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July 14, 2009
kosmo - See all 763 of my articles
Today is one of my favorite days of the entire year. Major League Baseball’s All Star game is tonight.
There are many fans who don’t watch the All Star Game. Many fans prefer the made-for-TV thrill of the home run derby over the actual game itself. To me, this is quite simply blasphemy.
Growing up without cable TV, the only teams I ever saw on TV were the Cubs and whoever the Cubs were playing (on the rare occasion that there was a game on network television). The All Star Game was the one day during they year when I would get to watch the brightest of baseball’s stars shine on the national stage. Cal Ripken, George Brett, Kirby Puckett, Mark McGwire, Bo Jackson – what a great spectacle to see!
These days, I do have cable TV and am able to keep up on players by watching Baseball Tonight and Sports Center. (Am I the only person who has the Baseball Tonight theme song as the ring tone on their cell phone?) Nonetheless, the All Star Game remains a hallowed event for me. I elevate it to a sports status that is second to baseball’s opening day – ahead of the baseball playoffs, the Super Bowl, Olympics, and the NCAA basketball tournament.
Dictator Selig suggest that we should watch the game “because it counts” – since MLB awards the All Star Game winner home field advantage in the World Series (a moronic idea, in my opinion). When did it cease to count? I have always cheered lustily for my beloved National League to throttle the hated American League – and I will continue to do so until you pry the baseball out of my cold, dead hands.
Jul 14, 2009 @ 12:15:47
I enjoy the All Star game, but it doesn’t have quite the luster for me that it did when I was younger. A friend (same age as me) and I were discussing this yesterday, and he observed that interleague play is what took some of the magic away for him. Previously, the All Star game was the one time you’d see all the stars from the other league. Now, depending on your favorite team’s schedule, you may have seen several of those players before the halfway point of the season. There was also a magic about playing “the other league” that has been diminished somewhat by interleague play.
I still like it, though, and think it is great seeing all the stars in one spot. It also helps when your team has a few players there (the Phillies have 5 this year).
.-= Evan´s last blog ..5 Tools to Keep You Synchronized Everywhere =-.
Jul 14, 2009 @ 19:00:36
I’m not a big fan of interleague, either. Mostly because it forces the NL to use the DH in half the games. Ick.