billclinton

Just to prove it here's a poll to see how many people can name the champions of the:
2002 MLB
2003 NBA
2003 NFL

Don't do an internet search before answering....just answer blind!

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Jadey

Uh, you've got things a little messed up in you're poll methinks. The Florida Marlns won the WS this year. Anaheim did win it last year though.

I'm confused about the point your trying to make though. Why are pro sports pathetic in your opinion?

The answers to your question though are:

NFL - TB BUCS beat Oakland
NBA - SA Spurs beat the Nets
MLB - Marlins over the Yankees (and there was much rejoicing!)
NHL - NJ Devils defeated the Mighty Ducks
MLS - San Jose got lucky and beat my Chicago Fire (that's soccer BTW)

billclinton

Jadey..
I asked for the 2002 MLB Champs, which you do seem to already know, but the poll does have a correct answer.

Still, most people couldn't tell you 2 of the 3.

Pro sports suck!

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Sleepyjack

Spurs won, that's all i really know?

Brisbane Lions won the AFL premiership as well. And thats now a three peat as well

as for pro sports being patheitc? eep!?

Hrothgar

Based on the poll could you explain your reasoning for pro sports being pathetic?

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Spartak

IMO an outrageous allegation such as this one should be backed up.

PS: I was able to answer that poll question by only occasionally watching SportsCenter

PPS: The MLS Cup was really good imo, I normaly disregard the MLS as a bottom of the barrel league, but watching the MLS Cup I saw a fairly good standard of play from both sides.

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dylanmarsh

Its easy to make a statement like "pro sports sucks" or "is pathetic." If you could offer a valid reason aside from the ignorance of the casual fan not knowing who won what when, I might actually listen and agree with you. But, being that you've offered nothing outside of an empty statement, why should we believe you?

billclinton

Oh yeah......I did forget to put any bite into this.

Professional sports, specifically the big 3, are on life support. The actual fan base has never been lower. When I say "fan base" I mean the ones that religiously watch every game (not just the playoffs), buy tickets to games, and basically know everything that there is to know about their team. I was like this growing up.

The majority of the leagues revenue comes from the marketing of EVERYTHING possibly associated with the sport. Did you ever wonder how a baseball player can make several million dollars a year playing for a team like the Detroit Tigers? It's not through ticket sales or actual fan support.

If you do go to a game, notice the name of the stadium, there's a good chance that it has a corporate backing. Then look at all of the sponsors supporting the team, EVERYTHING, is sponsored by someone. Then look at the skyboxes, etc.

And it doesn't end there.....video games pay enormous fees for the ability to use logos and such in their games......the ways that the big 3 make money is endless.

Spartak mentioned ESPN, I too can name the winners of most major games......without watching them. I can hold my own at work in any sports related conversation.....without actually watching a game......I can name you players, from superstars to mediocre........without ever seeing them play. I'll bet that I haven't watched a complete baseball game in 15 years, probably even longer for an NBA game. Yet I do know sports.

Professional sports are kept alive by ESPN, EA Sports, PACBELL, NIKE, etc......the fact that there is an actual game played is secondary.

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The_Dude

Nascar rules...

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djtestudo

What's wrong with sponsership? If the sponsers are willing to pay and we accept the stuff they sponser, who are we to complain?

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Mikado

Wait, I'm confused. Aren't the 2003 NBA and NFL seasons still in progress?

dragon2fire

maybe there is some truth to the average fan not knowing and watching there team



but the average basket ball fan in indiana btw thats nearly everyone


watches every game of the season they can. i could tell you more about each player then you would every like to know


i also am the same way with the clots and have not missed a game for either team this season


basicaly i think your worng



for one thing i know that conseco felid house is sold out every game or nearly so there is fan support here

Halx

I think Baseball made an excellent recovery from the disaster year 2002. Now everyone is eager to move on. People are energized by the excellent playoffs they just had. Myself as a religious Dodger fan saw one of the most amazing season performances by a pitching staff ever. MLB is on the verge of going global.

Basketball is coming back. LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony... you cant deny these kids. Talk about the Lakers, who lead all other team in merchandise sales, even in the NBA store in NEW YORK. People are really into what we have going here in LA. NBA is even closer to going global than the MLB!

NFL ... i don't follow enough.

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dylanmarsh

Hey Hal, what do you think of Nomar heading out your way for Kevin Brown?

BigGov

Professional sports are intended to make money. Money. Oh, and more money. The games themselves for most owners ARE secondary.

Oh, and the "fan base" you talk about is too extreme. In today's society, someone will find difficulty following their favorite baseball or basketball team, seeing as though baseball fans would have to watch their team for upwards of 500 HOURS PER YEAR. You'd be hard pressed to find 100,000 fans like that.

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BigBlueWrecking

That was the easiest test ever. Pro sports do not suck. I dislike the NBA these days, but I would not say pro sports suck. You know what does suck? The BCS, It has ruined college football for me.

At least all pro teams have a chance. albeit some have a small chance, of winning though a playoff and not some stupid computer or fat sportswriters that are full of themselves.

djtestudo

billclinton, it seems to me that your problem with sports is with how it is marketed. Now that is a valid complaint in some cases.

However, I don't see:

1) What that has to do with pro sports being "pathetic". Maybe overly commercial.

2) How your poll can accuratly judge who is a "real" sports fan, as there are those who may not care for a particular sport. It would be like me asking you who won the 2003 NCAA Lacrosse championship. That is something I care about, but you may not and therefore not know.

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Jadey

I don't see the problem here. Baseball (or basketball, or football) in of itself is merely a sport. However, Major League Baseball or the National Football League, etc. is a business. I have been accused, at times, of being a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to sports, especially baseball, but I still understand that to many of the ownership groups involved in professional sports they are jsut another business. There are some owners, Mark Cuban, George Steinbrenner, The Maloofs, to name a few that seem to put the sport ahead of the business but these teams are essentially money making ventures at the core. If you want to argue that over the years the actual performance of the teams on the field (court) have become less a part of the marketing of that team than it should be, then I am in total agreement. As you said, the games played have become secondary, and that is unfortunate but because of all of the competition in our society for the entainment dollar teams and leagues have had to resort to "guerrila marketing" tactics to compete. But, to say that the big 3 are on life support, well, I would totally disagree! As Halx stated, baseball is undergoing a major resurgence and the popularity of the NFL has grown steadily over the past 2 decades or so. The NBA and the job that David Stern has done over the past 10 years is another thread entirely, but I would venture to say it is still well beyond being on life support.

Professional sports may have reached a saturation point of sorts with all of the assorted levels of "professional" sports in competition for the average sports fans dollar, but I that just goes to show that overall pro sports are more popular than they have ever been in our society. The problem is that there are just so many choices.