Baseball and the World Series used to be special. In October, kids would rush home from school and their fathers would take off early from work to watch the Series. Even some teachers allowed kids to watch while in school. Great games, great memories. But this tradition has all changed because of one thing - money. It started when player salaries exploded causing teams to pay huge amounts to attract players. This put the cost of a game and concessions out of the reach of many families. Players have lost their loyalty to a team and now move from team to team for huge amounts of money. Then TV got involved and World Series games had to be played at night - even in cold weather - because they got more money for night games. Then they added more commercials (like Cialis and Viagra - explain that to your elementary age kids - well I guess the games are now too late for those kids to stay up and watch anyway), extending the length of the games making them go into the early morning hours on the east coast. And then they make the games start even later - like tonight - when Obama has offered each network one million dollars for his half-hour advertisement at 8 p.m. Money, money, money! And baseball cooperates as Obama buys his way into the White House. Then there was the debacle of Monday night when they played in horrendous, dangerous conditions until Tampa Bay tied the score - then they suspended the game. That game should never have been started and should have been stopped before the weather allowed Tampa to tie the game. I think Major League Baseball actually hopes Tampa Bay wins the nest two games so that the series goes seven games instead of five. And with the suspension from Monday, they may now actually have an historic eight games. Again, money, money, money. Of course TV and MLB are worried about the prospect of playing Friday night since there are so many high school football games then and their audience might be reduced. So baseball is now a major business and MLB and TV rake in the money. And many of us still watch. But, if the Phillies weren't involved, this is one former fan who would not be watching this year - the Series nor Obama. My hope is that the Phillies can pull it off tonight and then MLB and TV may say "Ouch"!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
It's All About Money
Baseball and the World Series used to be special. In October, kids would rush home from school and their fathers would take off early from work to watch the Series. Even some teachers allowed kids to watch while in school. Great games, great memories. But this tradition has all changed because of one thing - money. It started when player salaries exploded causing teams to pay huge amounts to attract players. This put the cost of a game and concessions out of the reach of many families. Players have lost their loyalty to a team and now move from team to team for huge amounts of money. Then TV got involved and World Series games had to be played at night - even in cold weather - because they got more money for night games. Then they added more commercials (like Cialis and Viagra - explain that to your elementary age kids - well I guess the games are now too late for those kids to stay up and watch anyway), extending the length of the games making them go into the early morning hours on the east coast. And then they make the games start even later - like tonight - when Obama has offered each network one million dollars for his half-hour advertisement at 8 p.m. Money, money, money! And baseball cooperates as Obama buys his way into the White House. Then there was the debacle of Monday night when they played in horrendous, dangerous conditions until Tampa Bay tied the score - then they suspended the game. That game should never have been started and should have been stopped before the weather allowed Tampa to tie the game. I think Major League Baseball actually hopes Tampa Bay wins the nest two games so that the series goes seven games instead of five. And with the suspension from Monday, they may now actually have an historic eight games. Again, money, money, money. Of course TV and MLB are worried about the prospect of playing Friday night since there are so many high school football games then and their audience might be reduced. So baseball is now a major business and MLB and TV rake in the money. And many of us still watch. But, if the Phillies weren't involved, this is one former fan who would not be watching this year - the Series nor Obama. My hope is that the Phillies can pull it off tonight and then MLB and TV may say "Ouch"!
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