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.
Baseball became America's favorite pastime in an era which it served as a fitting symbol of American culture. Children with a bat and ball (or anything which could stand in for a bat and ball in a pinch) playing in a field or on a city street seemed to be emblematic of the United States in the days before television beckoned us to spend our leisure time indoors.
The game had a casual, easy going pace for a society which was much more casual itself. Each pitch is separated by a pause, each moment of intensity is broken up by a break. It matched our society which, without the internet or even television, had a much longer attention span.
The game was a perfect fit for the medium of radio. Baseball's slower pace could translate to radio with the work of gifted broadcasters who could describe the action as it happened; if you've ever listened to baseball on the radio, you already understand how well the medium pairs with the game. When television came along, baseball came to the small screen, but the rhythms of baseball are not a natural fit for television. Football however proved to be an excellent fit for the new medium and came to overshadow baseball's popularity in a few short decades.
When you saw football on the television, you could see the size, strength and speed of the players. You could see how hard the hits were, how devastating the impact was. You could almost feel the hits yourself. The plays happened quickly and the game as a whole moved rapidly. None of these qualities were easily described on the radio, which had hindered the growth of the sport.
It's more than football that has caused baseball to lose its long held status as America's pastime. Not only did football eclipse baseball's popularity overall, but other sports became more popular, video games came to the home and cable television gave viewers more choices. Once the internet became common in American homes, this also took a large bite out of baseball's former core audience of young people. Baseball is now more popular in some other countries than it is here in the land of its birth, something you may be reminded of the next time you see a US team demolished by teams from the Dominican Republic, Japan and many other baseball-loving nations.
Baseball has suffered some serious self-inflicted injuries as well. A strike caused the World Series to be cancelled in 1994 and the league has regularly handled steroid use scandals poorly, refusing to accept any responsibility for a culture of performance enhancing drug use. Football has had its own steroid scandal, something the NFL quickly handled and has not recurred since.
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.
Baseball became America's favorite pastime in an era which it served as a fitting symbol of American culture. Children with a bat and ball (or anything which could stand in for a bat and ball in a pinch) playing in a field or on a city street seemed to be emblematic of the United States in the days before television beckoned us to spend our leisure time indoors.
The game had a casual, easy going pace for a society which was much more casual itself. Each pitch is separated by a pause, each moment of intensity is broken up by a break. It matched our society which, without the internet or even television, had a much longer attention span.
The game was a perfect fit for the medium of radio. Baseball's slower pace could translate to radio with the work of gifted broadcasters who could describe the action as it happened; if you've ever listened to baseball on the radio, you already understand how well the medium pairs with the game. When television came along, baseball came to the small screen, but the rhythms of baseball are not a natural fit for television. Football however proved to be an excellent fit for the new medium and came to overshadow baseball's popularity in a few short decades.
When you saw football on the television, you could see the size, strength and speed of the players. You could see how hard the hits were, how devastating the impact was. You could almost feel the hits yourself. The plays happened quickly and the game as a whole moved rapidly. None of these qualities were easily described on the radio, which had hindered the growth of the sport.
It's more than football that has caused baseball to lose its long held status as America's pastime. Not only did football eclipse baseball's popularity overall, but other sports became more popular, video games came to the home and cable television gave viewers more choices. Once the internet became common in American homes, this also took a large bite out of baseball's former core audience of young people. Baseball is now more popular in some other countries than it is here in the land of its birth, something you may be reminded of the next time you see a US team demolished by teams from the Dominican Republic, Japan and many other baseball-loving nations.
Baseball has suffered some serious self-inflicted injuries as well. A strike caused the World Series to be cancelled in 1994 and the league has regularly handled steroid use scandals poorly, refusing to accept any responsibility for a culture of performance enhancing drug use. Football has had its own steroid scandal, something the NFL quickly handled and has not recurred since.
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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