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Baseball Rivalries
Every once in a while someone calls into a sports radio show and complains that ESPN and the rest of the national sports media pays too much attention to the rivalry between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, and that too much coverage is given to those loveable losers, the Chicago Cubs. It’s easy to claim some sort of anti-West Coast bias in the sports media, but if you just take a minute to think about why that happens, the answer is pretty simple. Like almost everything else, it comes down to money. If you browse the list of the hottest baseball tickets, you are going to find New York Yankees tickets, Red Sox tickets and Cubs tickets right at the top. And if you look at baseball merchandise and memorabilia sales, those three teams are miles ahead of the others (when was the last time you saw someone wearing a Kansas City Royals hat?). People complain about all the media coverage of “stars” like Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, but that’s what drives ratings and sells magazines. If people didn’t watch the minute-by-minute ESPN updates about whether A-Rod was going to sign with the Yankees, then the network execs would put something else on the air. But we do watch it, and apparently we like it. Even if you are not a fan of the Yankees or Red Sox, you have to admit that the two teams have a fascinating rivalry, from the Yankees signing Red Sox legend Roger Clemens to the Red Sox coming back from an 0-3 deficit to beat the Bronx Bombers in the 2004 ALCS. Even Hollywood couldn’t come up with better storylines. And for baseball fans, it’s hard to match the ballparks of the Yankees, Red Sox and Cubs. The current version of Yankee Stadium is due to be replaced by a new Yankee Stadium in 2009, but the team has always respected the history of “The House that Ruth Built,” and you can bet that Monument Park and some of the other classic features of the old ballpark will be transferred to the new one. And as for Fenway Park and Wrigley Field, those might be the only two baseball stadiums that will never be replaced. Sure, the Red Sox and Cubs have tried to squeeze more seats into those old parks, but they have maintained their character and it’s well worth getting Red Sox tickets or Cubs tickets just to take in that special atmosphere. And if you are really that bothered by all the media coverage of those teams, there are always plenty of seats available to see the Tampa Bay Rays play.  |
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