When the World Series goes to a dome, it's an affront to tradition. When it's played outside and it, heaven forbid, rains, everyone clamors for retractable-roof stadiums. When juiced-up monsters break records in baseball, they're hounded by the FBI or dragged in front of Congress. When a player does the same in the NFL, he makes the flipping Pro Bowl. And when baseball sells out to corporate interest and a network's broadcasting schedule, it's an affront to America, even though no one bats an eye when the NFL and NBA do the exact same thing.Some of this is brought on by baseball itself because, unlike the near police states run by Messers. Stern and Goodell, Bud Selig has the admirable but often annoying habit of public deliberation. Heck, there may be a football version of the Mitchell Report, but it's probably locked behind seven doors, Get Smart-style.
But Andrew is right: the public and the press expect more from baseball and pounce harder when baseball fails in some way.
4 comments:
I expect more from baseball, because unlike NFL football, it doesn't suck.
The only thing baseball fans enjoy more than baseball is complaining about baseball.
APBA Guy-
I blame the Black Sox. Nobody's thrown a Super Bowl or a NBA final yet, that we know about anyway. Baseball has ever since had greater congressional attention, and greater public scrutiny.
As for expectations, as Big Cat says, baseball doesn't suck. Football is just a track meet. They should just line the backs and receivers up and see who runs the fastest. It wold save a lot of viewing time.
For what it's worth coming from a non American, I read a comment re. the baseball / football double standard that; " baseball represents the American fantasy and football represents the American reality " or somethin close to that.
Baseball has not yet overcome the rep of being the sport ruled by greed. This stems from MLB being the first stick & ball league to have labor problems - and yes there were a whole bunch. But MLB has had labor peace for a bunch of years now and as for the greed...the NFL players reap a larger % of league revenues than baseball players ( ok, they don't have guaranteed contracts which is a huge problems ) and NFL clubs are / have been pricing out "regular" fans with PSLs ( although some fans want PSLs, that's for another day ).
It irritates me too.
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