ORn special day, when the Cleveland Guardians were born, it started with a bang, but not exactly what the team expected.
Many fans bought the first items alluding to the team, which abandoned the Indios name used for 106 years. Suddenly, a sign installed outside the store at Progressive Field came loose and shattered on the sidewalk.
“Well, it’s an ominous sign,” a witness commented.
A worker was on a ladder, checking the bolts holding the sign, when the sign tore off a small section of the park’s exterior cladding, made of stone. The logo fell about 15 feet (4.5 meters) and crashed, leaving no injuries.
Fans began lining up very early in the morning, in order to Get your hands on new hats, hoodies, T-shirts and other paraphernalia with the new Guardian emblems.
“In a way this exceeds expectations,” said Karen Fox, the team’s director of merchandising. “Having people come in at 6:30 in the morning and the fact that we had 100 people by 9:14 made the store look like when we have a game.”
Greg Foote and his 15-year-old son Lucas they didn’t plan on being the first in line. Things turned out like this.
And while they waited to enter, Cleveland’s mascot Slider rewarded them with knitted Guardians hats as gifts. They were the perfect accessories for the cold morning downtown.