Since When Did Baseball And Patriotism Become Synonomous?

[A.Wittlechubby]

I personaly don't see the common bond between baseball and patriotism. The argument that baseball can't have another work stoppage because of 9/11 is ridiculous. I laugh at the pundants who say that a strike will affect the countries moral and its unpatriotric to be on strike when the anniversary of 9/11 is upon us. Baseball is a business just like any other business and no-one said it was unpatriotic for US Air to have to file for chapter 11. Its not unpatriotic for American Airlines to layoff 1000's of people right before the holiday season. No-one said it would harm the countries moral that Worldcom and Enron would cheat people out of billions of dollars right before the 9/11 anniversary.Baseball is simply a bunch of millionaires playing a kids sport arguing about how to divide the revenue pie so that both sides get even richer. When 1000's of multi millionaires walk off the job its not unpatriotic, its STUPID. President Bush should shut up and run the country cause he wasn't elected to settle labor disputes for baseball. Baseball had no effect on me trying to cope with 9/11 and it sure as hell won't matter this year either. I'm disgusted when I see a professional sport use so much propaganda to try and influence people who pay to watch them play a fucking sport as to who is right and who is wrong. Its real easy to figure this out and solve the problem, NO BASEBALL = NO MORE PROBLEMS. It won't bother me one bit if one day I see Alex Rodriguez and George Steinbrener working behind the counter at McDonalds because they couldn't figure out how to split billions of dollars between owners and players.

 

[~*sunkyssed_kym*~]

I think its because baseball is thought of the American sport, as in the national past time. Americanism has long been associated with the thought of Baseball, Hot dogs, Apple pie, and the USA.

 

[Guru]

 

[Guru]

 

[Liontamr]

A year ago people looked to baseball as a way to move on with life after 9/11. In reality pro sports is the ultimate tool in uniting a country.

Think of it for a moment, what else compares to thirty thousand or more people filling a stadium and reguardless of race, creed or religion uniting for a common intrest and love?

Baseball is also a form of escapism. For those three hours or whatever time you're there, the game is the only thing that matters. If but for a just a little while you can be stressed out at how the home team should have gone with a hit and run play instead of stressing out over bills and work.

Yes there are more important things in life. If players do strike the sun will rise and set all the same and life will go on. The problem and the reason why there will be many angry people is that baseball is like a good ol' friend we can turn to whenever we need a smile and need to escape every day life. If that friend walks out on us we'll live, but be very pissed off it did walk away.

 

[Lasher]

I think its because baseball is thought of the American sport, as in the national past time. Americanism has long been associated with the thought of Baseball, Hot dogs, Apple pie, and the USA.

That's funny. When I saw this thread title the first thing that popped into my mind was the old Chevrolet commercial that had the line that went :

"We love baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet..."

Who can argue with a TV commercial??

Regardless... Living in a small baseball market I've been praying (well, I'd be praying if I believe in God, it's really just a figure of speech, lol) for a long, bloody labor battle that actually fixes the financial problems that baseball has... Of course that would me an actual NFL style salary cap with true sharing of revenues and we know that's not gonna happen.

 

[teddybear4play]

I personaly don't see the common bond between baseball and patriotism.

It's not so much a bond between baseball and patriotism so much as baseball and America itself. Baseball was the first widely played American sport. It became the main leisure-time business before motion pictures, radio, and television. Babe Ruth's exploits became legendary. A nation going through a depression still had heroes like Joe DiMaggio. Franklin Roosevelt ordered baseball to continue during World War II even when many of its stars were off fighting in that same war. After the war, people renewed their love affair with players like Mickey Mantle, and although the Dodgers left Brooklyn and the Giants left the Polo Grounds, they moved west just as a whole new generation found new mobility and moved to California. Jackie Robinson probably did more for the cause of African-American civil rights than anyone save Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, and all he did was play his ass off. Even after the strike in '94, Cal Ripken and Mark McGwire were the hottest topics in the country, and made even disillusioned fans have heroes again. It ain't called the national pastime for nothing.

The argument that baseball can't have another work stoppage because of 9/11 is ridiculous. I laugh at the pundants who say that a strike will affect the countries moral and its unpatriotric to be on strike when the anniversary of 9/11 is upon us. Baseball is a business just like any other business

Read what I just said and tell me that again. It's attitudes like that, from the players, owners, AND fans, that are tearing the game apart.

and no-one said it was unpatriotic for US Air to have to file for chapter 11. Its not unpatriotic for American Airlines to layoff 1000's of people right before the holiday season. No-one said it would harm the countries moral that Worldcom and Enron would cheat people out of billions of dollars right before the 9/11 anniversary.

But it's different for baseball. Baseball going on strike would be more like the business in your town laying people off. It affects you on a personal level. The Cubs are a million games out of first place, and I still watch whenever I can.

Baseball is simply a bunch of millionaires playing a kids sport arguing about how to divide the revenue pie so that both sides get even richer. When 1000's of multi millionaires walk off the job its not unpatriotic, its STUPID.

You're right, it is sad, and it's for that reason that they need to find some kind of middle ground ASAP. The longer this shit goes on, the worse it gets and the more people will become disillusioned with the entire institution.

President Bush should shut up and run the country cause he wasn't elected to settle labor disputes for baseball. Baseball had no effect on me trying to cope with 9/11 and it sure as hell won't matter this year either. I'm disgusted when I see a professional sport use so much propaganda to try and influence people who pay to watch them play a fucking sport as to who is right and who is wrong. Its real easy to figure this out and solve the problem, NO BASEBALL = NO MORE PROBLEMS. It won't bother me one bit if one day I see Alex Rodriguez and George Steinbrener working behind the counter at McDonalds because they couldn't figure out how to split billions of dollars between owners and players.

Well, it may bother some people. If it doesn't bother you, shut up. I hope you never have to deal with something you love going away, especially if it's compounded by someone else ridiculing it and you for enjoying it.

TB4p

 

[70/30]

1906

 

[~*sunkyssed_kym*~]

Well said T bear4play!!

Even though I am not a baseball fan,(haven't been since the strike of "94"); I agree with what you've stated. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the sport, just don't love what the greed has done to the game.
I am saddened that someone could be so intolerant, or maybe ignorant of what the game represents that they would attack the very fibre of American society. Baseball brings together people of all different race/creed/color/etc. and unifies us as one. I can think of nothing else that has that effect on us as a nation.
One more thing, I too love the Cubbies. Sure miss Harry though! Always looked forward to hearing him sing during the seventh inning stretch!

 

[Sillyman]

Really I don't think Baseball is the American sport, at least not anymore. I think it's been eclipsed by football.

I also think the hotdog has been taken over by the hamburger (they are both fucking German foods anyway people) and that apple pie has since been usurped by the Pop-Tart.

 

[QuickDuck]

Really I don't think Baseball is the American sport, at least not anymore. I think it's been eclipsed by football.

Not sure of the actual stats here, but i am pretty sure it could be argued that the Japanese could consider it there's now.... at least from international performances.

Still, as an outsider, when i think of baseball, i do consider it a very American thing.

/wave
QuickDuck


p.s Robin Williams once said "Cricket, is baseball on valium" .... but i like cricket

 

[teddybear4play]

Really I don't think Baseball is the American sport, at least not anymore. I think it's been eclipsed by football.

I think Howie Long said it best when he was inducted into the Football Hall Of Fame: "Baseball may be America's pastime, but football is America's passion." And as another astute mind George Carlin famously noted, football and baseball are just entirely different sports.

Although it does seem anymore that baseball is losing ground day by day, and that they're trying in vain to catch up. The happy calliope "Charge!" organ music that used to play at ballparks has now been replaced by Metallica when Mariano Rivera enters the game. Maybe some things, like the lethargic pace of ball games now, could stand some updating, but others, like multitiered playoff systems, are just ineffective.

But baseball has some things going for it that other sports don't. For one, games are played almost every day, so there's always something going on, and it becomes easier to track, say, Sammy Sosa's home run total. For two, you really can't make a movie like Field Of Dreams about any other sport. In no other sport is "the game" as big or bigger than any one player, except maybe golf. (It could of course be argued that this hurts the modern game, since it really has no Shaquille O'Neals or Kobe Bryants to market.)

And third, though there have been plenty of innovations and changes to the game, it hasn't been altered enough that it's radically different from what it used to be. Any modern run-and-gun football or basketball team would smoke even the best teams from just a few decades ago. But I don't care how good the Yankees are right now, the '27 Yankees would mop the floor with them and then shove them up George Steinbrenner's ass.

Of course, this is also hurting the game. Baseball has done so much to market its history (the MasterCard "30 Greatest Moments" promotion being the latest), that it's neglecting to invest in its future. More kids today are emulating Tony Hawk and other X-Games athletes than baseball players.

And that, among other things, is a goddamn shame, at least for baseball's sake.

Not sure of the actual stats here, but i am pretty sure it could be argued that the Japanese could consider it there's now.... at least from international performances.

Well, I'd think Latin America would hold more of a claim to it, but that's just me.

One more thing, I too love the Cubbies. Sure miss Harry though! Always looked forward to hearing him sing during the seventh inning stretch!

Absolutely. Harry, although an old-timer, could still relate to modern viewers. He didn't give a rat's ass about salary arbitration or any of the rest of that claptrap. If baseball had more people with Harry Caray's mindset, it wouldn't have the problems it does. The biggest shame, though, is that Harry didn't live to see Kerry Wood strike out 20 people in the single most dominating pitching performance of all time, or to see Sammy Sosa pile up 66 homers en route to the NL Wild Card. I mean, having Chip there is nice, but it's just not the same as hearing Harry's quotes of wisdom ("The biggest possum walks last"), his pronouncements of names backwards ("Andres Galaragga" = "Aggaralag Serdna"), and "Take Me Out To The Ball Game."

And it also sucks because Harry left the White Sox and joined the Cubs because the Sox sold out to cable. As long as Harry was there, the Cubs' games were always on free television (at least in Chicago) on WGN. Now they're on FOX Sports Net Chicago.

TB4p