What's all the fuss about baseball?

[mr blur]

Why do Americans like it so much? It seems like some kind of national obsession. All rather childish isn't it?
(this is not an anti-US post - the British obsession with football/soccer seems even more ridiculous to me. And even more childish)

[VermontDem2004]

1. It's hard to explain

watching people compete against each other to come out on top, watching a home run hit. I only like postseason baseball and I only will watch 4 teams play. My favorite sport is football, I like it when my team scores a touchdown or gets an interception, a sack, a big hit, a first down, etc. Like I said it's hard to explain why people like sports, it's a matter of personal taste. I can't understand why people like reality shows but reality shows are the ones pulling in the big ratings.

[woofless]

2. Surely you understand tradition.

Baseball is a tradition for us. Any kid who grew up like me listening to the Red Sox on the radio with Grandpa, Curt Gowdy on the microphone, Carling Black Label commercials, Ted Williams, Carl Yazstremski, the crack, the smell......... It is what we grew up with. We love it and it is FUN.

[Kamika]

3. i honestly have no idea

Baseball is really boring, i think alot of people like all the statistics more then actually watching the sport.


I like football and soccer most, followed by basketball.

Ill say this though baseball beats cricket anyday (i accidently watched some when i visited London)

[VermontDem2004]

5. Agree

Baseball is boring but not postseason baseball, they are MUCH more competitive in the postseason, I guess it's because you lose 4 games and your done and in the regular season you lose a game, no one cares.

[XNASA]

4. Dear Mr. Blur.

(You aren't Damon Albarn, are you?)

Baseball, at least the way it's played in the National League, is the ultimate chess match.

It's impossible to identify the nuances of the game without playing it for years. On television, to the average viewer it might seem a bit tedious. But believe me, there's a lot more than meets the eye.

It's an almost perfect game. There's no time limitations for one. Therefore, theoretically, both teams are in the game until the very end. There are limitless situations.

It's far and away, my very favorite sport.

[SiobhanClancy]

6. My grandfather was at Opening Day,April 20,1912

Fenway Park. His son,my father,waited his entire life to see the Red Sox win the World Series(literally..he was born the day after they won in 1918).He always had season tickets to home games,and some of my best memories of childhood are focused on baseball. In addition to the traditions involved,in many cases spanning generations,the game itself is fascinating. Until the end of the 9th inning(in most cases)almost anything is possible.

[Skittles]

7. yes, it is very juvenile

don't ask me to explain

[VermontDem2004]

8. You are very insulting today aren't you?

;)

[Skittles]

9. yes

but at least you're not killing anything except your pride when you get stomped. :7

[idontwantaname]

10. its the american pasttime...

an enjoyment for the great outdoors... for those who had only endless fields a stick and a ball.

personally i would have slipped on the ball , thrown the stick at it and gone home.

[izzie]

11. Well I am an American and unless it is horses I hate to watch sports.

Even as a kid I found it dull. I am rare even if I must say it.

[Philostopher]

12. We grow up with it.

It's simple enough for kids to understand, and complex enough for their parents not to be bored, if they like the game and understand the subtext of the more complex aspects of choosing players, positioning them on the field and in the batting order.

It also still has the potential for stunning surprises -- the team with the biggest payroll doesn't necessarily always take home all the toys; sometimes, the best players come out of nowhere. A guy can be a bum on one team, and a hero on another, once he's traded and plays under different conditions. It's a soap opera with bats and balls. Some of us like the continuing saga of it. The backstory is often as interesting as the play itself.

Sometimes, baseball mirrors the struggles of the culture itself. Look at how integration played out in MLB -- it was an echo of the struggles within American society over race and the treatment of minorities.

Me, I never understood the fascination with American football. It takes all kinds, I guess.

[VermontDem2004]

14. Let me say this

Up until I was 6 I would see a sport on TV and get bored with it, well when I went to my first ever Arizona State game with my grandma I was facinated. The crowd cheering, the fireworks going off, the fight song being played, etc. So I decided to learn more about the sport, I would start watching games on TV and I was hooked! I bought a football and I would play as much as I could, I still do, I go out and try to catch 100 passes in a row. It is VERY hard to explain why I love American football, there is no better feeling then scoring a touchdown or making a tough catch.

[Blue_Chill]

13. You don't understand competition.

A common trait among those who dislike sports.

[mr blur]

21. I do...

No, I do understand competition, I just think it's a waste of energy and intelligence. And you're right, I do dislike sports. Probably because they seem like a waste of energy and intelligence. But hey, it wasn't my intention to insult anyone.

[youngred]

15. I'm not a baseball fan

but this year the playoffs are really interesting

[pmbryant]

16. Simple. Because it's fun!

Hardly a national obsession. There are lots of people here who hate baseball, and even more who couldn't care less.

Football is more of a national obsession, but maybe that's just a Texas thing.

:shrug:

Me, I used to love football, but about 10 years ago, I realized I didn't care about it anymore.

Baseball, on the other hand, sticks with me. I had given it up for a couple years until recently (got sick of Yankees winning!), but now I find myself inexorably drawn back in... and I'm glad!

--Peter

[VermontDem2004]

17. One thing I hate about baseball is

I will see 10 pitches thrown to 1 batter, strike! Ball! Ball! Strike! Foul! Foul! Foul! Ball! Foul! Foul! Groundout!

[pmbryant]

19. LOL

Hey, that was a 'good at bat'! :-)

Pitchers can't afford to throw 10 pitches to everybody. They wouldn't make it out of the 4th inning.

Ah, the finer points of baseball. ;-)

(I admit it can be hard to watch if you don't care about either of the teams involved.)

--Peter

[VOX]

18. My father played catch with me in our driveway...

I played catch with my stepson in that same driveway. I live in L.A., where the timeless Vin Scully calls the Dodger games on radio; he was doing it before I was born -- and he's still doing it now.

No other sport connects us with our past like baseball. No matter how old you are, when you hear a game, or you have a catch, you're a kid again.

[mr blur]

20. Thanks

I guess that explains it!