The So-Called National So-Called Pastime
The Colorado Rockies– a typically benighted, cellar-dwelling baseball team– won the National League pennant tonight. They’re going to the World Series, the first time in franchise history they have ever done so. This caps the Rockies’ remarkable winning streak, 21 out of the last 22 games. By any measure an amazing late-season feat for a team widely considered glorified batting practice for most of their early-season opponents. The pennant is a big deal in the Mile High City– I’m watching footage of cars being overturned in downtown Denver right now. This is now considered normal home-team championship crowd behavior.
Watching a local newscast not long after the win, the time came in the program after the weather where the anchor offers some light news pieces, then “throws” to the sports anchor before the break.
“So,” the anchor said to the sports guy, “It’s looking a lot like the Indians and the Rockies in the World Series, isn’t it, Dave?” (Hours before the Rockies took the NL pennant the Cleveland Indians won, going 2-1 over the Boston Red Sox in the AL pennant series.)
The sports anchor grimaced, made that hissing sound when you inhale between clenched teeth, and said, “Yeah. Bad news for Fox Sports. Not the markets they were hoping for. I’m sure the network executives are not gonna be too happy, they’re gonna be watching the numbers closely.”
By the way, this was all happening on KGO, an ABC/Disney affiliate.
And believe me, this is just the first time the “what about the ratings” statement has been raised: It’ll come up a LOT, I promise you. And that sportscaster is absolutely right– there are Fox execs on their knees right now, praying to St. Claire of Assisi* for at least a Boston pennant win so they can attract some East Coast eyeballs.
It was stunning evidence of something I read a few years in a column about sports in the media. I wish to God I could remember who wrote it and where I saw it, but I forgot everything in it– Except three lines:
“Baseball still calls itself the national pastime. It hasn’t been the national pastime for fifty years. America’s national pastime is watching television.”
The struggles of two mighty baseball franchises, athletic excellence and team spirit, the hopes and dreams of millions of regional fans– what are these things? Fox Sports is gonna take a bath on World Series coverage again, spending ungodly amounts of money on HD coverage of a championship game that net execs and media experts believe neither the East Coast nor Southern California will watch. For God’s sake, what about about advertising per-share rates and the per-capita income averages of the key demographic markets? Doesn’t Major League Baseball care?
Why the hell can’t they call off this silly 104-year-old tradition and give the World Series to the L.A. Dodgers and New York Yankees every year? You know, teams big-market viewers care about? Hey, just to mix it up, I’m sure Fox Sports would allow the L.A. Angels of Anaheim and the New York Mets to play every third year.
–Skot C.
p.s. Go Rockies! Rocktober, baby!
*The Patron Saint of television. According to Catholicforum.com: “Toward the end of [St. Claire's] life, when she was too ill to attend Mass, an image of the service would display on the wall of her cell; thus her patronage of television.”
October 17th, 2007 at 7:25 am
[...] The So-Called National So-Called Pastime () “So,†the anchor said to the sports guy, “It’s looking a lot like the Indians and the Rockies in the World Series, isn’t it, Dave?†(Hours before the Rockies took the NL pennant the Cleveland Indians won, going 2-1 over the Boston Red Sox in the AL pennant series.) [...]
October 17th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
[...] « The So-Called National So-Called Pastime [...]
October 22nd, 2007 at 7:23 pm
[...] This is an entertainment blogsite, and as such it is not in our charter or interest to speculate on spiritual or theological matters. For instance, questions such as the existence of absolute good and evil, evidence of the spark of the divine and predetermination versus freewill are definitely expressed here as the philosophical underpinnings of articles (i.e. The existence of Martin Scorsese requires the existence of Pauly Shore; the inevitability of a Transformers sequel, etc.). Discussions on such matters generally take place on Dan’s other site, and be prepared for the definitions of ultimate Good and Evil to be of the more earthbound, Limbaugh-versus-Clinton variety. However, Dan has on this site uncovered some rather convincing evidence that absolute evil does indeed exist, walks among us, and does book tours on occasion. But I can report here on the efficacy of prayers– specifically, the thorny theological issue that if the petitioning of the Communion of Saints will aid the petitioner in matters worldly. The Execs over at Fox Sports got on bended knee and asked St. Claire of Assisi, the Patron Saint of television, for a favor. And apparently they got it. [...]