It was epic. Nothing over-the-top fancy or sexy and most certainly not a high-dollar item. But it was clever and absolutely loved by Dodger fans around the world.

And it was all ours.

Whenever you saw it on television or a photograph of it, or simply heard someone say it, you immediately knew what it meant and exactly who they were talking about.

I am, of course, talking about the “Think Blue” sign … yet another sign that was stolen from us.

For those unfamiliar with its origin, the “Think Blue” sign was originally put up on the small hill just beyond the (then) center field overflow parking lot by (then) Dodgers owner Peter O’Malley as a promotion for ‘Think Blue Week’ sometime around the 1997 season, although the exact date is subject to debate. It was, of course, designed to emulate the world-famous “Hollywood” sign that overlooks Los Angeles high atop Mt. Lee. The sign was taken down after the week-long promotion but was later put back up – and stayed up – for a very long time.

In addition to becoming a local landmark, the “Think Blue” sign became the team’s identity, logo, and trademark. It was also a popular attraction for ambitious (or intoxicated) Dodger fans, who would hike up to it before and after day games at Dodger Stadium. (It is also the namesake of this website).

So popular was the sign that during the subsequent McCourt-era Dodgers, it was modified to read “Think Cure” during MLB’s ‘Strike Out Cancer’ campaign, but later returned to “Think Blue.”

And then Mother Nature struck.

In December of 2011 during one of Southern California’s infamous Santa Ana windstorms, portions of the sign blew down. Instead of “Think Blue,” it read “Ink Buje.”

Rather than repair the damaged sign, the (then) new Guggenheim Baseball Management-era Dodgers, who purchased the franchise in March of 2012 for a cool $2.15 billion in cash, decided to simply take it down permanently without explanation.

Not being one to ‘let sleeping dogs lie,’ prior to a game early in the 2012 season, yours truly asked Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten if and when they were going to put the “Think Blue” sign back up. His answer not only surprised me, it summed it up very succinctly.

“Why is everyone so enamored with that sign?”

Boom. That’s it. End of discussion … at least on that end.

But wait, there’s more!

Late Sunday evening, I posted a tweet that I thought might generate some friendly offseason discussion. Little did I know that within hours, it would receive nearly two thousand likes, retweets, and very passionate comments about our beloved – and stolen – “Think Blue” sign.

Although it is extremely unlikely that current Dodgers ownership will ever bring back the “Think Blue” sign, it is reassuring to know that it still means so very much to so many people – for whom the Dodgers play.

Are you reading this, Stan?

Play Ball!

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