A Tale of Two Sports
by Willie the Sports Hippie

There was a day the boys of summer ruled the American sporting landscape. 

A few work stoppages and a steroids scandal later, the sport of baseball no longer holds the distinction as "America’s Pastime."

That honor belongs to our version of football—the most beautifully savage game in the world.  (Sure, rugby and Australian Rules football are similar, but they lack the artistry and strategy that come with a clash on the American gridiron.)

Don’t get me wrong, baseball continues to attract a ton of viewers and advertisers, and is fairly healthy as an institution.  Even with all the negatives surrounding the sport, it continues to build new state-of-the-art ballparks, sign lucrative television deals, and receive the national spotlight during its' playoff season.

But there’s no way baseball is even in the same breath as football anymore when it comes to the quality and quantity of its fans. 

Consider this:

Baseball is nearing the end of its marathon run; football is in the PRE-season.  And yet, ask a fan what they’d like to do on a night where both are going on, and it’s no contest.  A large majority would rather watch their football team play a meaningless pre-season football game than see their baseball team continue its playoff push.

Granted, there are exceptions.  For Yankees fans, this past weekend's tilt with the BoSox can have no rival, in any sport.  But take a Yankees/Devil Rays game on a Thursday night, and put it against a Giants or Jets pre-season game? It’s a wash at best. And don’t forget: the football game doesn’t even mean anything!

How exactly did this happen?

Part of it is just generational.  People like to speak of the “olden days” of baseball.  Players made salaries that more closely resembled the wages of the every man.  Way back when--like in the 1930s--baseball was by far the most popular sport.  The NFL didn’t even exist yet, and professional football was not even as popular as college football. 

By the next generation, the NFL had formed, and the Super Bowl was created.  Baseball was still thriving but football had begun to close the gap. 

There are several factors that caused this shrinking gap, none bigger than the way the public consumed the sporting product.  Back when radio was the primary mode of communication, baseball could easily compete with football.  If you listen to both on the radio, they are more or less equally exciting with short bursts of action, followed by a huddle or break between pitches, another short burst, another huddle or break. Repeat until the game ends.

Football owes a lot of its resurgence to the emergence of television.  Suddenly, the visual appeal of football could be marketed to a wider audience, on a more regular basis.

As time wore on--into the 1970s, and 1980s--and as money began to have more of an influence on sports, football only continued to grow.  Baseball was fine, sure, but it was losing the big battle.  Football had a regular season format that allowed it to concoct a brilliant national television deal, while baseball remained local.  (The NFL controls all of its teams’ television rights, while individual baseball teams handle their own TV deals)

Both leagues had work stoppages. However, none was more crippling than the 1994 baseball strike.  It is possible the two sports were still about equal in the public domain at that time, but after the 94 strike, it was over.  Football took advantage and continued to expand its marketing, increasing its sphere of influence like never before.

Now, in 2006, we have come to this.  Baseball is a great sport, with many fans who call it the American Pastime.  The reality? The NFL is king of sport, and sports like college football, NASCAR and Golf (when Tiger is playing) and can actually challenge Major League Baseball in the ratings. 

Does this matter at all?

Depends how you look at it.  For me at least, I will continue to watch both sports, and enjoy both.  I just don’t want to hear anyone in the media refer to baseball as the “American Pastime.”  That is a sentimental comment, a dated comment, and a false comment.

Baseball was the American Pastime. It continues to have more history than any other sport.  But our current culture craves football above all other sports. It only continues to grow.  Eventually, more people will catch on and future generations will refer to it as the “American Pastime.”

And you can take that all the way to the end zone.  Even when it’s only pre-season. 

Willie is a hippie, a sports fan and has no last name. He can be reached on AIM at williethehippie or via email at williethehippie@aol.com 

August 21, 2006