Expos de Montréal

[Habsfan]

I'll be blunt:

 

Baseball is a slowly dying sport.

 

Agreed! I only watch the Red Sox during the postseason!

[peekay]

I respectfully disagree with both of you, especially since the USA will become mostly hispanic by 2100.

[MTLskyline]

I'll be blunt:

 

Baseball is a slowly dying sport.

 

It is still much better than soccer.

[Cataclaw]

?????

 

Baseball is played primarily in the USA, and it has been losing ground steadily to football, basketball, and in some cases even hockey. Baseball's "market share" has dropped continuously since WW2.

 

Soccer, on the other hand, is the world's #1 sport and is in no danger of being threatened.

[MTLskyline]

?????

 

Baseball is played primarily in the USA, and it has been losing ground steadily to football, basketball, and in some cases even hockey. Baseball's "market share" has dropped continuously since WW2.

 

Soccer, on the other hand, is the world's #1 sport and is in no danger of being threatened.

Baseball hasn't been losing any ground to hockey in the US. Hockey is pretty much off the radar down there. The most popular sports in the US (in order) are Football, NASCAR, Baseball, Basketball, College Sports, then Hockey. The state of Baseball could be healthier, but there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the sport. It is a very well thought out sport.

 

Baseball is widely played in: US, Japan (most popular sport), Cuba (most popular sport), Dominican Republic (most popular sport), Taiwan (most popular sport), Puerto Rico (most popular sport), Korea, Panama, Venezuela, Colombia, Canada and is growing in places like Mexico, Australia and the Netherlands.

 

Baseball is native to North America. Soccer on the other hand is a boring European import. We have our own sports here. Not too many people care about soccer in the US or Canada anyway (aside from 1st and 2nd generation immigrants)

Modifié 25 juin 2010 par MTLskyline

[Cataclaw]

Baseball hasn't been losing any ground to hockey in the US.

 

Actually according to attendance records since the lockout, hockey is improving vs baseball in many key US markets such as NYC.

 

The state of Baseball could be healthier, but there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the sport. It is a very well thought out sport.

 

Oh i agree. It's a cool sport. But it's still dying.

 

Baseball is widely played in: US, Japan (most popular sport), Cuba (most popular sport), Dominican Republic (most popular sport), Taiwan (most popular sport), Puerto Rico (most popular sport), Korea, Panama, Venezuela, Colombia, Canada and is growing in places like Mexico, Australia and the Netherlands.

 

Yes, but soccer is played in every single country. It is the world's #1 sport, whether you like it or not.

 

Baseball is native to North America. Soccer on the other hand is a boring European import.

 

Well that's a subjective opinion if i ever saw one. I happen to like soccer, as do many people here. I don't find it boring at all.

 

We have our own sports here. Not too many people care about soccer in the US or Canada anyway (aside from 1st and 2nd generation immigrants)

 

Montreal Impact attendance has been steadily rising for years (so much so, we've got a new stadium and our franchise will soon be MLS). Enrollment in municipal soccer teams has been on the rise for the last 2 decades. Interest overall is increasing.

 

 

Don't be so defensive MTLskyline. I'm not trashing baseball, it's a great sport, but the sad truth is... it's had its share of troubles lately and its popularity in the U.S. has been falling since WW2 (mostly at the expense of American football)

[JFrosty]

How can you talk about soccer being boring when you're actually defending baseball?

[MTLskyline]

Actually according to attendance records since the lockout, hockey is improving vs baseball in many key US markets such as NYC.

Well comparing baseball and hockey attendances is like comparing apples to oranges. Baseball games are played every single day. 81 home games a year in stadiums that hold 40-50,000 people. Hockey on the other hand has 41 home games a year in arenas that hold 15-20,000 people. It doesn't hold a candle to baseball in the US.

 

Oh i agree. It's a cool sport. But it's still dying.

In Canada, maybe, but take a trip to Japan. They can't get enough of it. I don't think it will die there.

 

Yes, but soccer is played in every single country. It is the world's #1 sport, whether you like it or not.

That's part of what annoys me about soccer. "It's the World's game". It is the most popular sport so it has to be the best, etc. What ever happened to countries playing the sports they invented? I'm not going on some bigoted rant against Europe either (it was invented in England, where some of my ancestors emigrated to Canada from). The world could stand to be more like Canada and the US in this respect. We play our own sports.

 

Well that's a subjective opinion if i ever saw one. I happen to like soccer, as do many people here. I don't find it boring at all.

I know I am very subjective in this debate. It is largely brought on by my bitterness of having lost the Expos (while soccer seemed to be taking over in Montreal during the summer). I also just never really liked soccer all that much (or the diving antics and drama associated with it). Believe it or not, baseball was Canada's main summer sport as late as the 1980s. Famous hockey players like Wayne Gretzky and Jean Beliveau played baseball in the summer.

 

Montreal Impact attendance has been steadily rising for years (so much so, we've got a new stadium and our franchise will soon be MLS). Enrollment in municipal soccer teams has been on the rise for the last 2 decades. Interest overall is increasing.

Yeah, I don't get it. People support an upstart minor league soccer team, but not a well-established Major League Baseball team with real stars.

 

Don't be so defensive MTLskyline. I'm not trashing baseball, it's a great sport, but the sad truth is... it's had its share of troubles lately and its popularity in the U.S. has been falling since WW2 (mostly at the expense of American football)

It has had its share of troubles (particularly after the mid-90s), but I just didn't appreciate the comment about the "sport dying". The sport isn't going to die provided people continue playing it, go to games, etc. It will die if we allow the invasion of soccer to continue (and get all excited over a world cup that doesn't even include Canada!). Imagine how much more interesting the world would be if each country still played their own local sports instead of just soccer.

 

For the record, I do find American football boring as well. But at least it is more of a sport native to this part of the world.

[MTLskyline]

How can you talk about soccer being boring when you're actually defending baseball?

What is more interesting about a 0-0 draw than a 6-5 win in 10 innings?

[Cataclaw]

Imagine how much more interesting the world would be if each country still played their own local sports instead of just soccer.

 

I support "local sports". I actually watch curling on RDS sometimes (shh, don't tell anyone). It's a fascinating sport. (I know curling was invented in Scotland, but it's still very popular here in Canada, so i consider it a somewhat local sport) Lacrosse is a blast as well. And then... hockey... obviously is king supreme in these parts.

 

And that's fine. I support our local sports.

 

Soccer is kind of like the English language. Everybody in the world speaks it, though often as a second language. Most people speak their native country's language as their mother tongue and then English as a secondary tongue.

 

What is more interesting about a 0-0 draw than a 6-5 win in 10 innings?

 

Goals are hard to get in soccer. Consider: You have to traverse a huge field, get past a dozen opposing players, using only your feet! Goals are rare in soccer. That means the anticipation and excitement is always at maximum, because if somebody scores a goal -- it's HUGE. A goal in soccer is like 3 goals in hockey. It's devastating. In fact, a soccer game is like a hockey game during overtime.

 

So goals are rare, but when they happen they deliver even more excitement and satisfaction.

 

MTLskyline: you may find the sport boring, but understand that if billions of people play it/watch it, there's gotta be a reason. We're not all crazy!

 

Soccer is the world's sport and it brings nations together to compete in an event even more exciting than the Olympics.

 

In the end, i there's room for lots of different sports. We have hockey in Montreal with the Als and the Impact on the side. Hockey is the unquestionable king, but the Als and Impact still draw crowds. Do i wish we'd still have the Expos? Of course. Heck, that new stadium downtown would have been sweet too. Unfortunately what's done is done.

Modifié 25 juin 2010 par Cataclaw