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Goodyear Blimps Fly High at Baseball Playoffs

8 October 1998

Goodyear Blimps Fly High at Baseball Playoffs

    AKRON, 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.