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Post by GEO on May 5, 2007 22:29:23 GMT -5
All my life, I've always heard that America's pastime is baseball. But is it?
I think it's clear that football has surpassed baseball as far as popularity goes. It's also clear that there is no football league on the planet with players as talented as those in the NFL.
You could also make a case for basketball. America boasts the greatest players to ever play the game.
What is America's true pastime? Baseball? Football? Basketball?
Make this a good one.
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Post by Nyi28nhl on May 6, 2007 9:41:25 GMT -5
I'll have to go with football on this one. When people go to a baseball game, it's seldom a whole days event. I can only speak on experience going to Shea Stadium and Yankee Stadium, it's an hour driving, then going into the stadium, then leaving right after the game. For football on the other hand, people arrive to a 1:00 PM game at around 9:00 AM to fire up the grill and begin tailgating. If you've never had the chance, go to the parking lot of a football stadium the morning of a game. The smell of bar-b-que is sensational. You have kids and parents alike playing games of touch football, portable TVs showing the Pre-Game, Jerseys galore, RVs, Vans, lawn chairs, etc. It basically looks like a Chevy commercial Football has caught first the past decade, and has definitely surpassed baseball as America's Pastime. What are you more likely to find in the local park? A game of pickup baseball or a game of pickup football? I know where I live, it's football.
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Post by FootballFreak03 on May 6, 2007 11:21:30 GMT -5
I am also going to say football. Just about everyone loves football. Everyone watches the super bowl, but not the world series or the finals. Also like NYI said, tons and tons of kids can play pickup football easily. Not for baseball. I know alot of people that think baseball is boring. In football its always exciting. Also for games, people arrive early to tailgate and have a good time. Cheering, screaming, eating in front of the cameras. People care more about football nowadays than baseball. People have more passion for football.
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OOYL
Rookie
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Post by OOYL on May 6, 2007 13:51:39 GMT -5
Yeah, even though it hurts my heart to say it, football is America's Pastime. Millions of Americans pass-the-time watching football on Sundays, and it become almost a part of American culture.
Baseball WAS America's pastime. That's the key word there. The golden days are over. It's impossible for baseball to be #1 again, not in today's fast, nonstop day and age.
I'm also going to make a case for hockey to be America's pastime. After all, a guy a know always argues that there's more American teams in the NHL than Canadian teams :-p.
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Post by Nyi28nhl on May 6, 2007 14:17:33 GMT -5
I'm also going to make a case for hockey to be America's pastime. After all, a guy a know always argues that there's more American teams in the NHL than Canadian teams :-p. I hate to admit it, but hockey is nowhere near becoming America's Pastime. It's Canada's Pastime, and that'll never change. Also, I forgot to mention in my first post. The "Asterik Era" in baseball that we have entered in the late 90s has really taken away from baseball's glory. Baseball is more of a stats game than anything. It has always been about the batting averages, home runs, strikeouts, etc. Nowadays, who knows what statistic for what player is legitimate or not.
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Post by BlackOps on May 6, 2007 14:51:37 GMT -5
Oh, Lord.
Basball is, was, and always will be America's Pastime. America's Pastime doesn't just change because one sport sells more jerseys or has more publicity. Football may be America's most popular sport, but it is not America's "new" Pastime.
The way I look at it is: What is the time of year most looked forward to by the kids of today? Summer? During summer, I eat, breathe, and sleep baseball. I know that isn't the case for football anywhere in America.
Yay baseball.
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Post by Nyi28nhl on May 6, 2007 16:00:28 GMT -5
The way I look at it is: What is the time of year most looked forward to by the kids of today? Summer? During summer, I eat, breathe, and sleep baseball. I know that isn't the case for football anywhere in America. Here in NY where we have both the Mets and the Yankees, the Jets will pull in more people a day at training camp than the Mets will for a home game against random teams (by random, I mean not the Braves or the Yankees). Baseball fans are a dying breed among America's youth.
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Post by BlackOps on May 6, 2007 16:10:31 GMT -5
Of course, when stadium capacity doesn't allow it. The Red Sox/Yankees game I went to wasn't sold out. People don't have to sell out or come to baseball games when there are 80 home games. In football, the amount of games are less so everybody goes to them.
Baseball fans are a dying breed? Not at my school. Most people who focus on football during the fall follow baseball during the summer. Football may be becoming more popular, but it isn't like baseball fans have just dropped off the face of the Earth.
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OOYL
Rookie
Posts: 51
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Post by OOYL on May 6, 2007 17:28:45 GMT -5
Yes, and this isn't just the major leagues. Kids don't play as much baseball as they did years ago. Before, you could find inner city street games and the like. Now, its basketball. Part of the fact is that not everyone can afford a glove, bats, and balls........
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Post by Nyi28nhl on May 6, 2007 17:47:54 GMT -5
Of course, when stadium capacity doesn't allow it. The Red Sox/Yankees game I went to wasn't sold out. People don't have to sell out or come to baseball games when there are 80 home games. In football, the amount of games are less so everybody goes to them. Baseball fans are a dying breed? Not at my school. Most people who focus on football during the fall follow baseball during the summer. Football may be becoming more popular, but it isn't like baseball fans have just dropped off the face of the Earth. The bleachers at Hofstra where the Jets training camp is only hold about 3,000. People are lined up standing along the fences, all the way back for a good couple of football field's length. In my school, right now no one is talking about baseball and everyone is talking about the draft. However, that's not even what I would use to classify something as America's Pastime. I think of as a hobby of most of the population (that follow sports). Baseball cards aren't as popular as they used to be. Less and less father/child baseball catches take place. What has replaced that is tossing the ole' pigskin in the backyard.
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Post by GEO on May 6, 2007 18:04:21 GMT -5
You guys are all referring to present day situations. Does history not play a part in the answer?
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Post by Nyi28nhl on May 6, 2007 18:07:00 GMT -5
You guys are all referring to present day situations. Does history not play a part in the answer? Not when we're deciding what is America's current Pastime.
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Post by GEO on May 6, 2007 18:40:07 GMT -5
That's not what the debate is about. It's about America's TRUE pastime.
Take that anyway you will.
I'm not saying there is a right answer, just saying that everything should be examined and thought about.
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Post by Nyi28nhl on May 6, 2007 18:42:34 GMT -5
That's not what the debate is about. It's about America's TRUE pastime. Take that anyway you will. I'm not saying there is a right answer, just saying that everything should be examined and thought about. I take that as: America's TRUE Pastime 15 years ago was baseball. America's TRUE Pastime now is football. Use sport as a synonym for pastime. What is America's Sport? Right now it's football. What are you more likely to see in the streets in neighborhoods this summer, a pick-up game of 2-hand touch or a baseball game?
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Post by BlackOps on May 6, 2007 18:57:52 GMT -5
heh, America's true pastime is sitting on the couch watching football.
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