National Pastime My Foot

I am supposed to go to an Angels' game this weekend with my company. In trying to convince me to go, Jenny used the argument, "Well its the national pastime". All I have to say is why the hell do people still call it that?

It actually really bothers me. If baseball is anything it is PAST its TIME. More people in the US watch football. More kids play basketball and it is by far the most popular collegiate sport. So why is baseball still considered the National Past time. I just don't get it. For me the game is much too long, it should be closer to 2 hours than 3. It really bothers me that the players warm up for about 5 minutes before the start of each inning. I mean, do basketball players warm up between quarters or after a time out? Do the players coming of the bench get to shoot a few times at the rim before the game starts up again? In football, do they take a 5 minute break when switching between offense and defense to warm up? No. And these sports are much more grueling from a physical standpoint.

Don't get me wrong. I believe the hardest thing in sports to do is take a wooden bat and get a hit off a 95mph fastball. I would even consider myself a fan of baseball and I follow the game closelsy. But don't tell me that in general baseball players are better athletes than football or basketball players. Don't tell me that its more exciting to watch a baseball game than a football or basketball game. In terms of what people want to watch, it is hands down football. Look at the Superbowl ratings. Look at the ratings week to week. In terms of playing? It's got to be basketball. Anywhere you go there is probably a pick-up game you can get in on. There are a lot more men, at least under the age of 40 and not including softball, that play basketball than baseball.