Still America's Favorite Past Time

I recently saw a tweet from Bill Simmons, the Sports Guy, that baseball as "America's Past Time" might be dead. The argument was that if a bore of a football game (the Titans whipped the Jags tonight) could generate higher ratings than a post-season duel between Andy Petite and Cliff Lee in Yankee Stadium, the sport should give up its moniker.

The reality is, baseball has been America's "number 2" sport for a while now. The NFL has consistently drawn more ratings and captured more attention than the rest of America's big four...MLB, the NBA and the NHL. But no longer America's past time? That's something I can't stand for.

Listen, I know the NFL has the Superbowl. And I know he NBA has put up some strong post-season ratings and will "only get better" with the big three now in Miami. But come on. What other sport can you go to simply to enjoy the venue, to smell the fresh cut grass? As a Royals fan, I've been forced to watch many-a game blissfully unaware of the score...because we almost always lose. But to me, thats the beauty of it. The Royals have been terrible basically for the last 25 years, and I make plans to go to games every season. This summer I went to at least 10 games alone, maybe 15.

The score at the end of the game is important, and always will be...but with baseball, you can enjoy a thursday night, have a few beers with your buddies and heckle the crap out of the opposing team. And that's all you need to do to have a good time. Baseball is as much a social event as it is a competition.

I know history doesn't always count for much, but for baseball, shouldn't it at least count a little? Shouldn't it matter that some of the most famous pictures of our most famous presidents are pictures of them tossing out the opening pitch? Or that baseball has been, almost since its inception, what we fall back on when our country goes through hard times? Think about 9/11, and the games in Yankee Stadium shortly after. Look up what baseball meant to America during the Great Depression, During the second World War; it was immense.

Forget the low ratings, or the fact that some of MLB's post-season games air on puny TBS. Baseball has been woven into our culture. Its something to enjoy, simply because of what it is, and for that reason baseball will always be America's Favorite Past Time.

"What does mama bear on the pill and the World Series have in common? No cubs."

-Harry Caray