What Baseball Fans And The MLB Can Learn From The World Cup
by kirbir on Jun 24, 2010 7:00 AM CDT
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Yup, that's right. I'm writing about soccer on a baseball blog. Commence the hating.
But seriously, if you've been paying attention to the World Cup - or avoiding it like the plague - you know that soccer fans can be a little crazy. That goes double for anyone who has read the Huffington Post lately. From their vuvuzelas to their drunken riots to their awesome hair, soccer fans (and soccer in general) may have a lot to offer the MLB and viewers like you!
Follow the jump for a novice fan's ramblings!
The inclusion of women
Believe it or not, there is a FIFA Women's World Cup. It began in 1991, after FIFA president Jean-Marie Faustin Goedefroid de Havelange got the ball rolling. Like the other World Cup, the Women's WC is held every four years. China and the United States have each hosted the event twice, with the next one, in 2011, scheduled to be held in Germany.
But for the female baseball fans yearning to play, the closest we can really get it softball. I'm sorry, but softball just doesn't cut it. Sure, there was a professional girl's league in the past, and some girls can and choose to play in school, but the options are pretty limited.
Yellow/red cards
The idea that players can be punished, in a traceable way, without being verbally warned or ejected right out is intriguing in any sport. In soccer, the issuing of cards is up to the referee. Knowing how often umpires (and other homo-sapiens) get things wrong, this could present a problem.
What kinds of situations could this be applied in, since baseball is not a direct contact sport? Just in pitching? If so, how do we determine if a pitcher is just having control issues and needs to be taken out or if he's trying to injure or hit the batter? And how would this affect sliding into bases during double plays?
Perhaps we should leave that idea alone.
Dedication
Soccer fans know just about everything related to their clubs. You ask the average soccer fan to describe their team, and you'll be sitting down listening for hours to descriptions of the players, history of the team, projections, and other such nonsense. Not to say this isn't the case with many baseball fans... But there are also many who simply follow from the point they gained interest in the team forward. And it's not because they don't care about the team's past, but because they're not as invested in the team as, say, a Manchester United fan might be.
Even more than that, many also know as much about their national team. While we did have a national team participating in the Summer Olympics prior to 2008, baseball (and softball) have since been eliminated. There is still a national team for the US, along with an all-female team, but they really don't get a lot of coverage. Honestly, prior to this post, I didn't even know that either existed. I don't even think I need to expand on that point.
Soccer fans, much like Packers fans, participate in all sorts of oddball activities. Not to say that baseball fans don't - we've all seen the Green Man present at various games. When I think of the overboard Packers fans, I think of the guys who get super plastered during tailgating, are shirtless despite the beer gut and low temperatures, and like to paint their faces and wear cheese helmets. The overboard soccer fan is similar in nature. This majestic creature tends to be slimmer and more fit than their Green Bay counterparts, and possibly even more interested in drinking. While this type of fan would be annoying to have at baseball games, they would also increase the hotness level of the crowd and bring in more revenue for any team.
Dancers
Aside from the Florida Marlins male cheerleading squad, the Manatees, and their female counterparts, the Mermaids, there really isn't a lot of dancing in baseball (well actually, a few teams have cheerleaders now, but nothing will ever top the Manatees).
Some World Cup dancers, being awesome.
Snappy dressing
You know, it's not like I don't love me some Remetee... But it's not for everyone. Honestly, if I went out in one, there'd be no end to the comments I'd get. Instead of the team dressing like individuals during travel, soccer teams usually dress pretty snazzy.
Japan, post-plane ride.
See how put-together they look? How much they look like a team?
Vuvuzelas
And last, but certainly not least, we have vuvuzelas. If you've watched any of the World Cup games, you'll be familiar with that amazing synthetic bumble bee sound.
South Africans playing their favorite instrument in honor of the World Cup.
Most non-soccer fans seem to hate vuvuzelas. I honestly don't know why. Vuvuzelas not only look cool and come in a variety of colors, but there are a number of ways to play it. Take that, air horns.
All pictures used are brought to you by BCB's awesome hook up with AP/Getty Images.
Also, I am in no way responsible for you blowing out your eardrums trying to learn how to play the vuvuzela.
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One thing you missed that I bet a lot of baseball fans would support
is FIFA grading each official after each match. Koman Coulibaly, for example, did not officiate the round of games after the match between the US and Slovenia because he graded out very poorly. How great would it be to have umpires graded regularly and not allowed to work a game if their overall grade slips too low?
not sure ...
… if they grade them after every match officially.
But if some guy has a bad game, he is out of the tournament, as there are many other refs around.
In league action the referees are reviewed after every match. If they do badly, they get some warnings. If they still do badly, they are sent down to 2nd or 3rd division.
Young referees have to work their way up from the 6th or 7th division.
watching my first MLB ever from July 7th til 9th in Toronto :))
by loeffleitroms on Jun 24, 2010 8:36 AM CDT up reply actions
Don't they grade the umps after every game? I believe the NBA does. I thought they reviewed each call after the game.
Questech is at least a measure that has been put in place.
Also, speaking of the NBA, red/yellow cards are like technicals. You can get a double technical (red card) and be booted immediatelly. If you get 2 technicals (2 yellow cards) you’re ejected. If you get 1 technical (1 yellow card) you’re penalized and warned. I don’t think baseball needs that, as it’s not as much of a contact sport. As it stands, I think the umpires discretion on when to kick somebody out is a fine, common sense, working policy.
Some people will say that the umps are abusing their power, but who’s to say they wouldn’t abuse their power with colored cards.
http://www.mlbsoup.com
FWIW, Japanese national teams always look like that.
One of their snowboarders got into trouble prior to the Winter Olympics for not having his shirt tucked in as he arrived in Vancouver with the team.
Exactly
Plus, dressing up is really only limited to the World Cup, which is a very special event (like the Olympics). If you see pictures of the teams traveling, they’re don’t usually dress up.
Here’s Argentina’s team last year:
Plus, it’s an American thing. Here’s what the US team looked like getting off the plane in South Africa. Granted, they’re dressed alike, but hardly “snazzy”.
Pujols is the Barack Obama of baseball.
The title of the post did say 'World Cup' and not just soccer
I knew I was comparing apples to oranges, but that was part of the fun
I don't know how to put this but I'm kind of a big deal.
not really ...
… also league teams make their players wear the team suit or dress.
They just want them to “represent the colours” of them.
So a Rickie Weeks ghetto look might not be accepted, unless he plays for France maybe ;)
watching my first MLB ever from July 7th til 9th in Toronto :))
by loeffleitroms on Jun 24, 2010 10:33 AM CDT up reply actions
Interesting :)
I’m from Europe where football/soccer is the biggest sports in every country. I’m going to see my first MLB on 7th July – so I’ll gladly compare both sports and experiences after my visit.
I’m certainly not a hardcore fan as most of you, but yet I still follow the Brewers and listen to as many games as possible.
- women: We have the WC Woman Cup next season. And you can bet that most of the games will be sold out. Meaning 30,000 to 40,000 people per game, as they primarily chose “smaller” cities to host the games. It’s also interesting that in my stadium between 30 and 40 % of the attendance is female.
- attandance: Some baseball stadiums look really sad. Most recently when those Marlins were angry about the vuvuzela sounds in the ballpark. Well, those Marlins failed to make some “noice” in almost a decade ;) Maybe there are too many games in baseball? I mean many teams fill the stadiums regularly, but many teams play in half empty parks. Our football season has 17 homegames and in the top level most games are sold out. Stadiums can host between 25,000 and 80,000 people. Even 2nd and 3rd division teams draw more than 10,000 people. Usually you follow your team even if they struggle (to support in the relegation struggle).
cards – not sure if baseball is a good fit for that. In football (esp. in this WC) there is a lot of controversy about yellow or red cards. But maybe you good show some player or coach a yellow card for bad behaviour and if he behves bad again – send him off?
dancers – are not typical part of football. Some teams tried with American style cheerleaders at halftime, but they are usually booed out of the stadium ;) Different in Africa of course.
dress code – usually teams have a dress code for official games. so the whole team wears the same on travel and during pitch inspection before the game. Not sure if this important or not ;)
Football manages to draw huge interest worldwide, now that even you Americans seem to care for it. Baseball has a long way to go. Here in Germany virtually nobody cares. But a huge step would be creating a worldwide tournament that offers good and thrilling games. Like a World Baseball Classic that works …
Hockey kind of managed that, when they sent the NHL profs to the World Championship. This year the tournament was a bore, because it was without NHL.
watching my first MLB ever from July 7th til 9th in Toronto :))
Well to be honest,
Europe is a bit of a different beast than Asia and south america where baseball is pretty huge. I can’t really see baseball ever taking off in Europe. Meh, My enjoyment doesn’t depend on how the rest of the world views baseball past the influx of talent available.
All is vanity.
hockey
wasn’t that because of the Olympics, though? I know the NHL took a few weeks off during, and there were definitely pros in it.
yep,
but during the WC in Germany last month there were hardly any NHL guys.
That’s why Germany made it to the semifinal ;)
I’m off to Canada now, where the Blue Jays should sweep the Twinkies as well :)
Thrilled to see my first MLB game soon …
watching my first MLB ever from July 7th til 9th in Toronto :))
by loeffleitroms on Jun 24, 2010 3:45 PM CDT up reply actions
as a big time american soccer fan
it is really relieving to see a very positive post regarding soccer and the world cup, i love the world cup but hate every four years how uniformed pundits on tv and radio blast a sport they know so little about. also, I ordered my vuvuzela off amazon the other day, i’m wondering if miller park security will confiscate it
"I would say my biggest flaw, my Achilles heel is my tireless work ethic"-Kenny Powers
FWIW
Prohibited Items The following items are among those not permitted in Miller Park:
Alcohol
Bags (larger than 16″ × 16″ × 8″)
Brooms/broomsticks
Cans
Hard-sided Coolers
Glass Containers
Laser Pointers
Noise Makers
Non-Factory Sealed Plastic Containers
Throwing Items
Weapons
I've had it with this verkakte flippity-ship!
No brooms?
If we don’t win today, that explains why.
by richardhkirkando on Jun 24, 2010 2:41 PM CDT up reply actions
Vuvuzelas suck
They are the thundersticks of the World Cup.
I’m still pissed at the Brewers for thinking it was a good idea to hand out thundersticks in Game 4 against Philly.
Get a ife broseph
No vuvuzelas
Those things are just awful. Every time I see a soccer game on TV, the entire crowd is singing. I’d rather we sing before encouraging vuvuzelas.
My goodness.
by BrewHaHeather on Jun 24, 2010 9:28 AM CDT reply actions 1 recs
One of the other interesting things I've seen
is how the big European cubs are having problems during the WC. Similar to some other teams we may know, the Italian soccer federation president believes that European teams aren’t developing their players well enough to compete on a wider (i.e., world) scale.
I don't know how to put this but I'm kind of a big deal.
From what I've seen...
Brazilian soccer fans have the highest percentage of hotties.
Pujols is the Barack Obama of baseball.
Yeah, but I guess you're going from TV pictures
And if you’re a TV Cameraman meant to be focussing on getting “colour” from the stands are you going to be spending your time focussing on hotties or on those who look like Bulgarian shot-putters?
PS Nothing against Bulgarian ladies (and I certainly wouldn’t want to insult the many Carpathian-based female readers of this site). Certainly when I was at Euro 2004 one of my friends rated them most highly…
"I hope your name is Rick"
just like watching the Dominican Winter League
the inning bumper shots are always full of extremely attractive women. The general crowd shots, on the other hand…no.
With regards to the relative hotness of soccer fans
I’m guessing you don’t get much Scottish football beamed live in the States? Or seen shirtless Newcastle United fans parading their guts around?
"I hope your name is Rick"
some hordes ...
in the Bundesliga are not much better ;)
And on a positive note, there is no hooliganism / violence in baseball. It’s a big problem in the lower leagues in Eastern Germany and Italy.
watching my first MLB ever from July 7th til 9th in Toronto :))
by loeffleitroms on Jun 24, 2010 10:39 AM CDT up reply actions
You don't get that kind of mass hysteria with any American professional sport.
I think the closest you get is when a player heads into the stands to fight a fan, which has happened in the NHL, NBA and MLB.
Pujols is the Barack Obama of baseball.
Los Angeles Lakers. Riots. QED.
Applying Simpsons and Star Wars quotes to Brewers discussions since 2009.
They don't
Considering you refer to their topless bodies as “guts”, I’d say that’s a good thing.
Pujols is the Barack Obama of baseball.
More seriously...
I’m not convinced at all that soccer fans are more knowledgeable than baseball fans. For example, the vast majority of soccer fans will be quite happy to make a judgement about individual players on the basis of 3 or 4 matches. This is the first World Cup where I’ve heard club managers saying that it might not be neceesarily a good thing to spend millions on players on the basis of them having 2 or 3 good games at the World Cup. Countless managers get sacked because they do a good job getting clubs promoted and, surprise surprise, are unable to keep their club up in the next season.
I’m not saying these things are unknown amongst baseball fans, but there’s a sizeable chunk of fans who are at least prepared to question these received opinions…
"I hope your name is Rick"
3 or 4 matches is generous
On the football forums I frequent, if a guy has a bad 10 minutes as a sub in his first game, he’s immediately deemed “not good enough” and the fans will boo him every time he steps on the pitch for the rest of the season.
by richardhkirkando on Jun 24, 2010 2:39 PM CDT up reply actions
The vuvuazela is a rash on the face of civilization.
That said, the world cup has been quite exciting, though I will go back to not caring about soccer after it is over.
All is vanity.
Vuvuzelas
For some reason, people have had vuvuzlelas at Oakland A’s games for years.
The Oakland cheering section
I’m glad someone else has noticed the noisy A’s fans. At least they’re having fun.
Good post
I am very excited for the game on Saturday afternoon. There are some great clips on You Tube of various cities’ reactions to Donovan’s goal.
Get well soon Ueck
I'm surprised
that the women’s world cup had escaped you. I doubt that Brandy Chastain would have become a household name without it. Black sports bras anyone?
Please, God, no dancers at baseball games. Cheerleaders in general should be banned from any and all sporting events. Generally good eye candy, but they get in the way and are annoying.
Vuvuzelas…I swear I hear them through the mute on my television…
Dress: when was the last time you saw a team de-plane or arrive at the ballpark? Dress to me coming/going from the ballpark matters little.
"The Milwaukee Brewers' line score is starting to resemble an international phone number" - Pittsburgh Pirates Radio during 20-0 shutout - 4-22-10
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