For the less intelligent, I was referring to the fact that most sports are very European. Two groups of people

 

Constant movement does not equal more excitement.

 

What do you think NP - you and I agree on something!!!

 

"Baseball is different from any other sport, very different. For instance, in most sports you score points or goals; in baseball you score runs. In most sports the ball, or object, is put in play by the offensive team; in baseball the defensive team puts the ball in play, and only the defense is allowed to touch the ball. In fact, in baseball if an offensive player touches the ball intentionally, he's out; sometimes unintentionally, he's out.

Also: in football,basketball, soccer, volleyball, and all sports played with a ball, you score with the ball and in baseball the ball prevents you from scoring.

In most sports the team is run by a coach; in baseball the team is run by a manager. And only in baseball does the manager or coach wear the same clothing the players do. If you'd ever seen John Madden in his Oakland Raiders uniform,you'd know the reason for this custom.

Now, I've mentioned football. Baseball & football are the two most popular spectator sports in this country. And as such, it seems they ought to be able to tell us something about ourselves and our values.

I enjoy comparing baseball and football:

Baseball is a nineteenth-century pastoral game.
Football is a twentieth-century technological struggle.

Baseball is played on a diamond, in a park.The baseball park!
Football is played on a gridiron, in a stadium, sometimes called Soldier Field or War Memorial Stadium.

Baseball begins in the spring, the season of new life.
Football begins in the fall, when everything's dying.

In football you wear a helmet.
In baseball you wear a cap.

Football is concerned with downs - what down is it?
Baseball is concerned with ups - who's up?

In football you receive a penalty.
In baseball you make an error.

In football the specialist comes in to kick.
In baseball the specialist comes in to relieve somebody.

Football has hitting, clipping, spearing, piling on, personal fouls, late hitting and unnecessary roughness.
Baseball has the sacrifice.

Football is played in any kind of weather: rain, snow, sleet, hail, fog...
In baseball, if it rains, we don't go out to play.

Baseball has the seventh inning stretch.
Football has the two minute warning.

Baseball has no time limit: we don't know when it's gonna end - might have extra innings.
Football is rigidly timed, and it will end even if we've got to go to sudden death.

In baseball, during the game, in the stands, there's kind of a picnic feeling; emotions may run high or low, but there's not too much unpleasantness.
In football, during the game in the stands, you can be sure that at least twenty-seven times you're capable of taking the life of a fellow human being.

And finally, the objectives of the two games are completely different:

In football the object is for the quarterback, also known as the field general, to be on target with his aerial assault, riddling the defense by hitting his receivers with deadly accuracy in spite of the blitz, even if he has to use shotgun. With short bullet passes and long bombs, he marches his troops into enemy territory, balancing this aerial assault with a sustained ground attack that punches holes in the forward wall of the enemy's defensive line.

In baseball the object is to go home! And to be safe! - I hope I'll be safe at home!"


From one of the best minds around, George Carlin.

 

Football isn't as fast paced as it seems either. Go to an actual game and you will notice all the TV timeouts and the dead time between plays (which TV fills with replays).

Don't get me wrong. I love football more than baseball. But that doesn't keep me from enjoying baseball.

 

Thanks Dave - you made my point...

Football is an inherantly barbaric sport with a war-like feel... very reminiscent of the dark ages with a divide and conquer mentality...

Where as Baseball is an inherantly civil sport with a liberation-like feel... very reminiscent of what America is suppose to stand for... hope, family, civility and happiness...

 

Cricket.

Cricket is the answer.

 

So beaning a batter in the head is supposed to be "civil"?
Or crashing into the catcher? Brushing the batter back because he is leaning in towards home plate? Baseball can't even decide on a damn strike zone! It varies from umpire to umpire, batter to batter!
Or "stealing 2nd base"? Or charging the pitcher's mound because the pitcher brushed you back?


Baseball had it's time in the spotlight, other sports (namely football and NASCAR) have drawn in more fans/viewers in the past decade or so.

Baseball is in danger of becoming like professional hockey. It's just not on everyones minds anymore as much as it used to be.

 

I can't even figure cricket out!

 

Neither can most english people