Steroids Point: hey barry, would you mind passing the lotion...
The first issue on point vs point is major league baseball's steroid controversy. For those of you who live under a rock, the ongoing steroid investigation reached new heights last week as yankee slugger jason giambi admitted to juicing and BALCO CEO Victor Conte went down faster like a democrat on election day.
point vs. point's question is this: does major league baseball REALLY want a firmer drug policy, or do they just want the whole thing to go away, so jacked-out superheroes like barry bonds can continue his onslaught on the record books, thus driving in more fans.
Do people really want to go back to the days where a "slugger" hit 20 home runs, and was built like avril lavigne? Maybe the avid fans of the game, but certaintly not the casual ones, a.k.a, the very people that MLB is trying to win over. No one I know wants to pay upwards of $50 to see a 1-0 game. That era of Clark Kent, nightly newspapers and watching some guy named lefty pitch every day is long over.
The baseball fan of today is half as intelligent and twice as inattentive. They grew up on a culture of Nintendo, big gulps, and silicone, and are far more entertained by the quick bursts of destruction and risque entertainment otherwise known as professional football.
Simply put, baseball is your father's game. I don't see rappers and actors, the sad "leaders and role models" of our zeitgeist, championing MLB 2004 for their xbox; it's all about the hits of Madden 2005 and watching Fight Club. Thus, this is what the kids of middle america try to emulate.
(Quick side note on Victor Conte, by the way. I found it amazing how after slinging sports crack for the better part of a decade, he decides to go all benedict arnold, going on 20/20 and making it seem like athletes like Marion Jones are the problem. Actually, Vic, you're the guy that created this stuff, and although i doubt you had to force it on them, you're the one who should be moving into a small cell.)
By this point, I'm about two times zones away from the topic, which should illustrate why MLB is in the crapper -- the game's target audience is inattentive and worse, fickle. As bad as steroids are for the game of baseball, MLB can hardly afford to leave ANY of their fans behind, which is exactly what will happen if Congress pushes ahead with this one. Baseball should try and recapture the steroid issue and police it in-house, so the game can stopped being dragged through the proverbial mud.
Let Barry continue his run, and just drop the old * on his career stats. It's not like they've never done it before...
paul.
point vs. point's question is this: does major league baseball REALLY want a firmer drug policy, or do they just want the whole thing to go away, so jacked-out superheroes like barry bonds can continue his onslaught on the record books, thus driving in more fans.
Do people really want to go back to the days where a "slugger" hit 20 home runs, and was built like avril lavigne? Maybe the avid fans of the game, but certaintly not the casual ones, a.k.a, the very people that MLB is trying to win over. No one I know wants to pay upwards of $50 to see a 1-0 game. That era of Clark Kent, nightly newspapers and watching some guy named lefty pitch every day is long over.
The baseball fan of today is half as intelligent and twice as inattentive. They grew up on a culture of Nintendo, big gulps, and silicone, and are far more entertained by the quick bursts of destruction and risque entertainment otherwise known as professional football.
Simply put, baseball is your father's game. I don't see rappers and actors, the sad "leaders and role models" of our zeitgeist, championing MLB 2004 for their xbox; it's all about the hits of Madden 2005 and watching Fight Club. Thus, this is what the kids of middle america try to emulate.
(Quick side note on Victor Conte, by the way. I found it amazing how after slinging sports crack for the better part of a decade, he decides to go all benedict arnold, going on 20/20 and making it seem like athletes like Marion Jones are the problem. Actually, Vic, you're the guy that created this stuff, and although i doubt you had to force it on them, you're the one who should be moving into a small cell.)
By this point, I'm about two times zones away from the topic, which should illustrate why MLB is in the crapper -- the game's target audience is inattentive and worse, fickle. As bad as steroids are for the game of baseball, MLB can hardly afford to leave ANY of their fans behind, which is exactly what will happen if Congress pushes ahead with this one. Baseball should try and recapture the steroid issue and police it in-house, so the game can stopped being dragged through the proverbial mud.
Let Barry continue his run, and just drop the old * on his career stats. It's not like they've never done it before...
paul.
posted by paul at 6:56 PM
2 Comments:
The trouble with this piont of view is that without limits, sports are
meaningless. Yes tennis played without a net or baseline which might
make certain shots easier and more spectacular, but would any one care?
Drugged out baseball players might hit more home runs, but do they
really beat Ruth's record. You could have two record books--most home
runs with drugs and most home runs without. This would probably
develop into many categories and there would be lots of champs, maybe
even a prize for the best druggist? This could bring the major drug
companies into MLB sponsorship. In the end would this create more
fans? Maybe in the short run and maybe if we can invent a drug that
makes the general public more immature.
I, for one, would not want to invest in this industry. But then again
I did not buy Celtics' LP units at $15.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Post a Comment
<< Home