I bet you loved Marge Schott., sp.

 

Didn't know the lady, but if I recall she had her detractors.

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Didn't know the lady, but if I recall she had her detractors.

Oh a few. She was quite the entertaining owner.

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TravC59, aka JacksJags. @TravC59 on Twitter
;
; "This is really good, you want a bite, Honey?"

Soccer...lol.....how anyone can bash baseball for being boring and then claim to be a SOCCER fan?!?!?....rofl....

 

IMO, most soccer fans born in the USA are largely phony anyway. 

 I will say though, that soccer, and especially MLS, is starting to gain some ground and is establishing a loyal following.

 

My High School recently had a soccer tournament where our Varsity team made it to the championship game, and you couldn't believe the buzz about it. Our kids constantly play soccer, and a lot of the kids follow it quite Religiously.

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 I will say though, that soccer, and especially MLS, is starting to gain some ground and is establishing a loyal following.

 

My High School recently had a soccer tournament where our Varsity team made it to the championship game, and you couldn't believe the buzz about it. Our kids constantly play soccer, and a lot of the kids follow it quite Religiously.

The MLS is definitely getting things going. Seattle outdrew a couple EPL teams this season in regards to attendance. A couple other teams are nipping at the heels of those numbers as well. The MLS on a per game average has outdrawn the NBA over the last few years too.

 

Whatever the MLS is doing, they are doing it right. It is a slow process, but it is sure. The steam has picked up over the last several years. Been fun to see. Enjoying the playoffs so far this year as well.

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TravC59, aka JacksJags. @TravC59 on Twitter
;
; "This is really good, you want a bite, Honey?"

One other thing about baseball, and why it's slipping in popularity:

 

People don't have time for it.

 

It's called America's pastime, not America's sport for a reason.  I didn't grow up in the culture, but I've been to a couple games.  It seems like a relaxing way to waste a few hours.  In your completely disordered life, here's a park, with a perfectly groomed field, where you can go and forget your cares for a while.

 

Too bad your job, school, family, and second job won't let you go.  When the middle class started to disappear, so did interest in baseball.

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IMO, part of baseball's steady decline in popularity has to do with big market teams constantly owning the league and having all the success. WHen markets like Pittsburgh & Kansas City have to go several decades between legit world series chances, and the NY & Boston markets have that basically every year, then you have a problem with your sport. 

 

If football continues the way its going, it will be following in baseball's footsteps. 

 

The NFL, despite measures put in to help create a level playing field, big market teams still rule...and don't let it fool you - the NFL wants it this way....its no "coincidence" that the Jaguars never get good air time by the networks and coverage - they save that for the big market moneymaking teams. 

 

There's no real "parity". 

 

The only reason small markets like Pittsburgh and Green Bay are tolerated/ endorsed even is because those teams have built up such a following. If those markets had teams like the Jags without the "history" and fanfare,,,,they'd be getting similar treatment, too. 

 

Its all corrupt. All about greedy moneeeeeeeey, and pulling the wool over the peoples eyes to give the guise of "parity" when there really is none. 

 

The NFL at one time - under the Rozelle leadership and many of the old-guard owners DID care about parity because they saw the bigger picture and parity helped elevate the sport to the height it has reached.....but now, all the new-guard cares about is the short sighted bottom line and big markets. The NFL will follow the same path as baseball in time if this continues, mark my words. 

 

100% agree with your thought on MLB. The lack of a salary cap and a poor revenue sharing system kills a lot of smaller market teams chances of landing star players other than growing one through the farm system and hoping they sign a team friendly deal.

 

I'm a Brewers fan and I've seen CC Sabathia, Prince Fielder, and Zack Greinke leave in free agency over the past several years because they were going to the highest bidder and we simply couldn't compete with the $$$ markets like New York and Los Angeles can throw at players. It wasn't that our owner was cheap, but rather we operate in the red when the total salaries reach $100 million.

 

For reference, the Dodgers receive $280 million each year from their local TV contract and the Yankees own their TV station which nets them around $100 million and is expected to increase. Royals, Pirates, and Brewers all make less than $20 million per year and it would take them 14 years to match the revenue that the Dodgers receive in a single season.

 

Signing big name players obviously doesn't guarantee anyone a championship, but it allows for larger markets to easily outbid smaller markets and a big money free agent bust won't cripple Los Angeles when it could kill a team like Kansas City for a significant amount of time.

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Soccer...lol.....how anyone can bash baseball for being boring and then claim to be a SOCCER fan?!?!?....rofl....

 

IMO, most soccer fans born in the USA are largely phony anyway. 

I watched the Women's Olympic Soccer Finals last year. I found it more interesting than any baseball game I've ever watched and I've actually gone to a few baseball games. Neither are anywhere near football to me, but soccer is more exciting in my opinion.

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The MLS is definitely getting things going. Seattle outdrew a couple EPL teams this season in regards to attendance. A couple other teams are nipping at the heels of those numbers as well. The MLS on a per game average has outdrawn the NBA over the last few years too.

 

Whatever the MLS is doing, they are doing it right. It is a slow process, but it is sure. The steam has picked up over the last several years. Been fun to see. Enjoying the playoffs so far this year as well.

 

They are on the right track. I just hope they don't over-expand and dilute the product on the field.

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I think alot of people are not patient enough in today's society to sit through an entire baseball game. For me when I go I bring a baseball graph to chart the hits and strikeouts. It makes it easier to calculate a players BA or a pitchers ERA on certain pitches that they are good with or struggle on.

 

The only way I would get bored is sitting through long rain-delays. I remember going to a Marlins series about 5-7 years ago and the last game and a half got stopped by a rain delay which caused the game to finish around 1am.

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Whether someone has a liberal, or conservative viewpoint, a authoritative figure should not lock a thread for the sole purpose to get the last word in all the while prohibiting someone else from being able to respond.

My son is 15, played football & basketball and now Lax -- he coudn't sit through a baseball game if you paid him.  Big NBA fan.

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The MLS is definitely getting things going. Seattle outdrew a couple EPL teams this season in regards to attendance. A couple other teams are nipping at the heels of those numbers as well. The MLS on a per game average has outdrawn the NBA over the last few years too.

 

Whatever the MLS is doing, they are doing it right. It is a slow process, but it is sure. The steam has picked up over the last several years. Been fun to see. Enjoying the playoffs so far this year as well.

 

I tend to agree with you.

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What I find interesting is how many people (like TMD and others), and perhaps particularly football fans, seem offended that someone would find soccer fun, interesting, etc.

Like - how dare you enjoy a foreign sport! Like their Americanism is being challenged.

I don't get it.

Enjoy as many sports as you want, who cares?

I love baseball, but I surely understand how others can find it slow, boring or incomprehensible.

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The sun's not yellow, it's chicken.

I watched the Women's Olympic Soccer Finals last year. I found it more interesting than any baseball game I've ever watched and I've actually gone to a few baseball games. Neither are anywhere near football to me, but soccer is more exciting in my opinion.

 

The last Olympics were really the first time I watched Soccer (with interest in the sport, not just the USA). I only started watching because so many on this board seemed so deeply intersted, and I wanted to see why. The more I understood, the more interesting, and enjoyable it was to me.

 

I also watched (of all things) Women's Water Polo ... Don't tell anyone, but I even DVRed a few matches that I really wanted to make sure I didn't miss.

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The last Olympics were really the first time I watched Soccer (with interest in the sport, not just the USA). I only started watching because so many on this board seemed so deeply intersted, and I wanted to see why. The more I understood, the more interesting, and enjoyable it was to me.

 

I also watched (of all things) Women's Water Polo ... Don't tell anyone, but I even DVRed a few matches that I really wanted to make sure I didn't miss.

I watched the Olympics too, and even I found the Soccer games more interesting then just about everything else. I actually hope Team USA can make it back to the World Cup and finally field a championship team. As strange as this might sound, I am predicting that within the next few decades, there might be a chance that Soccer could be America's #1 Sport and we could be talking about Football, much like we are Baseball right now.

 

 

I also believe that Rugby is going to see an increase in popularity as well and we all might be seeing it played more in Schools and in other sporting events.

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I watched the Olympics too, and even I found the Soccer games more interesting then just about everything else. I actually hope Team USA can make it back to the World Cup and finally field a championship team. As strange as this might sound, I am predicting that within the next few decades, there might be a chance that Soccer could be America's #1 Sport and we could be talking about Football, much like we are Baseball right now.

 

 

I also believe that Rugby is going to see an increase in popularity as well and we all might be seeing it played more in Schools and in other sporting events.

Team USA has already qualified. Won the bid about 4-5 weeks back in a match against Mexico, then went on to win the final game in the hex qualifying stages. Took first place in the region. Should get a pretty good draw. WC Brazil will be awesome!

 

Klinsman has this ship sailing nicely.

 

Your last sentence in the first paragraph could one day be very true.

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TravC59, aka JacksJags. @TravC59 on Twitter
;
; "This is really good, you want a bite, Honey?"

What I find interesting is how many people (like TMD and others), and perhaps particularly football fans, seem offended that someone would find soccer fun, interesting, etc.


 

I watch it to see the fans.   The Seattle games are wild.  I'm amazed that our fans actually do the chants and really cheer endlessly for 90 minutes in a 1-0 game.  I didn't think the USA fans had it in them to provide that type of enthusiasm.

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100% agree with your thought on MLB. The lack of a salary cap and a poor revenue sharing system kills a lot of smaller market teams chances of landing star players other than growing one through the farm system and hoping they sign a team friendly deal.

 

I'm a Brewers fan and I've seen CC Sabathia, Prince Fielder, and Zack Greinke leave in free agency over the past several years because they were going to the highest bidder and we simply couldn't compete with the $$$ markets like New York and Los Angeles can throw at players. It wasn't that our owner was cheap, but rather we operate in the red when the total salaries reach $100 million.

 

For reference, the Dodgers receive $280 million each year from their local TV contract and the Yankees own their TV station which nets them around $100 million and is expected to increase. Royals, Pirates, and Brewers all make less than $20 million per year and it would take them 14 years to match the revenue that the Dodgers receive in a single season.

 

Signing big name players obviously doesn't guarantee anyone a championship, but it allows for larger markets to easily outbid smaller markets and a big money free agent bust won't cripple Los Angeles when it could kill a team like Kansas City for a significant amount of time.

Again, the Pirates ownership decided to go the cheap route. Pittsburgh Assoc. and McClatchy wouldn't pay anyone. When talent got good they simply traded it away for low price players. The new owner isn't having that. He wants to win, and it's shown in late season moves, and paying his stars.

 

It's all up to the owners in baseball.

 

Look at the Yankees now for example. The Steinbrenner sons are going cheap, so they can line their pockets. Daddy wanted to win, and he spent to do it.

 

LA Angels, I think they've had highest pay role for two years. They are barely average.

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TravC59, aka JacksJags. @TravC59 on Twitter
;
; "This is really good, you want a bite, Honey?"

I watch it to see the fans.   The Seattle games are wild.  I'm amazed that our fans actually do the chants and really cheer endlessly for 90 minutes in a 1-0 game.  I didn't think the USA fans had it in them to provide that type of enthusiasm.

It is a lot of fun to watch that is for sure. Seattle, Portland, Philly, and Houston are great places to watch a game.

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TravC59, aka JacksJags. @TravC59 on Twitter
;
; "This is really good, you want a bite, Honey?"

The last Olympics were really the first time I watched Soccer (with interest in the sport, not just the USA). I only started watching because so many on this board seemed so deeply intersted, and I wanted to see why. The more I understood, the more interesting, and enjoyable it was to me.

 

I also watched (of all things) Women's Water Polo ... Don't tell anyone, but I even DVRed a few matches that I really wanted to make sure I didn't miss.

I've always watched a lot of the Olympics. There isn't much that I won't watch when it comes to the Olympics.


I won't tell anyone so long as you don't tell anyone I watched a number of those matches too

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Speaking of the Brazil World Cup....After the first round of ticket allocations for the 2014 WC the United States accounts for 2nd most behind Brazil and nearly three times the amount of the next country (England)

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TravC59, aka JacksJags. @TravC59 on Twitter
;
; "This is really good, you want a bite, Honey?"