I was listening to Colin Cowherd on the radio today when the discussion of the dwindling fan attendance at baseball games came up. Cowherd went on a rant about how going to games just isn't as fun anymore as just sitting at home and watching them there.
I agree with him.
Oh sure, I still like to get out to the ol' ballpark now and then. I also enjoy seeing the Lakers and Redskins play nearby. But I really don't think I'm missing anything by not going to the games.
With HDTV, flat screens and theater quality surround sound, you have the best seat in the house at home. The food is much cheaper, the beers aren't as expensive and there is no cut off point. Parking is free, the lines at the bathroom aren't nearly as long and if you need to do something that pause button on your DVR will keep you from missing any of the action.
DVR? Heck, I love being able to rewind and slow-motion a questionable play or call. Did he catch the pass? Did he step on the line? Was it a foul? I can see all of that even when the league tells the networks not to replay it.
Again, I still like going to the games but it feels like more of a hassle now. I have to overpay for my tickets (my satellite bill hits hard too but I get more for my money), find and pay for somewhere to park, walk a few blocks to the stadium/arena, have to deal with people who I swear were put on this earth just to stand in your way, pay $20 for a couple of hot dogs and some drinks, step over a bunch of people's legs just to get to my seat, hold my pee in because I don't wanna be that guy who spends all game walking over people nor do I want to stand around for 20 minutes waiting to get in the bathroom and missing some action and almost any seat there doesn't give you a good enough view as you would at home. Somewhere in there, I buy some keepsake that will forever remind me that I was actually there that day. When the game ends, I have to get up with the tens of thousands of people as all of us try to walk out the same door. I then have to walk back to my car (trying to remember where I parked since the door you exit is never the same door you came in on) then sit in my car as traffic in the parking deck is at a stand still.
And I have to find a friend or two that is willing to do all of that with me.
The funny thing is that when I get home, I turn on SportsCenter to see the highlights of the game I was just at. Needless to say, there are plays that I see that I don't remember at the game. I'm also a bit thrown back by the stats that I didn't figure out while watching it.
Again, at home I don't have to get dressed, don't have to drive anywhere, don't have to pay for my drinks and food (other than hitting the store before the fact), don't have to wait in a bathroom line and I didn't waste any of my disposable income on crap. I can watch the game in peace, not have anyone walking all over me and actually get insight about what's going on in the game I'm watching.
As as Cowherd pointed out, if the game sucks I can just turn the channel. If you are at the game, you can't leave or else you feel you wasted your time and money.
That isn't to say that going to the game is meaningless. There is nothing like the eyes of a child when he goes to his first ballgame. Something always happens that you will remember (I've seen Kobe go for 58 one against the Bobcats and hit a buzzer beater against the Hornets. I've seen Kobe, Shaq, Magic, Johnny Bench, Bruce Smith, Nolan Ryan and many other greats play in person) and those memories are hard to replicate.
However, I watched Kobe's 81 point game at home as well as the last 30-something Super Bowls, NBA Finals, NCAA Tournaments and World Series in the comforts of my home. And let me tell you, one of my most favorite memories was when North Carolina won the 2005 NCAA championship, I grabbed my wife and hugged her like I hadn't seen here in a year.
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