For diehard baseball fans out there baseball officially returns each spring with the reporting of pitchers and catchers. While I'm a huge football fan, baseball was my first passion as a kid. While it's fun playing a pick-up game of football, playing catch is as American as apple pie.
I bring this up because pitchers and catchers reported yesterday and today for the A's and Giants. It's not football related, but it got me thinking about the two games. Football is arguably the more popular sport right now, although that's a bit of a sketchy argument to make. While it gets better ratings, I'm curious what the ratings would be spread out over a greater volume of games as we see in baseball. Of course, there is the fact that baseball is the "American past time." Both sports have woven their way into the American tapestry but most people would agree about the position of baseball as the past time.
I put up a poll that is not the easiest to answer. When comparing the two sports, it becomes a question of in what context are they being compared. Are we just talking about the game itself, or are we talking about the NFL versus MLB? If you go into the context of the leagues I'm probably a bigger fan of the NFL. In the context of the actual game itself, baseball is my passion.
They're such vastly different games and as even the statistical arguments have borne out here, it's hard to compare in that regard. Even this post shows my own inability to articulate it. So feel free to clarify your vote in the comments. Personally, I've seen myself become more of a football fan over the years (this blog certainly has pushed that lately). But baseball will always have a special place for me.
Either way, make sure and check out McCovey Chronicles and Athletics Nation for your Bay Area baseball needs. In the meantime, five or so months until training camp starts!