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#JerrySlam

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Cleveland's tawdry love affair with baseball wasn't meant to last forever.
 
godfather said:
Cleveland just has never been a really, really big baseball town. Cleveland is a great sports town, but baseball has always been the third banana.

'95 was the perfect storm. The Browns left, the Cavs weren't doing anything significant. And the Indians were finally good. So it caught on like wild fire.

The success of the '90s obviously played a big part in the popularity. But the Indians had just open up a new ballpark, Jacob's Field. You give a hungry sports town that, no Browns, and consistent winning, not a surprise they did so well then.

That doesn't make baseball really popular here though. My dad used to get grouchy over it, and call them fair weather fans. Since he was one of the true fans that would show up nearly every game, in the old Cleveland Stadium, when they were really bad.

But I don't really care, and I don't think he always got the point. Nothing wrong with being a fair weather fan. Do you have to like, and watch everything related to "Cleveland" just because you live in that area? No.

Sports are supposed to be entertainment. And if a loser Indians team doesn't excite, or interest majority of people in North East Ohio, there's nothing wrong with that.

I don't think you can really blame the fans. If people don't want to watch, or go to the game, that's their right. Tickets are expensive. Buying food is pricey. You shouldn't spend countless amounts of money, just to be a "true fan" if it doesn't give you any interest, or excitement.

That doesn't make Indians fans, bad fans. There's just not a large percentage of them. There are still hardcore and faithful true fans that show up no matter what, and support the hell out of the Tribe.

Obviously there are a lot of fair weather, front running fans, too. They exist in all sports. I wouldn't quite put them in the category of the Miami Heat.

Because they're still passionate people, it's just baseball in general is not as popular here as it is in other parts of the country.
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I totally agree with this. I just think people try to justify the fact that this isn't a great baseball town by exaggerating the team's performance so it gives an excuse. There's nothing wrong with not liking baseball.
 
Nom said:
I totally agree with this. I just think people try to justify the fact that this isn't a great baseball town by exaggerating the team's performance so it gives an excuse. There's nothing wrong with not liking baseball.
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Agree, and I've heard people say it's because Dolan is so cheap, that's why they're not showing up. It's laughable.

People have not been going to Indians games for a very, very, long time, well before he was the owner.

I bet the average "casual fan" doesn't even know who he is. Not talking sports fans, just "casual fans" of sports in general.

Those people were even showing up during the '90s. I couldn't remember how many Aunts, relatives, that were very casual fans of sports in general going to the games during that era. It was just a rare and special time, that will never be repeated again here.

Baseball is just not that popular in Northeast Ohio. People would rather watch the Browns go 0-16 season after season (bitch and die over it), than watch a competitive Indians team any day.

It's just about preferences is all.
 
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Shorten the season to one 3 game series against each non-division opponent and an additional 3 game series against each division opponent. That gives you 99 games.

That's plenty.
 
The Oi said:
Shorten the season to one 3 game series against each non-division opponent and an additional 3 game series against each division opponent. That gives you 99 games.

That's plenty.
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Yeah, that'll never happen.
 
BimboColesHair said:
Yeah, that'll never happen.
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Of course not.

But 99% of baseball fans spend at least a quarter of the season being bored as fuck. The season is too long. The games are too long. Too long.
 
The Oi said:
Shorten the season to one 3 game series against each non-division opponent and an additional 3 game series against each division opponent. That gives you 99 games.

That's plenty.
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You want MORE games against the Tigers and LESS against everyone else?

More proof you hate the Indians.
 
The Oi said:
Of course not.

But 99% of baseball fans spend at least a quarter of the season being bored as fuck. The season is too long. The games are too long. Too long.
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Maybe so, but the last time professional baseball had a schedule less than 100 games was probably in the late 1800s. Anyone hoping for a reduced schedule needs to find a better thing to wish for to improve how watchable baseball is. You are talking about a league that was unwilling to incorporate instant replay reviews for quite some time, because it wasn't "pure to the game".

And I'm going to disagree with that 99% figure....won't get into that. Maybe 99% of casual baseball fans, certainly not 99% of the entire fanbase. Perhaps when the younger generation is in charge of the league 30-40 years from now you will see some dramatic changes, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
 
Too much money involved to shorten games. It's why the NBA will never do it either, even if they should for the betterment of the product.

Less games, means less money revenue. Baseball traditionalists go nuts when you make minor changes to the game, they'd go ape shit over something like this.

Well, the Indians games aren't too long, because they don't score much. :chuckle:

Within 2 hours, it's already the 8th inning.
 
The Oi said:
Of course not.

But 99% of baseball fans spend at least a quarter of the season being bored as fuck. The season is too long. The games are too long. Too long.
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I agree completely. There's real ramifications in the NBA if you lose two in a row vs. winning two in a row. In the MLB, that's rarely the case.
 
"I hated baseball, but now that it's just 100 games per season I'll become a die hard fan"

- Nobody
 
It wouldn't hurt for baseball if they could avoid the NFL during their post season stretch. I have no idea how they do that, without playing games in the snow to start the season. It's a bad break.

Once the NFL starts, the national interest just dies.

The NBA is fortunate enough to not have that problem.
 
AZ_ said:
"I hated baseball, but now that it's just 100 games per season I'll become a die hard fan"

- Nobody
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It's the fact that the playoffs and world series compete with the NFL. The common fan doesn't care about baseball once football starts and your team isn't in it.
 
Huber. said:
It's the fact that the playoffs and world series compete with the NFL. The common fan doesn't care about baseball once football starts and your team isn't in it.
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Disagree completely. Cleveland fans seem to think because baseball has died here it's done the same elsewhere. Not the case at all.
 
The MLB playoff ratings tell a different story.
 
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