"You won't recognize the sport in five years!"

[Patrick425]

Kind of surprised that no one started a thread on Selig's extension as commissioner (at least from what I could see).

 

I'm probably one of Selig's stronger supporters, but sometimes the things he says and his mannerisms make me cringe. I heard this quote from him yesterday when I was driving home. What does he mean? Bud, I want to be able to recognize the sport. I'm sure he didn't really mean it that way, but it just struck me as a strange thing to say.

 

It also makes me very uncomfortable when he talks about this being the "Golden Age" of baseball. C'mon Bud, you grew up your whole life following baseball and you really think of this as being the "Golden Age"?? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/eyes.gif

 

 

[GAME05]

so we have this steroid generation, a real crossroads for major league baseball, and the owners are essentially saying Bud did a good job with all that?

[Invader3K]

Well, it's a very good time for the sport, despite the scandals with steroids and such. That stuff clearly isn't keeping people away from the ball parks. I think Selig has been a great commissioner. I said this elsewhere, and I'll say it here...the people you usually hear whining about baseball nowadays the most are the ones who don't go to any games and don't want them on TV. So who really cares about their opinion?

 

As far as "You won't recognize the sport in five years," I have no idea what he was trying to say by that.

[Ennder]

I have no problems calling this the Golden Age, the sport is more popular than ever.

 

It isn't like steroids are a new thing, they have been around for ages and before that there were fixed games, gambling problems, various other methods of cheating etc. Cheating is just part of pro sports unfortunately.

[DuWayne Steurer]

I've been a supporter of Selig for a long time (at least as commish, not as an owner), but it really seems (to me) that he's more interested in stamping his "legacy" on the game, rather than just doing what is right for the game.

 

The Mitchell report is turning into a farce, and Mitchell himself in the report said that there is essentially no good that can come from digging up skeletons past and present and throwing them to the wolves.

[Patrick425]

Again, I'm a supporter of Bud. I'm grateful that he brought the Brewers here and kept them here and I agree with what he has tried to do as a commissioner. The steroids thing would have happened under any commissioner. Every sport is loaded with it. Baseball just gets scrutinized more than others for some reason.

However, are we really to the point of categorizing a sport as being in the "Golden Age" based solely on revenue? What about the era of Mantle, Aaron, Mays, DiMaggio? An era when you could truly say that Baseball was America's past-time. An era where a pitcher didn't get a $500K raise based on a season where he just posted an ERA over 6? An era where making the playoffs really meant something to a player financially. Regardless of baseballs success at the turn-styles, I think football is the #1 sport right now in the eyes of most Americans. This is not Baseball's "Golden Age", by any standard other than $$$$.

[dadofandrew]

The sport is the most popular in its history, and revenue is flying in at a record pace. There is labor peace for the first time since the the Nixon administration, drug testing has been put in despite working with the most powerful union in history, and the wildcard and interleague play have been added, despite much resistance, and have revitalized the game.

 

Bud Selig is simply the greatest commish in the history of professional sports. I think it's a safe bet to say if he serves 5 more years, it will absolutely be oodles better than it is now. Goodness, a few years ago, there was serious talk about bankruptcy of weak teams, and real reports of one team (the Tigers?) having to be loaned money to make payroll.

 

How many years of record attendance and revenue will it take to impress people? The mere idea of selling out 81 games is beyond belief, and it now happens all the time, several teams a year.

[Ennder]

Again, I'm a supporter of Bud. I'm grateful that he brought the Brewers here and kept them here and I agree with what he has tried to do as a commissioner. The steroids thing would have happened under any commissioner. Every sport is loaded with it. Baseball just gets scrutinized more than others for some reason.

 

However, are we really to the point of categorizing a sport as being in the "Golden Age" based solely on revenue? What about the era of Mantle, Aaron, Mays, DiMaggio? An era when you could truly say that Baseball was America's past-time. An era where a pitcher didn't get a $500K raise based on a season where he just posted an ERA over 6? An era where making the playoffs really meant something to a player financially. Regardless of baseballs success at the turn-styles, I think football is the #1 sport right now in the eyes of most Americans. This is not Baseball's "Golden Age", by any standard other than $$$$.

 

 

 

So the standard you would use is market share? It is pretty darn hard to prove which is the favorite sport one way or the other. More people attend baseball games every year than football. Football is more easily marketted because all the games are thrown into one day and it is a weekend day. Why can't both sports just be good instead of competing for which is best? Also I'd personally say this is anything but the golden age for football, the sport has gone downhill the past 10 years with way too much mediocrity outside of a few teams, so if it can only be the golden age for one sport at a time I'll pick baseball.

[Patrick425]

More people attend baseball games every year than football.

Well, 2,430 games vs. 256 games (if my math is correct), really not a fair comparison. Most polls that are taken show that sports fans like football more than baseball. I never said it was the golden age for Football, but there is no question in my mind that it is more popular than Baseball right now.Your argument about Football being a once a week event is very accurate. However, fair or unfair that may be from a marketing standpoint, Football is the clear winner.

 

I am a much, much, much bigger baseball fan than I am a football fan. But I just don't no how anyone can say that this is the "Golden age of baseball" with a straight face. To me, with the outrageous contracts, the PEDs, and the huge egos, all sports have lost their innocence and maybe there are no more "Golden ages" in sports.

[Ennder]

I am a much, much, much bigger baseball fan than I am a football fan. But I just don't no how anyone can say that this is the "Golden age of baseball" with a straight face. To me, with the outrageous contracts, the PEDs, and the huge egos, all sports have lost their innocence and maybe there are no more "Golden ages" in sports

 

I guess that makes sense but if you are going to go that far then you could say that there are no more "Golden Ages" in America. Sports are a microcosm of what the country has become.

[TooLiveBrew]

"You won't recognize the sport in five years!"

 

It's gonna look like those old Steve Young All Sport ads! WOOT!!1!!!1

 

http://www.cool-drinks.com/Images/AllSport2002ShieldLogo2.gif

[ELCABALLO45]

im a huge baseball fan.. but football is clearly America's choice of sport.

[dlk9s]

I love both baseball and football, but to play devil's advocate for the football folks, do you think football would be America's favorite sport without gambling?

[PeaveyFury]

Bud Selig is simply the greatest commish in the history of professional sports.

 

Well, if you ignore the fact that Pete Rozelle accomplished most of what you touted Selig for 20-30 years before him.

[brewerjamie15]

I'm not looking to start a flame festival here but what did Selig say after his cell phone rang during his interview? He didn't say something about punching out his wife did he?

[Brewtacular]

The one advantage that baseball has over football is its world wide interest. Baseball needs the WBC and it needs to find a way to become soccer. Football will never be relevant outside North America.

[twobrewers]

im a huge baseball fan.. but football is clearly America's choice of sport.

As far as I can see, baseball has two big advantages. The only time baseball overlaps with football is during the stretch run and playoffs. So people still care about baseball. The NBA has to try and be relevant during the NFL playoffs - good luck with that!

 

Also, baseball has so many weekday games during the summer when their is nothing else on television. I didn't become a big Brewers fan until a few years back because I couldn't find anything decent to watch on TV during summer (all reruns). And since the Brewers were always on - I got hooked.

[GenoSeligPrieb]

So...if this is the sport's Golden Age, why would Bud breathlessly declare "...and you won't recognize" it, in 5 years, fans!! That's like saying, "This is definitely the best era in our company's history...but in 5 years, it'll be so different, we'll improve it!!"

 

Sounds like his daughter snuck that line into his speech notes. It smacks of Wendy's brand of double-exclamation point hyperbole.

 

I just can't wrap myself around the concept that great attendance, but ever-spiralling salaries, ridiculous disparity in terms of payroll capability, a huge drug cloud hanging over the sport, and terrible TV ratings for national showcase games, equals a Golden Age.

 

Of course, no era was without its warts, but in the 1960's, there was no clear dynasty winning half the decade's championships, black and Hispanic stars were standing right along side everyone else, and emerging stars could be found in Milwaukee, San Francisco, Cincinnati, Boston, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Detroit...everywhere; not just in the very richest franchises. Pitchers stood a chance, hallowed records of achievment weren't being shattered every other year, the worst chemical enhancers were most likely greenies, the country waited for The Game of the Week on Saturday afternoons, World Series games could still be seen on network TV during the day, and baseball was still the national pasttime. THAT's a Golden Age.

[danzig6767]

Bud Selig is simply the greatest commish in the history of professional sports.

 

Well, if you ignore the fact that Pete Rozelle accomplished most of what you touted Selig for 20-30 years before him.

No question about it. Rozelle took a sport that clearly was behind baseball in importance in this country and helped turn football into by far the most popular sport in the US. There have been Monday Night Football games that draw much higher ratings than playoff baseball games and if my memory is correct, even drew higher ratings than World Series games.

 

David Stern also deserves to be up there even though the NBA looks to be in a rut at the moment. While baseball almost always has been more popular than the NBA and likely will stay that way, Stern took over a league that was pretty much in shambles. He helped build it to a level that for awhile was near on par with baseball in popularity and briefly maybe even above it. Without the Magic/Bird/Dr.J/Jordan types around though, the league has slipped.

Selig has received way more flack than he deserves given the fine job he's done, but both Rozelle and Stern took over much less popular leagues than what Bud did and built them into sporting powers.

As a side note, i think Bud would prefer to have back his "I'll have to punch the wife went i get back home" comment.

 

[Team Canada]

All I have to say is that I was almost shocked when I read that he'll have been commish for 20 years when he's done. I feel old, even though I'm not really, because I distinctly remember him taking the job.

[TooLiveBrew]

emerging stars could be found in Milwaukee, San Francisco, Cincinnati, Boston, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, Detroit...everywhere; not just in the very richest franchises.

 

Our core of young guys... Lincecum/Capellan/Fred Lewis... Dunn/Bailey/Bruce... Boston/LA not rich?... Duke... Verlander/Bonderman/Cabrera

[LouisEly]

Different Capellan in San Francisco - a 21 year old left-hander.

 

I was already thinking of a post very similar to Geno's when I got down to his. Certainly the 50's and 60's were the golden years for baseball. But considering where the sport was 15 years ago, it has come a long way, and like Al said, much of it is due to Selig and his passion for the game. He has expanded the playoffs which has added a tremendous amount of interest (and attendance) to the end of the season without diluting it like the NBA and NHL has. He has successfully negotiated with one of the toughest unions to negotiate with. Check that, two of the toughest groups to negotiate with - the players unions and the wealthy owners of the large market teams to get them to somewhat share revenue.

 

It certainly is debatable if Selig is the greatest commissioner of all time in any sport; certainly Pete Rozelle is right up there. But to counter Pete Rozelle, he presided over the drug-tainted era of football with all of the steroid abuse but was out of office by the time guys like Lyle Alzado and others died from their steriod abuse which shielded him from most of the criticism. Rozelle had his warts too. But I would put the two of them head and shoulders above any else.

[dvoiss]

Bud Selig is simply the greatest commish in the history of professional sports.

Selig has done a good job but he pales in comparison to what Pete Rozelle did for the NFL in the 60s and 70s.

[Patrick425]

Another thing with the Baseball vs. Football. Over the last 20 or so years that I have been in a work environment, I have had fellow employees on several occasions ask me how I can be a baseball fan? They site among other things that it's boring, full of spoiled whiny athletes (players that barely hit .250 earning millions of $$$),, steroids, etc. However, I have never heard anyone who's a die hard football at work be asked how they could be football fans.

 

I got paired up on a golf course this last summer with a guy who noticed my Brewer golf bag and Brewer head covers and said something like, "So, your a pretty big Brewer fan huh?" Then he went one to say how he use to be a baseball fan, but it just lost him when millionaire players went on strike, not just once. I think there are more people that truly dislike baseball than there are that dislike football.

[endaround]

Bud Selig is simply the greatest commish in the history of professional sports.

Selig has done a good job but he pales in comparison to what Pete Rozelle did for the NFL in the 60s and 70s.

The France family took a regional sport and made it into a National TV powerhouse. Bud Selig was running around crying about how bad the sport was doing to extort tax payer money while perfecting his Claude Raines impersonation.