Mr. Smith is going to Washington. Well, at least he hopes a petition he has launched will.
Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith has partnered with St. Louis-based Budweiser for a petition to the White House in favor of making Major League Baseball's Opening Day a federal holiday. Smith, whose career spanned two professional baseball teams (including 15 years with the St. Louis Cardinals), announced the initiative Tuesday. He has 30 days to acquire 100,000 signatures for the petition on the White House website.
"There are 22 million people who have, some point in time, played hooky from work or school, so it's already an unofficial holiday," the 13-time Golden Glove winner told MLB.com. "We're just trying to make it an official holiday by getting those 100,000 signatures so I can march them up to the front of the White House."
The petition must garner at least 100,000 signatures in order to compel the White House's response to it. More than 17,000 signatures were on the petition after the first day of Smith's announcement.
"Opening Day brings with it the promise of a new beginning," the petition reads. "Every fan is in good spirits. It's a day of celebration. It's a day of hope. It's a day that, for generations, has been looked forward to by baseball fans every off-season. It's an American tradition, and it deserves to be recognized as an American holiday."
Over the next month, three videos will be released by Budweiser to push the campaign. Ads also will be featured on MLB.com and ESPN.com. In the first video, a montage of footage from past Opening Day games plays over various announcers calling plays and remarking on Opening Day. At the video's conclusion, Smith is seen riding at the front of a cart led by the iconic Budweiser Clydesdales and says, "All we need is 100,000 signatures and we're on the way to the White House. Next stop: Washington, D.C."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcdMqEFKpgg
MLB's Executive Vice President of Business Tim Brosnan told the St. Louis Post Dispatch the league was pleased by the strong show of support on the first day of the campaign. "It shows us that the fans do think of it as a national holiday," he said. "Our fan base spans across the United States and across the globe, and the time was right to do this with a great partner, Budweiser, and Ozzie Smith," Brosnan added.
Still, though he is the "Wizard of Oz," it may take Ozzie Smith more than a petition to get Opening Day declared a federal holiday.
According to SB Nation, there are a couple more steps involved, including getting "proposed" by a member of Congress and approved by legislators. And even then, getting the holiday adopted nationwide is not a guarantee:
"...there's the Tenth Amendment, which only allows the federal government to create holidays for those under their jurisdiction, like federal government employees and the District of Columbia.
"The amendment essentially gives powers to the states to dictate which days are or aren't public holidays."
Smith, the shortstop for the 1982 World Series champion St. Louis team, is working as a guest instructor for the Cardinals during Spring Training.
Photo URL: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Ozzie_Smith_-_All_Star_Game_Red_Carpet_Parade.jpg
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