We tend to think of baseball as the American national pastime, but is this sport still worthy of the title? Baseball hasn't been the most popular sport in the US for quite some time now and even though it is undeniably an important piece of our national heritage, it doesn't occupy the same place of prominence in the American consciousness which it once did. Baseball has largely been replaced both as a form of entertainment and as a shared cultural experience by different sports and activities.
One of the things that made baseball the American pastime was that it translated so easily into our culture of the past. It was a bunch of young men, boys even, who played a sport in a field or open street by their house. All you needed was a ball and a bat, or even a rock and a stick to learn how to play.
Baseball is a sport with a more relaxed pace which fit perfectly into the more relaxed society of its time. There are pauses built into the game to break up the action, making baseball a sport which was perfect for a society who had not yet discovered television or personal computers. Baseball is a game which rewards longer attention spans; something which many feel is missing from our culture now.
Baseball games were broadcast of course, but on the radio. Radio is a medium which suits baseball's slower rhythms perfectly. Broadcasters could describe the action as it happened, allowing radio audiences to enjoy the game and understand everything which was happening on the diamond. Television, however, proved not to be the match made in heaven that radio was for the game. The faster paced game of football came to television and within a couple of decades, baseball found itself playing second fiddle to this newcomer.
The speed and the raw physicality of football seem tailor made for the medium of television. Watching a football game on television, you can see every play and admire the speed and skill of the players and almost feel the force of players colliding on the field yourself. Compared to football, baseball seemed to be a little lacking as a televised sport. Football had been held back before since it didn't translate well to radio while baseball ruled the roost. Now, the roles had been reversed.
Football isn't the only reason baseball has ceased to be America's national pastime. Other sports came into vogue and cable television became available, offering television audiences more than a handful of channels to choose from. With the arrival of home video gaming systems in the late 1970s followed soon after by personal computers, baseball lost the attention of young people, traditionally the core of its fan base. The sport is now more important to the citizens of other nations than it is in the country where it was first played and teams from Latin America and Asia regularly trounce US teams in international games. It's a reminder that while baseball's status as our favorite pastime may be very much in doubt, the sport itself is very much alive and well.
Some of baseball's wounds have come at its own hand. The 1994 World Series was cancelled due to a player strike. Major League Baseball has done an incredibly poor job of dealing with steroid use in the league, claiming it bears no responsibility for the problem every time a scandal hits the news. The NFL on the other hand provided an example baseball would do well to follow when a steroid scandal came to light in the league. The NFL took responsibility, acted immediately and has not been plagued by recurrences as has Major League Baseball.
Sadly, baseball is no longer America's favorite pastime. Baseball will always be an iconic American sport and a part of our culture, but it certainly seems that the heyday of professional baseball is behind us now.
One of the things that made baseball the American pastime was that it translated so easily into our culture of the past. It was a bunch of young men, boys even, who played a sport in a field or open street by their house. All you needed was a ball and a bat, or even a rock and a stick to learn how to play.
Baseball is a sport with a more relaxed pace which fit perfectly into the more relaxed society of its time. There are pauses built into the game to break up the action, making baseball a sport which was perfect for a society who had not yet discovered television or personal computers. Baseball is a game which rewards longer attention spans; something which many feel is missing from our culture now.
Baseball games were broadcast of course, but on the radio. Radio is a medium which suits baseball's slower rhythms perfectly. Broadcasters could describe the action as it happened, allowing radio audiences to enjoy the game and understand everything which was happening on the diamond. Television, however, proved not to be the match made in heaven that radio was for the game. The faster paced game of football came to television and within a couple of decades, baseball found itself playing second fiddle to this newcomer.
The speed and the raw physicality of football seem tailor made for the medium of television. Watching a football game on television, you can see every play and admire the speed and skill of the players and almost feel the force of players colliding on the field yourself. Compared to football, baseball seemed to be a little lacking as a televised sport. Football had been held back before since it didn't translate well to radio while baseball ruled the roost. Now, the roles had been reversed.
Football isn't the only reason baseball has ceased to be America's national pastime. Other sports came into vogue and cable television became available, offering television audiences more than a handful of channels to choose from. With the arrival of home video gaming systems in the late 1970s followed soon after by personal computers, baseball lost the attention of young people, traditionally the core of its fan base. The sport is now more important to the citizens of other nations than it is in the country where it was first played and teams from Latin America and Asia regularly trounce US teams in international games. It's a reminder that while baseball's status as our favorite pastime may be very much in doubt, the sport itself is very much alive and well.
Some of baseball's wounds have come at its own hand. The 1994 World Series was cancelled due to a player strike. Major League Baseball has done an incredibly poor job of dealing with steroid use in the league, claiming it bears no responsibility for the problem every time a scandal hits the news. The NFL on the other hand provided an example baseball would do well to follow when a steroid scandal came to light in the league. The NFL took responsibility, acted immediately and has not been plagued by recurrences as has Major League Baseball.
Sadly, baseball is no longer America's favorite pastime. Baseball will always be an iconic American sport and a part of our culture, but it certainly seems that the heyday of professional baseball is behind us now.
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