Is baseball still America's Past Time?

[saint4]

Over the years, football has grown in popularity that it seems to overshadow both baseball and basketball. Baseball is supposed to be America's favorite past time, why has football become a huge sport. Even on ESPN, during baseball season I might add, all they do is talk about who this football team should draft and who that football team should draft. Who really cares? They will draft who they think they should draft but it should not be on TV about who they should draft.

 

What do you think, has football become America's new favorite past time?

[bugatti]

I have never understood what the term "past time" really means.

 

If we are talking in the sense of popularity, then football trumps that of baseball easily. The reason why they show all the draft coverage is because football is simply that popular. It is no secret that NFL draft coverage will get higher ratings than any NBA game (playoffs I might add) or MLB game this coming weekend.

 

I still contend baseball is its own worst victim living in the past and letting baseball purists dictate how the sport should be marketed.

[h.s.sportsrbest]

No.

[fieldhousekrayzie21]

Nope.

[sweet16]

I think the reason football is so popular is that it is a huge deal everytime they play a game. The teams and fans prepare all week for a game and there is only 16 so you don't want to miss any. IN baseball there is a 162 games so you are going to miss several throughout the year. Same with basketball, there is 82 games.

Each football game is like an event where it is not in baseball and basketball.

[SvFan4life]

I think the reason football is so popular is that it is a huge deal everytime they play a game. The teams and fans prepare all week for a game and there is only 16 so you don't want to miss any. IN baseball there is a 162 games so you are going to miss several throughout the year. Same with basketball, there is 82 games.

Each football game is like an event where it is not in baseball and basketball.

 

Very good. If baseball was only 16 games you'd be at every one simply because each one has major significance. Baseball heats up in August and September.

 

But I still say baseball is America's past time but it's hard to base it on football and other sports.

[NEERFAN]

NFL is popular because it's the perfect sport for gambling. Not just point spreads but fantasy football. The NFL draft is HUGE now a days, you don't even know when the MLB draft starts.

[UKMustangFan]

National Football League

 

College Basketball

 

College Football

 

Major League Baseball

[swamprat]

Not any more. Football is king.

[STRIKE3]

For me, yes but too many strikes, escalating salaries, diminished players and off the field problems....

[cvillecat]

For me, yes but too many strikes, escalating salaries, diminished players and off the field problems....

I agree. Baseball was changed when the strike occured. It got back some of it's glamour with McQuire & Sosa chasing the HR mark but has slipped back downhill since. As you said, to many scandals and high salary players that do not produce are a factor in the decline of interest.

I enjoy MLB but the college game is what gets my attention.

[bugatti]

I think the reason football is so popular is that it is a huge deal everytime they play a game. The teams and fans prepare all week for a game and there is only 16 so you don't want to miss any. IN baseball there is a 162 games so you are going to miss several throughout the year. Same with basketball, there is 82 games.

Each football game is like an event where it is not in baseball and basketball.

 

I agree with a lot of what you said.

 

It will never happen, but why does baseball not shorten their season?

 

Another factor that gives football its popularity... as of right now, I feel confident the Raiders and Lions will not be making the playoffs (but there have been more shocking things happen than have a team this poor make the playoffs the next season). After these two teams, I really think you could make a solid argument for every other team.... half of which, or more, you could argue have a chance at a Superbowl.

 

Right now, I can name about 7 or 8 MLB teams that will not come close to making the playoffs for the next 3 years... that is not good. Over the past few years, baseball has improved on creating parity.

 

I still argue the speed/pace of baseball deters so many people. Your average person (the crowd baseball does not get), does not find interest in a 3 and a half hour slow game.

[MountainThunder]

Not any more. Football is king.

 

:thumb:

[h.s.sportsrbest]

It will never happen, but why does baseball not shorten their season?

 

 

Records, records, records. They are more important to baseball than any other sport.

 

 

Baseball will always be my favorite sport, but I'm part of a dwindling minority. :cry:

[mcpapa]

Baseball has the best stats. There are probably a hundred times more people who know the lifetime HR record than who know the lifetime rushing or passing TD record. For someone (like me) who is fascinated by numbers, baseball is king.

 

However, the media has glamourized football to the extent that I believe it has eclipsed baseball as the national pastime. And whoever said that importance of each football game is magnified because of the few number of games played is correct. With 16 football games in a season and 162 baseball games in a season, simple math tells me that a single football game is ten times "as important" as a single baseball game (from a purely mathematical standpoint).

 

See the link below for further explanation of the term "national pastime".

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_sport