I honestly think it goes hand and hand. I'm a big baseball fan and still love to play, but I have to admit I hate watching it on TV. I'm a Yankee fan so it's not a matter of them being competitive, I just think that it's a very tough game to watch on TV (playoffs are a different story). It takes too long, there is very little action most of the time and there is very rarely any type of flow to the game. Not to mention that there are way to many games. I couldn't imagine how I would feel if I rooted for a club that realistically had no chance every season. I'm sure there are fans of those teams that don't watch because of the unfair balance. So I think it is a combination of things.
I do think that fantasy baseball has given the sport a much needed boost as far as more people watching games. But otherwise as much as cable has helped the game with basically being able to watch any teams games, it has hurt with so many other viewing options (not necessarily sports) including multiple channels/shows where you could see those same teams highlights in anywhere from a 2 minute to an hour abridged version. As far as I'm concerened if I had a choice baseball would be 3rd on the list of sports I would watch out of the 4 majors, being behind football and hockey.
__________________
Felix Unger talking to Oscar Madison: "Your horse could finish third by 20 lengths and they still pay you? And you have been losing money for all these years?!"
|