No. Way.
Not going to lie: I didn't believe a single syllable of the text in front of me. Nor was I about to sit there and try to absorb it more fully ... because I needed to see for myself.
The text, verbatim, from an official with the Pirates: "Like many homes and businesses throughout our area, PNC Park sustained some damage due to the recent severe weather, including to the Pirates Charities sign. For precautionary safety reasons, we are removing the structure and assessing possible repairs."
Yep, that did it. Faster than anyone can say Ji Hwan Bae, I slapped on the flip-flops, snapped up the keys and fairly sprinted for the subway.
Upon emerging from our city's hole under the Allegheny, I resumed the sprint down Federal Street as far as bridge construction would allow:
DEJAN KOVACEVIC / DKPS
Yeah, we've still got another year of this.
Stuck a hard right at Roberto:
DEJAN KOVACEVIC / DKPS
The man wants his bridge back.
Thought -- that's thought -- I saw no sign:
DEJAN KOVACEVIC / DKPS
Ever wonder where this one weird sidewalk leads? It's a landscaping tool shed.
And then ... there it was. Or wasn't.
But just to make sure, I asked a kind gentleman passing on the riverfront trail to confirm for me that, in fact, there was no sign up there above that embankment.
"What sign?" he asked.
"Exactly!" I came back.
At which point, before he'd begin asking harder questions about my mental state, I asked if he could snap a pic of me and the glorious nothingness behind me, for posterity's sake. Which he did ...
RANDOM PASSERBY ON RIVERFRONT TRAIL
Still nothing!
... and, with a small laugh and equally small shake of the head, he was off.
Turning at least semi-serious on this, for those who might be new to this perennial topic, the Charities sign actually was constructed as part of the 2006 All-Star Game, housing the logo within a hideously garish, white-background, 7/11-looking setting. It was an eyesore from the inside, but it was an absolute abomination from the outside, meaning the Downtown view. Threw off the Pittsburgh-based architect Lou Astorino's vision of pretty much everything he'd intended from the outside. And for nothing.
I've made no small amount of noise about this on social media but also behind the scenes. Not all of it was pleasant. I felt that strongly about a place that really ought to be celebrated and protected, given its national prominence and relentless accolades as being -- which it is -- America's best ballpark. To deface it that way, and to have that defacing be hung up on a sign that never was supposed to be permanent, to have that defacing promote a tremendous charity that nonetheless didn't need to be promoted, never made any sense.
Repeating this for emphasis since it's been often misinterpreted over the years: My main issue's always been with the damage done to the outside view, not the one from the inside. Seeing ads inside stadiums is just part of life now. But disrupting the exterior physical appearance ... yeah, I'm starting again, huh?
Whatever. It's gone.
Act of God?
Act of the baseball gods?
Pure dumb luck?
Count the blessings and snap away your own the-sign's-gone selfie if attending the home opener this Friday! I promise to share each and every one on social media!
