Hey, Vern, How About Them Braves
February 07, 1990
THE ATLANTA Braves, obviously desperate, are entering new territory. Their attendance and season-ticket sales have been sagging badly because of consistently dismal seasons, and Tuesday they announced they have signed actor Jim Varney, better known as the character Ernest P. Worrell (Ernest Goes to Camp, Ernest Saves Christmas) to a 1-year deal to advertise the team through television and print. A Braves spokesman called it ”a bold move.”
That 1990 team was so abysmal looking in February, Varney could have been signed to play third base and it wouldn’t have mattered much.
Downright embarrassing. If not our nadir as a franchise, very close to it.
Speaking of Braves TV commercials, here’s a little gem… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3Ev6PDyoIU
…and check out this news story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykTGLqXUfJ4&feature=related
Vern: Dead or alive?
Vern: Very Dead. Died in 2000 of lung cancer, I believe.
I can remember how obviously hopeless baseball in Atlanta seemed at that time(Nick Esasky, Tommy Gregg, Jim Presley, Andres Thomas). No one imagined that by the end of the next season we would have some of the greatest highs Braves fans had ever experienced. Their were seeds of greatness, but we didn’t realize how great.