Take ME Out To The Ballgame...NOT the Circus!!
24th of June 2015
Baseball is the game I grew up loving. However, nowadays, it's turned into a damn circus. I can't believe some people think that the game goes too long. The longest I've seen a game go is 3 hours. If a game goes into extra innings, consider yourself getting a bonus.
When I grew up, we didn't have all these ridiculous guns that shoot out luke warm hot dogs or shirts that will only fit the kids. The most we had was Cubbie Bear walking around the stands and in the concession area. Now, we have the hot dog gun, t-shirt gun and all sorts of hoopla going on in between innings. It's not a baseball game any more. Do people go to a game or a circus act? I go to see a game, but I guess I'm the only one any more.
Now, this year, they activated a clock to conserve time between innings. Even with all the between innings shenanigans, the game, as I said before, only goes about 3 hours max. What about football, which is a TIMED game that goes close to four hours? Or basketball, which is ALSO timed that goes three, three and half hours? Those games go ridiculously long. I don't see this clock lasting long for many reasons. The first reason is the fact that 3 hours is not that bad for a baseball game. Yes, the players are tired, and rightfully so. However, it's nine innings, and it's not timed. If they want the game to go faster, read the next reason for why the clock won't last.
The second reason is that it will interfere with television deals. Television stations only want to do one thing: sell advertising. If the clock cuts down on a game by, oh let's say twenty minutes, and let's say the average ad is thirty seconds, that's a loss of 40 ads. I don't know the cost of an ad, but that's a lot of money loss there. The television stations won't go for it, and MLB won't go for it. See, it's not just up to MLB in this one. However, the clock has yet to make it to the majors. It's only in Minor League and maybe a few of the under leagues. But the television commercials prolong the game as well, which ads to the length of the game.
The third reason has to do with selling sponsors as well, but this time, it's at the ball park itself. This will cut down on what activities the ball parks can do, and most of them are sponsored by big spending companies. Team owners always figure their numbers to look like they lose money every year, but not too much. They don't want to scare off the players that cost a lot. However, owners never want to show that they are making profit. I don't know exactly what the reasons are for this, but I'd be interested to know so in case I buy the Cubs.
I guess I never saw baseball as being a prolonged sport. The only distraction from the games are the extra ridiculous games they have going on like the B-Bops burger race, even though I think that's kind of cute. Or the t-shirt gun and hot dog guns. With all the shootings taking place nowadays, I think someone is going to call for the end of those guns. They used to have musical chairs, but I see that's been taken off. Any more, it's just a circus to go to. I just want to watch the game, but it's hard to do when the kid a few seats down has to use the restroom every damn inning. Tie it in a knot, damn it!
Oh, if I catch a foul ball, I'm not giving it to a kid. I'm either keeping it or giving it to the girl I'm with. Kids get plenty at the game as it is. I never got a foul ball (call me bitter if it makes you feel better), but when I do, I'm going to earn it.
I didn't have much growing up. The Iowa Cubs didn't either. The stadium they have today (will always be Sec Taylor Stadium to me) is nice, but I miss the big blue metal stadium I went to growing up. When a foul ball was hit on the roof, everyone had to cover his or her drink so the paint chips didn't land in it. It also made this loud BOOM. I also miss the announcer getting on the PA asking "May we have the lights please? May we have the lights please?" Oh, those were the days.
