R.I.P. Baseball
Empty luxury seats at the opening series of the new Yankees Stadium
(Blogger's Note: Please excuse the overly bitter tone; it just came out this way and I lack the "hey-scheck" to change it)
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gSn19IpdZn7FbgJXU4k5wAqyPhWAD97NQ7VG1
Serves you right, you stupid, stupid people. You built a stadium for millionaires. Forever your approach has been single-minded; revenue, revenue, revenue. Even when you make your B.S. statements about how you’ve made some of the seats more affordable then they were before, it’s all with one thing in mind; keep the little guy happy as well, after all... someone needs to sit in the upper deck.
It’s all very logical, less seats in higher demand equals more dough then the other way around. And of course if you’re paying $2,000 to watch an overpaid, overrated team you shouldn’t have to sit next to a guy who doesn’t quite fit in his seat, doesn’t quite know when to stop buying $8 beers, and doesn’t quite know how to keep his dirty mouth shut. Purely logical. So build them a stadium within a stadium, guarded by ushers who will make sure no one who can’t afford to, won’t even pass in front of you. After all, why pay $2000 for a view just to have it obscured. Purely logical.
You forgot one thing though. You forgot how baseball was built, from the bottom up. The game was where the factory worker could leave his harsh world behind for a few hours of entertainment, excitement and a hope for victory. Where the kid who slaved all week hawking newspapers to buy a ticket for a buck twenty five came to dream. Why did he come? Because no matter how destitute the reality at home was, he could leave it behind at the majestic gates. Gazing upon the green field of his dreams, it was just him and his heroes. True, he wished he could afford a better seat, but it was still worth it. He may be too far away to see who was up to bat, but there was one thing he and the guy sitting in the box seat had in common, they both shared the same fence. Together they shared the joy, the sighs, the cheers, the tears, laughter, heartache. Together they prayed, hoped, swore, and knew that this year, this year would be different.
Baseball didn’t survive the depression because they raised the prices on the luxury boxes; it survived because everyone knew they were always welcome; at home. Where any kid could feel like a million bucks because he got The Mick’s autograph. (Today you can still get an autograph, if your parents are rich enough to buy The Mick so you can get close enough to the field) The field was a haven, an escape. But even baseball can’t escape greed. We loved the game so much, we allowed it to outgrow itself; greed feeding it like a drug. Like an artificially ballooned 70 home run hitter, the sport has spun out of control.
It's no wonder all across America baseball playing fields sit vacant, while the game prospers in third world countries. For a passionate player you need passionate fans who dream of becoming that player. And to attract those fans you need passionate players, not millionaires of whom you spend most of your time worrying about whether they will get injured or not.
R.I.P. baseball, I’ll miss you so much.
p.s. On a lighter note:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7VJjpeBnrs
Labels: rants
posted by Baruch @ 9:01 PM
3 Comments
3 Comments:
Oh, an amazing opening sentence. :)
Very well written, and it makes a great point, especially about baseball in the third world countries.
I disagree about the sport disappearing or collapsing here (although I might misunderstand you).
While I agree that the essence of sport is dying under millions of dollars, the fans will always be there, unsure of where else to turn.
Nonetheless, the sport needs a revival, based on players who want to play, not businessmen wearing pinstripes.
Brucy... Amazing. Really well written. This should be published and publicized!!
Thanks Benny! Errr maybe not... but thanks!
Thanks Levi! You rock my world you know=) Which opening sentence are you referring to?
Baseball will continue as a business without the passion it once had as a sport(relatively speaking). If you ask, then why would the fans still come? Perhaps because most of them don't care for what's going on the inside. (if Americans were so particular about the authenticity of the product they paid for, it wouldn't be the America we know (and love)) If the game seems entertaining enough, they will spend money to be part of it, as lackluster as it may be compared to what is once was for their parents; everything is relative. Also people had less money back then, (today we spend about %10 of our income on food, are grandparents spent more the %50) they couldn't afford to pay for something unless they were getting back %100, the players and owners knew that. Today the amount of money we make is often disproportionate to the effort and labor that went in to it. Therefore, often when we buy something we have no qualms about the bloated price. After all, that's how WE make our living as well! Inflation serving inflation.
Since baseball serves a purpose, i.e. a good time spent with family etc. We don't mind so much paying four times what we think we should be paying. It's just very difficult NOT to go out and have a good time; be it at a bar where you overpay for drinks, a restaurant where you pay for ambiance or a movie theater where you can look at other people.
It reminds me of the reason why so many Americans still go to church, although they don't relate to it: "It keeps the family together". That is true, it is one of the benefits of the church, but not what it was created for. Same goes for baseball today.
Of course, once you go to the game and it is a good one, you can't help but get caught up in it. No one knows what it is about the game that made it so fascinating, it just is, and probably always will be.
As for unprofessional baseball, that will continue to flourish, for there will always be those who will play it "for the love of the game". This pastime is not related to the pastime of following professional sports. It is a very different kind of enjoyment. I've heard that there are kids who play ball in the park right outside the Stadium but they couldn't care how the Yankees did. Who can blame them? It ain't easy rooting for a team you can never afford to go and see.
After the Yankees slashed their most expensive seat prices by half last week, they are still double the price of the most expensive seats in the Mets' Citi Field. That's something.
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