Real baseball fans will tune in

BY Andrew Dreischarf
I overheard something that made me chuckle to myself the other night at the WHS football game at Dundee-Crown. Something that is all too common in the day and age of the “fickle sports fan.” They were talking about how they weren’t going to watch the World Series if it ended up being the Rockies and Indians. My question to them would have been, “What does it matter who’s playing?”
After all, the Rockies a month ago were in fourth place in their own division, and somehow found a way to win game after game and edge out the Padres for the National League Wild Card. They won 21 of their last 22 games.
Is it really bad for baseball to not have to teams in the World Series from major markets? I’m sure Major League Baseball would have loved the Yankees and Cubs to meet for money reasons, but this is why they actually play the games. I’m a Cubs fan, and yes, it stinks that they didn’t make it, but they got beat by a better team.
Just because a team doesn’t have a bunch of players everyone knows, or aren’t from a big city, does that make them less deserving of advancing in the playoffs? I say no way. They’ve earned their way this far by beating teams most people expected to destroy them. To me that’s excitement. I’m sick of the Red Sox being there every year. I’m sick of the love for the Yankees and Mets and then people being shocked and upset when they don’t make the World Series.
In 2004 there was a surprising amount of Red Sox “bandwagon” fans all of a sudden during the playoffs. Most were either Cubs fans that supported another club with a long championship drought, or “Yankee haters.” Some were both. I find it somewhat hypocritical that people hate the Yankees because they spend a lot of money, and then support the Red Sox, Cubs, and Mets for doing the exact same thing. People should be happy that teams are spending their money on players, and not pocketing the money themselves like many of the so-called “smaller market” teams do. People that supported the Red Sox that season (and many continue to do so) all gave me the same answer when I called them on it. They told me “I’m a Cubs fan and want to see the Red Sox end their drought.” Why on Earth would you want another franchise to end their drought before your favorite team does? That makes no sense to me. And if that’s the case, all these Cubs fans should be cheering for the Indians in 2007 since they’ve not won a title in 59 years. Yet all I hear is, “If the Red Sox don’t make it, I’m not watching.” Those same people are wearing a Red Sox cap they recently bought.
On national sports talk radio shows the big sticking point seems to be, “These teams don’t have a lot of viewers” and “Ratings are down.” People need to understand that of course the Rockies and Indians will draw fewer ratings. Denver and Cleveland are not New York, Los Angeles, Chicago or Boston. They have a lot less people than much larger cities. Unless you’re a television executive, what does it matter to you if a lot of people are watching? If you’re a baseball fan, or claim to be one, you should be watching no matter who makes it.
I know I’ll be watching the World Series between the Rockies and most likely Indians as of today. I’m a baseball fan, and I like watching good (lately great) playoff baseball. I think you should join me in watching, too. Who knows, you might see some really wonderful games with some really wonderful players.
Give the World Series a chance; you might just love what you see.