Baseball Is Still the Greatest Sport

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.