National Radio Rant

[medford]

the problem w/ Baseball, is that w/ the exception of the Yankees, its a very regional sport. Redszone is going to be the exception to the rule as many on here are avid baseball fans beyond just football fans. However most people don't have a huge passion for baseball beyond the team they root for along with a mild interest in a handful of other teams.

I think I'm pretty average in that regard. I love watching the Reds, catch them as often as I can, read this board w/ vigor, post when I think its appropriate. However, throw me a mid season Sunday night baseball game involving anyone outside of the Reds and it doesn't jump very high on my radar. On the flip side, throw me any regular season NCAA or NFL football game and I can watch and be entertained. Throw me any NCAA basketball game and about half of the NBA teams that are watchable, and it grabs my attention.

I believe it was Joe Pas who said it, perhaps someone else, but the beauty of baseball is that its a very boring game, then all of a sudden it isn't. Every play in football has action, ever trip up the court in basketball has action. A lot of plays in baseball involve a pitch 6" outside the zone, a routine pop-up, etc... Its much harder to predict when the action is going to come, and you're not going to sit there and wait for it when you have little interest in either team.

The NFL is also heavily betted across the country. Baseball is much tougher to bet, therefor doesn't get as much general interest in that regard. Right now, in KC, Cleveland, LA, Miami, Chicago, etc... there are few people that passionatly care about any of this weekend's playoff games. However, there were many people in all of those markets and many more who cared what happened in the NFL and NCAA. Mike and mike, and any national show is going to cater to their largest audience, and that rarely is going to be baseball on a NFL monday.

[Johnny Footstool]

Originally Posted by westofyou

More people = more interest

Why even go there for what you need, you don't go to a cat house for love

What if you love cats?

[Reds/Flyers Fan]

There are plenty of options for anyone anywhere in the country to only get exclusively Cincinnati sports news. No need to listen to the E-SPiN idiots rave about Tim Tebow and Peyton Manning all day.

[OldRightHander]

Then maybe people like me are in the minority. I can turn on any baseball game and watch it, but if it's football, I have to have a rooting interest in the game. I can't just watch a game if I don't care about the outcome. Give me baseball or the EPL, and I can watch any game whether I care about the outcome or not. It's the beauty of the game that goes way beyond the amount of action involved in each play.

[Tadasimha]

Originally Posted by OldRightHander

Then maybe people like me are in the minority. I can turn on any baseball game and watch it, but if it's football, I have to have a rooting interest in the game. I can't just watch a game if I don't care about the outcome. Give me baseball or the EPL, and I can watch any game whether I care about the outcome or not. It's the beauty of the game that goes way beyond the amount of action involved in each play.

This is me as well - I can watch a baseball game from college on up featuring just about any team an364d enjoy myself. I used to enjoy NFL a lot but in recent years I've gotten less interested in the games. I think the obsessive year-round coverage has soured me on the game. So far this season I have not watched a down of college or NFL football and do not miss it at all.

I cannot count how many MLB games I watched online or on the various television options throughout the year. I also followed games on milb.tv and the various independent leagues that offered streaming of their games.

[Unassisted]

The broadcast rights for a season of NFL games cost more than broadcast rights for MLB games, plus there are fewer of them. That alone tells you which sport is higher in the pecking order.

ESPN also has no TV rights to MLB games anymore, so their parent company's financial interest is best met by drumming up interest in the NFL's product. An affiliate of Fox Sports Radio is more likely to meet your needs than an ESPN affiliate.

[_Sir_Charles_]

Originally Posted by cumberlandreds

Me too. Baseball and college basketball are top two for me. Over the years I have slowly lost interest in the NFL for whatever reason. It just doesn't fo much for me and really haven't watched much this season. I'd much rather watch baseball.

Exactly where I am too. One difference, I haven't watched ANY football in 2 years now. Surprisingly, not even OSU (which I never used to miss). Now it baseball and buckeye basketball.

[fearofpopvol1]

I definitely understand where you're coming from, because I get annoyed by this too. But on the flip side, perhaps it's a good thing that the Reds are sort of flying under the radar.

Maybe the Reds and Yankees will meet up in the World Series?

[Razor Shines]

Mike & Mike is horrible no matter what they are talking about. It seems any time I listen all they do is tear down ridiculous strawmen.

And as others have said not sure what you expect? It's football season and baseball is regional. Plenty of big market teams left, so the Reds are gonna have to advance to be mentioned in more than just a sentence or two.

[lidspinner]

I thought MLB has a radio station?.....it might've been on Sirius radio...or at least I know it used to be but I canceled my sub when they raised rates for the 10th time.

[Chip R]

Originally Posted by Unassisted

The broadcast rights for a season of NFL games cost more than broadcast rights for MLB games, plus there are fewer of them. That alone tells you which sport is higher in the pecking order.

Does that count all the local TV deals?

[Vottomatic]

I'd love to dismantle the Yankees in the World Series. We'd become America's Team if we did that since all fans around the country hate the Yankees except for New Yorkers.

[westofyou]

Originally Posted by Vottomatic

I'd love to dismantle the Yankees in the World Series. We'd become America's Team if we did that since all fans around the country hate the Yankees except for New Yorkers.

I've lived on the west coast for 30 years and I have met tons of Yankee fans, who oddly enough aren't from the east.

It's a TV thing, it's a Cowboys in the 70's thing.

[sabometrics]

If you're watching any nationally syndicated TV or radio show for Reds coverage then you're just setting yourself up for disappointment. I didn't look at the ratings but I'm sure most of the NFL games out there drew better TV audiences than any of the playoff games, save maybe the Yankees series. Playing Monday morning QB is a national tradition pretty much now and as long as the NFL is in the regular season MLB will always play second fiddle when it comes to media coverage until you get to the League Championship Series and beyond.

It isn't just the Reds getting ignored, pretty much an entire weekend of baseball was glossed over, so I see no need to get our panties in a bunch about something we knew was going to happen anyways. In my opinion it isn't a bad thing anyways. I don't need national sports pundits that don't know **** about the Reds to jump on the bandwagon to validate my excitement about the team. More important than that, this team either A) doesn't mind and is out to win it for themselves and this city, or B) does care and is playing with a chip on their shoulder. Either way its a good thing and it takes whatever amount of additional pressure would be added if everyone was suddenly picking the Reds to win it all.

I really think we shouldn't think of this as a bad thing, and just laugh about it.

[Yachtzee]

Originally Posted by westofyou

I've lived on the west coast for 30 years and I have met tons of Yankee fans, who oddly enough aren't from the east.

It's a TV thing, it's a Cowboys in the 70's thing.

For as much as people like to say America loves underdogs, I think a lot of Americans like winners. It's not uncommon in NE Ohio to find people of a certain age who like the Yankees, Steelers, and Notre Dame.