Keep the Chop
As a lifelong Braves fan and proud member of Braves Country, the tomahawk chop and war chant make up the greatest rallying cry of any professional sports team. Anyone who has ever been to a Braves game – especially during the playoffs – and experienced the entire stadium participating in chopping the red tomahawks and singing the war chant can attest to the powerful display of pride that it represents. Send a message to the Braves’ front office at a home game in 2020 by wearing this Keep the Chop t-shirt.
What is this all about?
When I was in the process of launching American Patriot Supply Company, I did not anticipate having to create this t-shirt. But fate decided that I had to. If you’re reading this, you’re most likely aware of the petition that I started to urge the Atlanta Braves to Keep the Tomahawk Chop and War Chant. If not, you can read more below. When I started the petition, I was irritated at the hasty decision of the Braves’ front office to limit the chop in game 5 of the National League Division Series based simply on the remarks of a young pitcher on the opposing St. Louis Cardinals.
I expected the petition might garner 300 to 400 petition signatures, but within hours that number was exceeded. Within 24 hours over 20,000 people had signed the petition. I knew that first day that there were thousands of people just as irritated as me at the potential that the Braves might try to get rid of these long-standing traditions that so many fans have come to know and love.
I knew that something had to be done and actions needed to be organized if we were going to ensure that the Braves organization took our petition seriously. My first goal was to reach 41,500 signatures on the petition – the capacity of Suntrust Park. As of this writing, the petition has exceeded 65,000 signatures. Next, I knew we had to organize Braves Country. That’s what this t-shirt is all about.
I surveyed the signers of the petition to ask them what kinds of actions they’d be willing to take to make the Braves hear their voices. More than 90% of respondents said they wanted to wear a t-shirt to the home opener at Suntrust Park in 2020. So that’s what we’re going to do.
I have printed a limited supply of these t-shirts because I have no idea what the demand for them will be. They are very high quality and a soft, comfortable 60% cotton/40% polyester blend. My hope is that we fill the stands with them on April 3, 2020 when the Braves take on the Marlins in the home opener. I have a plan in place to keep up with the demand, but I did not want to drop a bunch of my personal money on t-shirts that may never sell. So, this is my contribution to this movement. The more t-shirts you buy, the more I will continue to have printed and made available for sale.
I will also use proceeds of these shirts towards other activities and materials leading up to the home opener, which will include a meet up for petition signers prior to the game. Details on that will be determined at a later date.
Thank you to all of you Braves fans out there who signed the petition and stood up with me to send the message that tradition matters. I never imagined this would be something we would have to fight for, much less that my petition would spread so far. Thank you for your support and I look forward to a great showing in April of 2020!
Kevin Mooneyhan
Founder, American Patriot Supply Company
Amateur Petition Writer to #KeepTheChop
More Info:
Sign the petition and read more about it.
Petition Featured on the front page of the Atlanta Journal Constitution on Friday, November 1, 2019.
