Sports Is No Longer for the Fan

When I saw what happened in Game Five of the World Series, it finally dawned on me—sports organizations no longer care about the local fan.

Let's be honest.  Us true fans, the ones who support our teams through the lows and are happier than any other human during the highs, are being left out in the cold.  It's all about the sponsors, television ratings, and money.

Why can't there be day games for the World Series?  That's what baseball was all about—going to the ballpark with your dad or friends for a good day of baseball.  

It's because more people can watch the national broadcast of the game on TV that the games are on at night, and Fox does not want to interrupt their day broadcasts.  It's now all about the national audience.

How many kids have not been able to see a championship game because it starts at 8:30?  It's criminal.  It's time to realize that some things do not fit into the corporate world and deal with it.

Need more proof?  Patriot Place at Gillette Stadium.  A mall outside of a stadium?  So people can go there to shop and eat besides watching a football game.  It's madness.

Why would there be a Bass Pro Shops, a Christmas shop, and a Bed, Bath, and Beyond outside of a place where you go to watch 300-pound monsters slam each other to the ground as hard as humanly possible?

What about the ticket availability?  Ten percent of the total tickets available were released to the public.  Season ticket holders had to win a lottery.  So a guy who say, supported the Giants and had season tickets for 40-some years had to hope to see his team play.  Where did everything else go?  Sponsors.

I went to a playoff game last year for the Phillies, and what was everyone talking about?  Not how Hamels was doing, or how scary Holliday was, but after the game: where are you guys going, where's the party, people standing up to wave at someone five yards away.

IT'S A PLAYOFF GAME!!!!  You should be holding your breath with every pitch, biting your nails with every long fly ball—not talking about where the action is afterwards.

The new Giants stadium is the latest and biggest insult to the real fans.  Season ticket buyers will now have to pay what is called a seat license.  It costs up to $20,000 plus the ticket price.  Can you name an average fan who can afford that?  It's a blatant slap in the face.  It's the Giants organization saying, "We don't need the real fans.  We don't care about you."

It will never turn back around.  As times go on, it will be worse and worse.  The times for the real fans are over.  We should just get comfy on our sofas with our cheap beer and enjoy yelling at the TV.