What is it about baseball that draws thousands of us out to the diamond? Is it the smell off the grass or the crack of the bat? Could it be the exceptionally expensive, yet amazingly disappointing, food? Perhapse it's the players, always getting better, always striving to make it in the bigs. Or, maybe, it is just the opportunity to distract yourself for a few hours and drink some beers. Whatever the reason is, millions of people spend billions of dollars to sit on their butts and watch some grown men run around the diamond.
Personally, I believe that it is simply tied into our culture. Our fathers went to the games, as did their fathers, and theirs before them. My grandfather pitched, my dad played first base, and I pitched and played short – tradition is why I am drawn to the game. Even back during the Civil War, the game united both sides, as prisoners played against captors. Baseball is America's Game, and it will always be tied to us. Maybe it is America's pastime simply because it already is America's pastime, maybe.
Union soldiers playing some baseball during the Civil War.
But, maybe I am wrong. Maybe it isn't the culture that draws us to the game, but the fact that we are literally a part of history. Every fan who watched Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire go head-to-head will remember those games. The fans who catch home runs have a piece of history. Even the hecklers are adding to the sport, as everything they drunkenly yell affects the game around them. Maybe it is this desire to be imprinted upon history that brings us here, maybe.
Whatever the reason, Americans are still packing the ballparks nationwide. In 2008 alone, 78,624,324 people headed out to MLB games. This is the second best attendance on record; 2007 holds the record at just 1.13% more. While this might seem like a lot, we are currently on track to break 80 million this year. It seems that, even with the recession and the drugged-up players, Americans are still enjoying their baseball.
Adding to the ever growing attendance of the 2009 season, 9,000+ fans packed into Huntington Park to cheer their team on. While the Columbus Clippers have been having a dismal season, and are dead last in the International League West, they have been doing much better after the all-star break. The fans wanted to come and cheer their team to victory, and a hopeful turnaround.
Article comments
1 - Matthew T. Sussman
Clearly the hot dog races are the ties that bind us with our great grandpappies.
2 - Robert M. Barga
Arguably they are. THere have been promotions at games for ages