#91
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I am for international competition. The problem with this tourny, which the quality of play is probably good, it's hard for myself to take it seriously. It's beyond stupid that second generation Americans who have zero ties to such country is playing for the respective country. I watched a little bit of the game today just because nothing else was on. I enjoyed the play, but I wasn't emotionally attached to it. I was much more upset the Sox faltered down the stretch last season, but I wasn't even close to being upset as I was in 2003. But, that's just more of who I am today more than anything. |
#92
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I think this tournament is getting better each time out. If a tournament was only measured by American level of interest- the World Cup would be somewhere between the Music City Bowl and the AHL Finals. Clearly the teams and fans from Japan, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic all care deeply about this tournament and who wins. For this being only the 3rd WBC- impressed with the way its growing outside the US- and the quality of play across the board is improving for the "non baseball" countries like China, etc. It's pretty cool to see players of this calibar playing their hearts out- not for money- but for pride in their country. That makes for some unique and interesting baseball. It needs broader access on TV (need to have some games make it to network TV or at least ESPN/TBS, etc.) and MLB radio should have the games- especially Team USA.
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TomBradley72 http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/334c0314 Players that are an important part of the rebuild: Anderson, Fulmer, Giolito, Lopez, Moncada Players that might be or could have trade value: Abreu, Bummer, Castillo, Davidson, Delmonico, A. Garcia, Jones, Sanchez |
#93
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#94
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And the Champions League final, which features absolutely no American involvement, is in the same ballpark as Stanley Cup Finals TV ratings. But yeah, nobody cares. It's all about the demographics. Soccer is gaining huge ground in the 18-34 male bracket. In many regions of the US, it's clearly passed NHL in terms of interest. And that's evne without a high-profile American league...most American soccer fans are more interested in the European game, which makes the TV ratings all the more impressive. Last edited by SephClone89; 03-16-2013 at 09:48 AM. |
#95
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Soccer....ah yes. I remember the NASL, the Chicago Sting and the advertising motto, "it's the sport of the 70's..." then it became "it's the sport of the 80's..."
Is it "the sport of the new century yet" ?????????????????? Not knocking soccer, other nations enjoy it. Good for them. It hasn't caught on as a major U.S. sport in 40 years. It won't. Same as the WBC. Just doesn't connect with the American fan. So be it. Those who enjoy it, good for you. The majority of U.S. fans though see WBC and let out a big yawn. -------------------------------------- By the way just read a column in S.I. where the author acknowledged that this made for TV event isn't popular with U.S. fans and probably will never be but he did offer one suggestion. He says play the opening rounds in March, then shut the season down for 10 days in July to play the finals. Lip |
#96
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Again, World Cup final ratings are comparable to World Series games. Champions League final ratings are comparable to NHL playoff games. Would not have been imaginable in the NASL era. |
#97
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I'm sure no one gave a **** about the 1934 World Cup, either, but 80 years later its the worlds premier sporting competition. People forget that the vision of the tournament isn't on a 4 year time scale, it's more like 15-20 years. You can't force interest in people you have to let it grow organically. The comparative popularity of soccer in the US from 40 years ago vs. now is an apt comparison.
Hell, the NCAA Tournament wasn't near the juggernaut it is now 40 years ago. |
#98
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I would love to see a baseball equivalent, although it will never be as popular worldwide as soccer. Baseball faces challenges that soccer and even basketball doesn't because of the length and strain of the American professional baseball season. But I think anyone who cares about baseball should embrace the concept of a baseball World Cup. |
#99
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I do think that something like this can help the game grow in the long run. What was the popularity of basketball like outside (you might even be able to argue inside of) the US in the 1970s? The 1992 Dream Team helped grow the popularity of basketball to a whole new level internationally. If baseball had any idea of how to properly market the game, they could conceivably do something similar. But you would need to have the best players from every country involved. You couldn't have a guy like Justin Verlander or Mike Trout or Albert Pujols sit out.
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#100
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Sound familiar? |
#101
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The difference is, that by 2006 I think a lot of people in America were wondering if the US was actually the best country at baseball anymore. Japan, the Dominican Republic and Cuba had all shown that they had a lot of quality players who could compete on the US' level. I think that right now the biggest problem the WBC has is that it feels like it's a manufactured event produced at the behest of Bud Selig and Major League Baseball.
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#102
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The only difference is that the World Cup and Olympics are established commercial enterprises. The knee-jerk anti-commercialism response to the WBC is somewhat muted by the fact that every professional event everywhere is a commercial endeavor. Of course the WBC is a manufactured event, it's inherent to the nature of big time sporting events in 2013.
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#103
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Seph:
If you say so. Sorry I don't buy soccer ever breaking into the big four in this country in popularity, television ratings, money or advertising. It's is a niche sport. Lip |
#104
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So did the 2 teams competing today burn any pitchers they'd need for their last 2 games? I assume they threw their bullpen dwellers out there so they can have all hands on deck for the important games.
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MRKARNO 04-04-2005, 04:03 PM I was a doubter, but maybe, just maybe we can win with pitching, defense and fundamentals. |
#105
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The World Cup has wide appeal in the US and while the Premier League might draw the same number of viewers as the NHL, the NHL has made itself into a niche sport. I don't think that soccer, other than the World Cup, would ever approach the level of popularity of the NBA, MLB or NFL but it could conceivably surpass hockey in terms of popularity. That might be more of an indictment of the NHL than on the popularity of soccer.
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