Tuesday, July 14

"He hate me"…a baseball fan’s lament

Mark Nelson at 10:41 PM 8comments

8 Comments

at 12:25 AM  greg said...

I would imagine there will be a lot of people who feel this way but for me, I'm not a fan anymore because all of the best, most famous players turn out to be liars and cheaters. Who am I supposed to cheer for?

I follow baseball about like the NBA... I start watching and caring when the playoffs start. If the Cubs are involved, I get really interested... if they're not, I'll watch it if it's on. During the regular season, I glance at the standings... look to see how Todd Helton, Chris Burke, and Luke Hochaver are doing every now and then... that's about it.

I don't hate baseball but it's pretty far down my list of sports I care about... definitely below NCAA FB, NFL, NCAA BB, and golf... it sits slightly above the WNBA and Nascar.

With this low level of fandom, is it still alright for me to hate the Yankees?

 

at 7:16 AM  Mark Nelson said...

Oh yeah, hating the Yankees is okay...in fact, that actually shows there's still some fandom left in you...

 

at 9:39 AM  jason said...

I'm an extremely casual MLB fan...I watched 7 innings of the game last night, and that is honestly the most baseball I've watched in about 2 years or so.

Here are some factors for me:

The game is slow and seems like an eternity to watch from beginning to end...average salary is $3,200,000 per player ... no "hometown" team where I grew up to latch on to ... players change teams too much now, no career loyalty at this point ... juicing ... everybody's getting injured and missing games all the time ... all the players I loved are now retired or over the hill (Will Clark, Ken Griffey Jr, Greg Maddux) ... I don't have cable so players I'd like to watch are never ever on TV (Tim Lincecum, Roy Halladay, Albert Pujols, Evan Longoria, and others) ... cost WAY too much to attend games - it would cost my family like $35.00 just to go watch the freaking SMOKIES play a game!

I do keep up with general stats, standings, basic stuff. But I don't have a team, and rarely watch any games. The last time I was enthralled with baseball (like many people) was when McGuire and Sosa had their home run battle back in like 1998. I remember running back to my dorm room after class to watch St Louis play the game that he hit his 70th home run that season. Good times. Cheater.

 

at 10:29 AM  Nate said...

I have great memories of going to Cincinnati to see the Reds play when I was a kid and of watching a very minor league farm team of the Cubs play during lazy summers in my hometown in high school and college. But to follow any sport, especially baseball, is too time consuming. No cable also limits my consumption of sports. So I content myself with the bits I see at work and the updates on the computer. I like the history of baseball; there were fewer teams with bigger names and they actually stayed there for a long time building a fan base and loyalty. I like the nostalgia but maybe not the game, at least in general, as it is today.

 

at 10:26 PM  Anonymous said...

There probably are a lot more baseball fans out there than you think. You just might not know about them because they are too busy watching their teams win the World Series and stuff. I have a picture of myself with the Cardinal's World Series Trophy from a few years ago if you want a copy for your office.
:-)
Hahaha...prolly a good thing I won't be at Crossings for a while...

 

at 2:06 PM  Mark Nelson said...

Molly...

Yeah...prolly a good thing...


mark

 

at 8:33 AM  Cliff said...

My first major league game, 1969, RFK Stadium, Washington Senators, Ted Williams first year as coach. I don't remember who they played but I'll never forget the outfield grass was the most amazing green color. For $1.50 you could buy a general admission ticket, the games weren't that crowded, you could pretty much sit anywhere you wanted. Frank Howard, Mike Epstein, Ed Brinkman ... good times, good times.

I stayed a pretty serious fan (following the Rangers mostly) up until 1994, the strike year that canceled the World Series for the first time in 90 years. Strike? Are you kidding me? You guys make a zillion dollars a year, playing a GAME YOU LOVE, and you dishonor the game by not playing ... not that I'm bitter or anything. Add to that the steroids, especially Hank's record falling to "juice boy", enough is enough ... thank goodness for the Redskins!

 

at 7:53 AM  ragamuffinminister said...

Personally, I don't hate it. I enjoy the games, but I just don't like it as much as basketball and football. And I get very caught up in Tennis and Golf during the summer. Baseball, also, is way more fun to play than to watch.

Needless to say, MLB is leaving a stain on the last 2 generations of fans due to the steroid issue and the over payment of players. That's never good for a sport.

 

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