Why Baseball is better than Football.
Whereas it is the weekend, and one cannot watch Sportscenter without being bombarded by football news,
and whereas despite the fact that the Cubs have started playing like the Royals,
and whereas honor must be defended,
I hereby state my case as to why baseball is a superior sport.
1. Football is too much of a production. Football teams have rosters of 80-100 people, (of which the casual fan can name 5-10) and coaching staffs of 15-20 all armed with headsets so they can communicate. Ridiculous. When baseball players want to communicate they walk over and talk.
2. Football is over specialized, while baseball exhibits a pleasant parity. Football teams have players who, if they ever get to play, have a ridiculously specific task(the "long-snapper?"). Baseball, on the other hand, requires a complete athlete. If you play defense, you also have to bat (at least in the superior National League.)
3. Football teams have a designated person whose job it is to squirt Gatorade into the players mouths. Baseball players drink their own beverages.
4. Football players can get penalized for excessive celebration. How lame is that?
5. Football rules are overly complex. Granted, this point might be subjective, but why else would the referee's need microphones so that they can explain to the crowd exactly which invisible infraction has been breached. Today some player got called for "illegal formation" and according to the explanation it had something to do with the position of one person's waist in relation to someone else's head. Baseball players are granted much more latitude for where they put their waist.
6. In football they "bring out the chains." Need I explain why this is ridiculous?
7. Baseball is the perfect mix of strategy and athleticism.
Enough griping about football. Perhaps in a subsequent post I will extol more of the virtues of baseball. For now, I'm in for a long fall of attending football parties and trying not to lose man points by appearing not to like/know much about football.
and whereas despite the fact that the Cubs have started playing like the Royals,
and whereas honor must be defended,
I hereby state my case as to why baseball is a superior sport.
1. Football is too much of a production. Football teams have rosters of 80-100 people, (of which the casual fan can name 5-10) and coaching staffs of 15-20 all armed with headsets so they can communicate. Ridiculous. When baseball players want to communicate they walk over and talk.
2. Football is over specialized, while baseball exhibits a pleasant parity. Football teams have players who, if they ever get to play, have a ridiculously specific task(the "long-snapper?"). Baseball, on the other hand, requires a complete athlete. If you play defense, you also have to bat (at least in the superior National League.)
3. Football teams have a designated person whose job it is to squirt Gatorade into the players mouths. Baseball players drink their own beverages.
4. Football players can get penalized for excessive celebration. How lame is that?
5. Football rules are overly complex. Granted, this point might be subjective, but why else would the referee's need microphones so that they can explain to the crowd exactly which invisible infraction has been breached. Today some player got called for "illegal formation" and according to the explanation it had something to do with the position of one person's waist in relation to someone else's head. Baseball players are granted much more latitude for where they put their waist.
6. In football they "bring out the chains." Need I explain why this is ridiculous?
7. Baseball is the perfect mix of strategy and athleticism.
Enough griping about football. Perhaps in a subsequent post I will extol more of the virtues of baseball. For now, I'm in for a long fall of attending football parties and trying not to lose man points by appearing not to like/know much about football.
Comments
I like your seven reasons - baseball is just easier to connect with. While I love football (and I started loving it before I got into the statistics), baseball will always hold a place in my heart.
I do have to respectfully disagree with #2, though, since baseball's specialization has increased even in my short lifetime. I think it's a bit ridiculous how teams pay millions of dollars to set up men who only pitch the 8th inning, or left-handed specialists who come in for one batter, etc. It's getting to be a bit much for me.
Now please excuse me, I have a fantasy football team to attend to.