A lot of people can’t get over that, but it’s simple. You have to look at what [Cuban] has done. Show me a Dodger fan who wouldn’t want that same success for the Dodgers.”

HOW MANY OTHER TEAMS HAVEN’T MADE THE WORLD SERIES SINCE 1988?

Arrieta discusses Cuban’s potential ownership like it’s a done deal already.

“He’s going to do everything to make the team better,” he said.

Having been to many games at Chavez Ravine this year, Arrieta has definitely noticed a difference.

“There are so many less fans this year. It’s crazy,” he said. “It’s not even packed on bobblehead night.”

He has also noticed the increased police presence and it makes him (like Fansmanship) sad that the additional security is needed.

For Arrieta and most Dodgers fans, a failure by current ownership to act at crucial times is an unforgivable offense.

“The Dodgers were never even in the discussion for Cliff Lee or Halladay. They didn’t build on the LCS. They didn’t add to the roster,” he said. His voice a combination of disgust and sadness. “Even if it took [Cuban] 10 years like the Mavs, we haven’t had a championship in 25 years.”

Actually the number is 22, but the point is well taken.

SAN LUIS OBISPO – BLACK OR BLUE?

For him, and so many other Dodgers fans, the McCourt reign has been untenable.

“He said that even if he wasn’t in financial trouble, he’d still be doing the same thing. That’s not acceptable.”

The lack of non-Manny-related big splashes, a penchant for spending money inappropriately and then blaming everyone but himself, and an ego the size of Los Angeles have all marked the McCourt era. For the sake of Arrieta, this writer, and Dodgers fans everywhere, here’s hoping for an end to this situation sooner than later.

WHAT’S REALLY GOING ON AT DODGER STADIUM?

Things may have to get uglier before they can get better.

The picture of Mark Cuban on Arrieta’s website sure looks pretty right about now…

owen@fansmanship.com