Goodyear Blimps Fly High at Baseball Playoffs
8 October 1998
Goodyear Blimps Fly High at Baseball PlayoffsAKRON, Ohio, Oct. 7 -- The bunting is in place, the grass is green and the Goodyear blimp is overhead. You know it's a big game. Goodyear's three North American airships are flying high this week as they help NBC and Fox televise the 1998 Major League Baseball Championship Series. "Because of our decades-long tradition of providing TV networks with aerial images of major sporting events such as the Olympics, Super Bowl and World Series, the presence of the Goodyear blimp over a stadium says 'this is a big game,'" said Mickey Wittman, the company's manager of airship public relations. The Florida-based "Stars & Stripes" is in New York, where it will be flying above Yankee Stadium today, helping NBC with its broadcast of the American League Championship Series. The Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees play game two at 4:08 p.m. (Eastern time). The airship took part in yesterday's NBC broadcast of game one, which was won by the Yankees 7-2. This weekend, Goodyear's Ohio- and California-based blimps take over the aerial action. The "Spirit of Akron" will help NBC with broadcasts of games three, four and (if necessary) five from Jacobs Field in Cleveland. The first pitch of game three is set for 8:08 p.m. on Friday; game four, 7:38 p.m., Saturday; and game five, 4:08 p.m., Sunday (all times Eastern). The "Eagle" will be over San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium when the Padres host the Atlanta Braves in games three, four and (if necessary) five of their National League Championship Series. Fox will be broadcasting these games at 4:15 p.m. on Saturday; 7:45 p.m., Sunday; and 8:10 p.m., Monday (all times Eastern). Goodyear supports the world's largest blimp fleet, with three airships in North America, two in Europe and one in South America. Combined, the six blimps cover an average of 300 television events each year. For nearly 70 years, Goodyear's blimps have sailed the skies as very visible corporate symbols of the tire and rubber company formed a century ago.