Rivera Avenue Gaining Momentum…or is it?

By the time the 2013 baseball season came to a close, it seemed like a lot of fans were more than done with the league's blatant (although warranted) aggrandizing of Mariano Rivera's career. 

Now, I'm not saying the New York Yankees closer didn't deserve it, but c'mon…how many rocking chairs and paintings does one guy need? 

And that's why I am absolutely in love with Dan Salogub's idea of changing a stretch of River Avenue (which runs alongside Yankee Stadium) to Rivera Avenue.  The Yankee fan was initially using social media to get the word out, but now, he's got help…in the form of the popular New York sports bar Foley's Pub and, believe it or not, a real live city official.

“(Rivera is) a local hero and that’s what we use street co-naming efforts to honor — those who have contributed to the local community,” councilwoman Maria del Carmen Arroyo told The New York Post. “What he accomplished as a Yankee will be part of New York City for centuries to come.”

And how is Foley's helping?  Well, pub owner Shaun Clancy is running specials to entice folks to come in and sign a petition to get the name of the street changed.

"Foley's is great bar in NYC and one of the best baseball bars in the entire country. Clancy and his staff do a great job all year round but are second to none when it comes to baseball," Salogub told The Hall.  "I think tons of people will sign the petition now that it is at a great establishment like Foley's. If you've never been, do yourself a favor and go immediately."

“It's unbelievable the amount of support we've seen for this,” Clancy told the New York Daily News.

Pretty cool, right?

Now…if only someone would actually go ahead and do something about it.

“People from the community have spoken about it, and mentioned it at meetings, but we haven’t heard from any elected officials about it,” said Jose Rodriguez, the district manager of Community Board 4, which covers the Stadium and surrounding areas.

Hold on.  No one has has actually introduced a bill to make this thing happen?  What's the hold up, gang?!?

All you need to do is, literally, add an "A" to the existing street sign and you'll wash away the bad taste of not making the playoffs and the Boston Red Sox winning the World Series from the mouths of Yankees fans.

Unbelievable.