Ohio State - Penn State beat World Series Game 3 in the ratings

I didn't say that Ohio State - Penn State was "run-of-the mill". I said it was a run-of-the-mill college game of the week. A big game for that week, but certainly not close to being one of the top college games of the year. There's an Ohio State-Penn State-type matchup every week of the college season.

 

No. It means baseball has sacrificed itself as a cultural imperative so that the Yankees can have a $200 million payroll.
That is what has become of America's pastime.
It's a bigger travesty than steroids could ever have been.

 

What exactly does that mean, twoback?

 

Hilarious, considering the Yankees were buying championships as far back as, oh, the time Ruth built that house.

 

Yes, because there were so many sports and entertainment options in 1953.

 

Huh? Babe Ruth was basically king of the world 30 years before then.

 

Yes, and there were so many more in 1923.

 

?

 

None of which explains you're statement that "baseball has sacrificed itself as a cultural imperative so that the Yankees can have a $200 million payroll," twoback.

 

Well, first of all, bullshit on that. It opened the door to the BCS final for one of the teams.

Second, that number has no relationship to any other rating for any other baseball game.

This was totally unique. You could turn it on at 8:30, know you weren't going to invest any more than 90 minutes in it, get right into the strategic end game. Plus, the only thing to challenge it was opening-night NBA basketball.

 

I'm sorry. I wrote this quickly. It should have been "baseball has sacrificed its position as a cultural imperative." My apologies for the usage error.

Whereas in 1975, say, there was a deep interest in the World Series because fans of every team in the league felt that there was some opportunity for their team to one day play in it, now fans who go to the ballpark because they enjoy the atmosphere no longer are fully invested in the outcome of the season.
They view it the same as they would the lottery; they buy their Powerball tickets, but they know their chances of winning are miniscule. There's no real emotional stake in what the numbers are.
Once their team is eliminated, which in most markets comes early, they turn their attention to football because it's a game whose economic system gives their team every chance to manage its way to a championship. And they don't disconnect from that championship after their team is eliminated because they feel it's someday within reach.
I thought that was pretty clear from the original sentence, but there you have it.

 

There's a game every week that opens the door to the BCS. This week its Texas - Texas Tech. Last week it was Penn State - OSU. Next week, it will be someone else.