Football has probably supplanted baseball as this country's premier sport. More people watch it, talk about it, and gamble on it than any other. I don't understand it, but everyone has their own preference.
Baseball is hardly dying, however. Except for a few cities where their team is run poorly, baseball attendance is strong (for 81 games, not just 8 like in football). Though I am a Dodger fan, it has been fun to live in St. Louis the past few years. The fans here support the Cardinals, know something about the game, and wear their colors year-round. In this town at least, football comes in second (and as bad as the Rams are right now, you could make a case that hockey is #2).
Those who want to say that professional basketball has overtaken baseball are kidding themselves (see, Bill Simmons). The Lakers just won the championship, but ask the average person in LA his/her favorite sports team and the Dodgers will come out on top.
I said all that to say this: Football training camps have opened and the sports news is now led by reports from the teams. Really? The average fan is really more interested in the fact that a fourth-string wide receiver really impressed the coaches rather than the score of last night's baseball game? Somehow I doubt it. About the only thing that is interesting about football this time of year is to find out which player has already had a season-ending injury (which happens too often). I think the reason for all the reports is not the demands of the fans, but only to justify the amount of people on the payroll covering the sport.
So follow, if you wish, the news from camp about this player or that (you might need it for your fantasy team). In the meantime, I will sit back on a nice summer evening and enjoy a baseball game.
Showing posts with label football. Show all posts
Showing posts with label football. Show all posts
Monday, August 3, 2009
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Where's the Outrage?
Last week something came out of Congress that in a parallel situation a few years ago provoked outrage from certain corners of the news media. Why is that any of their business? Don't they have anything better to do? But this time, those voices are silent. Yes, it is time to take on that bastion of the media.........................sportswriters and sportsvcasters.
A few years back Congress had hearings on steroids in baseball. Besides the discussion about steroids themselves, the overwhelming majority of sports writers, columnists and talking heads decried Congress taking up this matter.
Recently Congress again entered into the sports world by holding hearings regarding the BCS system of producing a champion in college football. This time no outrage about Congress investigating something that shouldn't matter to them. Just discussion of the arguments. Of course, the congressional committee was hard on the BCS people and seemed to support a playoff system. Wow, the same opinion as that held by the majority of the sports media. You don't suppose there's a connection, do you?
Amazing. Because the tone of these congressional hearings lined up with the majority opinion in the sports world, it wasn't a waste of time in their eyes. Even though the economy is still in the tank.
If I had to choose, I would rather have Congress investigate steroids than the BCS because the former potentially impacts impressionable young athletes all over the country. The type of system college football has to determine its national champion affects who again?
Some in the sports media like to say that we who decry steroid use are "hypocritical" without saying exactly why. If they excoriate Congress for holding hearings on the important issue of steroids, but don't on the important issue of the BCS, who is the hypocrite?
A few years back Congress had hearings on steroids in baseball. Besides the discussion about steroids themselves, the overwhelming majority of sports writers, columnists and talking heads decried Congress taking up this matter.
Recently Congress again entered into the sports world by holding hearings regarding the BCS system of producing a champion in college football. This time no outrage about Congress investigating something that shouldn't matter to them. Just discussion of the arguments. Of course, the congressional committee was hard on the BCS people and seemed to support a playoff system. Wow, the same opinion as that held by the majority of the sports media. You don't suppose there's a connection, do you?
Amazing. Because the tone of these congressional hearings lined up with the majority opinion in the sports world, it wasn't a waste of time in their eyes. Even though the economy is still in the tank.
If I had to choose, I would rather have Congress investigate steroids than the BCS because the former potentially impacts impressionable young athletes all over the country. The type of system college football has to determine its national champion affects who again?
Some in the sports media like to say that we who decry steroid use are "hypocritical" without saying exactly why. If they excoriate Congress for holding hearings on the important issue of steroids, but don't on the important issue of the BCS, who is the hypocrite?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
