 |
 |  |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As part of the Merriam Handshake Project, Ed Kaufman's fifth and Mary Ann Brandt's sixth graders sent letters to various people on the Red Sox and the Yankees plus Allan H. (Bud) Selig, Commissioner of Baseball. (See the Story Behind the project.) The text of three of those letters are included below:
Letter to John Henry, owner of the Red SoxFebruary 6, 2005 John Henry Dear Mr. Henry: Hello from fifth and sixth grade students at Merriam School in Acton, Massachusetts. Most of us are Red Sox fans, but a portion of us like the Yankees. The people who are Yankees fans feel intimidated sometimes. We feel that this is wrong and that if the professional players exercised better sportsmanship, people would feel safer and the sport of baseball would become more fun for everyone. Over the past few months, we have noticed violence and bad sportsmanship coming from the fans and players of a lot of the major sports. During the Red Sox and Yankees playoffs some people in both cities got injured and even killed because they cheered for the "wrong" team or because people around them got too excited and the police had to take action. We think sportsmanship is very important. We have observed in the past few years that the Red Sox - Yankees rivalry has gotten too extreme. Fans and players everywhere are getting too worked up about what's just a game. Fights between two teams are not necessary because fans and players can get hurt. Our idea is that the Red Sox and Yankees should shake hands at Fenway Park on Opening Day this April 11. We realize that this is the same day that the Red Sox will receive their world series rings, but we believe that if we pull it off, it will prove a lot. If the players shake hands and don't have violent fights, it will set a good example for kids of all ages who look up to them. All of us here play sports and at the end of each game we all shake hands. So we think that if younger kids show good sportsmanship, Major League players also should. If you do shake hands after games and show better sportsmanship, we will be very happy. We are writing the Yankees and the Commissioner of baseball too so everyone knows about this. We thank you for your time and hope that you will be able to contact us. If possible, we would like you to visit us at school. To contact us, please write to the above address. Thank you. Sincerely yours, Ed Kaufman's Fifth Grade Class & Mary Ann Brandt's Sixth Grade Class Return to top of the page. Letter to George Steinbrenner, owner of the YankeesFebruary 6, 2005 George Steinbrenner Dear Mr. Steinbrenner: Hello from fifth and sixth grade students at Merriam School in Acton, Massachusetts. We are working on a project in school to make professional baseball teams (especially the Red Sox and the Yankees) show better sportsmanship. Our idea is that this will lower the hatred and violence among the fans in all sports, but focusing mainly on baseball. Even though we live near Boston, some kids in our school areYankee fans. The problem is that most of our school is made up of Red Sox fans. Most people who like the Yankees are too afraid to show that they are true Yankee fans because they think the Red Sox fans will do something hurtful to them. We think that the kids in our school who are Yankee fans should feel free to like whoever they like best. We are writing to you because we want you and the Red Sox to be friendlier towards each other. After children's sports games, we shake hands with the team we're playing, whether it's soccer, basketball, lacrosse, hockey, football or baseball. If kids can show good sportsmanship, then professionals can too. We think the players should show good sportsmanship so little kids will not try to imitate famous fights of famous baseball players. We have come up with an idea on how to encourage the baseball spirit between both teams without violence, fear, or intimidation from anyone else. Our two classes think that if the Red Sox and Yankees shake hands after the game on Opening Day in Boston it might influence all baseball team fans to join in their excitement. We are also writing letters to the Red Sox and the Commissioner of Baseball. If you would be so kind as to consider our idea of the two teams shaking hands, it would make our dream come true. To contact us, please write to the above address. Please write back quickly. Thank you. Sincerely yours, Ed Kaufman's Fifth Grade Class & Mary Ann Brandt's Sixth Grade Class Return to top of the page. Letter to Allan H. (Bud) Selig, Commissioner of BaseballFebruary 6, 2005 The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball Dear Mr. Selig: Hello from fifth and sixth grade students at Merriam School in Acton, Massachusetts. We are working on a project in school to make professional baseball teams (especially the Red Sox and the Yankees) show better sportsmanship. Our idea is that this will lower the hatred and violence among the fans in all sports, but focusing mainly on baseball. It has come to our attention that fans and players are getting too worked up about what's just a game. The negativity and intensity is influencing children's' sportsmanship after our own sports games. After children's sports games, we shake hands with the team we're playing, whether it's soccer, basketball, lacrosse, hockey, football or baseball. If kids can show good sportsmanship, then professionals can too. Since we live near Boston, most of the children in Merriam School and schools in Acton are for the Boston Red Sox. However, there is a fair amount of Yankee fans and fans for other baseball teams. Because of all the hatred between the Red Sox and the Yankees, this is causing intimidation from the young Red Sox fans to the Yankee fans who are afraid to speak up about who they root for in baseball. We have come up with an idea on how to encourage the baseball spirit between both teams without violence, fear, or intimidation from anyone else. Our two classes think that if the Red Sox and Yankees shake hands after the game on Opening Day in Boston it might influence rival baseball team fans to join in their excitement. We are also writing letters to the Yankees and the Red Sox. If you would be so kind as to consider our idea of the two teams shaking hands, it would make our dream come true. To contact us, please write to the above address. Thank you. Sincerely yours, Ed Kaufman's Fifth Grade Class & Mary Ann Brandt's Sixth Grade Class Return to top of the page. Return to the Handshake Project Contents page or the Inside Merriam page. |