Team and ethnic pride were on display August 18, as the Los Angeles Dodgers scored a win on the field and Filipino-American Heritage Night set a new record in the stands.
From the moment Fil-Am comedian Jo Koy threw the first pitch and singer Michelle Martinez sang the Philippine national anthem, fans were bringing life to the MyTown section of the stadium. Team officials said that the crowd marked the first-ever sell out of the MyTown section, a swath of upper-deck seats that are set aside for special promotions involving certain neighborhoods of Los Angeles, nearby cities and regions, and ethnic communities.
"We're from L.A., the Dodgers are L.A — we have to support our team," said En Maree, one of 2,000 or so Fil-Ams in attendance.
Many of them got a bonus, too.
"We've given away more than 1,200 commemorative shirts," added Josh Luken, Director of Direct Response Marketing for the Dodgers.
Jo Koy lauded the Dodgers for recognizing the large Filipino-American population in the Los Angeles area.
"It's just nice to appreciate," said Jo Koy, shortly after he threw out the ceremonial first pitch. "There are a lot of Filipinos here who support the Dodgers, and it's kind of cool to have a nice little day for us and we bring a lot to the community also."
The game marked the fourth annual Filipino-American Heritage night at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers had scheduled this year's event in June, hoping to have famed prize fighter Manny Pacquiao and throw out the first pitch. Scheduling didn't work out for the Filipino champion, so the Dodgers rescheduled and lined up the popular Koy.
That was fine with the Fil-Am fans, who soon settled in to enjoy the game and some Dodger Dogs while watching the first-place club beat the St. Louis Cardinals by a score of 7-3.
Joseph Pimentel is a writer for Asian Journal.
Photo by Bert Jaurigue
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