Thousands Protest at League HQ
Jerusalem, May 11, 2045 - Chanting "Give Buch a rest!" thousands of fans from the seven other UMEBA teams stormed to the headquarters of UMEBA in downtown Jerusalem to demand the immediate break-up of the dominant Bucharest Impalers.
Barely into May, the Impalers have surged ahead of the other seven teams in UMEBA - seven games ahead of the Mumbai Metro Stars in the Bancroft, and five games ahead of the Burt Division leader, the Beirut Cedars. The Impalers are the defending UMEBA champions and show no signs of slowing down.
"We realize it is early," said protest leader Osay Kenyusee. "But in an eight-team league like UMEBA, a disparity in power is more stark, and something needs to be done." The protestors presented signed petitions to a guard in front of the UMEBA headquarters demanding that the Impalers be broken up. "For the good of league, we need parity."
"Parrot E," the protestor's symbol of their demand for parity.
"What do we want?"
"Parity!'
"When do we want it?"
"Now!"
The march, which was mostly peaceful, concluded at Independence Park at King George Street in the heart of Jerusalem, where protestors unveiled their own team mascot: "Parrot E," a colorful symbol of their desire for league parity.
"Parrot E will appear at every single game played by the Impalers, in Bucharest or on the road," vowed protest organizer Gedda Lyfe. "Every single minute of every single game, Parrot E will remind the league that without parity, UMEBA has no future."
The Impalers had been not been expected by pundits to be quite so dominant, particularly after losing stud SP Mateus Rabisca to division rival Athens through free agency. Yet the Impalers as a team lead all other UMEBA teams in most batting and pitching categories, including AVG and ERA, and top the league's power rankings by a mile.
In response, UMEBA Commissioner Brodie Burt scoffed at the notion of breaking up the Bucharest club. "We appreciate the passion of the fans of the seven other teams in the league," said Burt in a curt email. "But breaking up the club is not an answer. Let's remember, in the UMEBA four out of eight teams make the playoffs. And anything can happen in the playoffs, including seeing a dominant team go cold. So this idea is silly, and this discussion is over."
At press time, the protestors were revising their demand, instead asking that the Impalers be re-assigned to the Heartland Division of the Brewster Baseball Association.
Police report only a handful of arrests, mostly for public drunkenness. More details as they are available.