Is Baseball Still the American Pastime? | Lifestyle

by DeniseISmithson

Baseball is certainly the sport we think of as America's favorite pastime, but the reality is that baseball lost that title in truth if not in name years ago. While baseball will always have an important place in our national character and be enjoyed by children at play, the sport is no longer the important form of entertainment it once was. In this regard, baseball has lost its place to other sports and other types of entertainment.

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 slower pace of baseball made it the right sport for its time. Baseball is a sport where no matter how fast things may move for a moment, it is only for a moment and a break in the action is always shortly ahead. Baseball is a game tailored for longer attention spans than many of us possess today or so it would seem, a perfect game for those times before the internet or television found their way into our lives.

Baseball translated perfectly to the radio. The slower rhythms of the game were easily described by talented broadcasters who described game after game, night after night. However, baseball with its slower pace did not translate as well to the world of television. Football is the sport that translated excellent to the world of television, and TV is the reason that football was able to become the most popular sport in the country, in fact replacing baseball as America's favored national pastime.

The speed and the raw physicality of football seem tailor made for the medium of television. Watching a football game on television, you can see every play and admire the speed and skill of the players and almost feel the force of players colliding on the field yourself. Compared to football, baseball seemed to be a little lacking as a televised sport. Football had been held back before since it didn't translate well to radio while baseball ruled the roost. Now, the roles had been reversed.

But baseball's perch as the American national pastime was hindered by more than football. While football overtook it as the most popular sport in the country, an ever increasing list of distractions emerged to take its place. New sports to play and watch, more television channels, video games, the Internet and many other factors as well. At the same time, in international competitions, America is routinely destroyed by other countries. Baseball is no longer necessarily the strongest and most beloved in the country of its origin.

Some of baseball's wounds have come at its own hand. The 1994 World Series was cancelled due to a player strike. Major League Baseball has done an incredibly poor job of dealing with steroid use in the league, claiming it bears no responsibility for the problem every time a scandal hits the news. The NFL on the other hand provided an example baseball would do well to follow when a steroid scandal came to light in the league. The NFL took responsibility, acted immediately and has not been plagued by recurrences as has Major League Baseball.

What this all comes down to is that baseball is no longer America's favorite pastime. The sport will always have a place in our culture and remains an iconic symbol of the country, but the days when it was America's national pastime are for better or worse, in the past.

DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice.

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