Joe Buck did a game last year, Mets vs. Braves, Glavine vs. Smoltz I, and all I remember is him doing commentary, and not being able to let go of the fact that one of the random noises at Turner Field upon a foul ball is a Chewbacca roar.

Buck’s credibility is always in question, to me:

“That was a despicable, tasteless, and disgusting act and I apologize to all our viewers who had the misfortune of witnessing it at home!” Minutes later, “After the game stay tuned for Temptation Island only on FOX!”

Football is easy to keep track of. That’s all that has to be said why. It’s once a week, and it’s more physical – people slamming into other people, always the risk of injury, and scores are worth 2, 3, or 6, not one. Clock management/use of timeouts is as scientific as a process as managing a bullpen to some, and just to re-iterate, football is once a week. Fans can catch their breath, gush about a great game/play, get tired of it, gear up, and get ready for next Sunday, and then repeat the process.

Baseball – Jeff Francoeur hits a walk-off homer against the Dbacks, a few of us see it, because it’s an afternoon game, but then the next two days, he goes 2/8 with four strikeouts. We have no time to bask, relish, and enjoy the post-game victory, because in less than 24 hours, it’s game-time again. Lots of people don’t like that.

Football is easy, baseball is not – my bottom line.

...with my roomates the afternoon that the NFL draft started. I am, as you know, a huge baseball fan. Two of my other roomates were baseball fans as well (Orioles, Red Sox), but one of them just got married and moved to Houston. My final roomate is an interesting guy, to say the least. He watches baseball. He plays fantasy baseball. But he’s a Redskins fan to the core. He knows his football, which is cool. I like football. I watch football. But this coming season I’m not so sure. Being a Falcons fan the entire Mike Vick debacle was draining, and in the process they also cut Alge Crumpler and Warrick Dunn…not to mention trading DeAngelo Hall. So, basically there is no one left on the team that I like.

Anyways, I’m getting off of the subject. While we were at the bar my roomate tells me, very matter-of-factly, that the football draft is much more in depth and requires much more research than the baseball draft. I was speechless. I actually don’t think I spoke with him the remainder of the time we were there. In football you identify your areas of need…you pick the best available player at that area (or if you select high enough, you might just take the BPA period)...and then you plug him in. He only plays one side of the ball. Whereas in baseball you have to take into account the rosters of at least 4 teams when you include the minor leagues, you have to take into account which side of the plate the batter swings from, whether or not the player can provide the right amount of power to play a corner outfield position, whether or not the player’s offense is good enough to erase any concerns about his poor defense, etc, etc.

It’s no contest in my mind, but I’ve accepted the fact that most Americans really do believe that there is more to football. It’s laughable, but it’s true. That’s why I tend to stay away from arguements about football, and that when I run into a baseball fan that doesn’t even know what Baseball Prospectus is I normally don’t even bother wasting my time with them.

that more people don’t like baseball because you have to use your brain to understand it. It is a more nuanced game. Let’s face it, there are a lot of dumb people out there, or at least a lot of lazy-brained people. On the other hand, I’m not saying you have to be dumb to enjoy football or basketball. I love baseball, and I’m a huge fan of college basketball and to a lesser extent, college football. The NBA and NFL, not so much, but I’ve never really analyzed why.

I love ‘em both, but in different ways.

Football is an exciting game, and there’s much less of them, so everything matters a little more, plus it’s easier to plan around and you don’t take the games for granted. I’m both a Braves fan and an LSU fan. It would be all but impossible to watch every Braves game, but I never miss an LSU game that comes on TV.

Baseball is a more subtle game, though, and more relaxing. It’s easy to see a guy get tackled, but it takes a trained eye to spot the differences between a fastball and changeup, or whether a pitcher is getting his breaking balls to break. It’s not any less fun, just different.

I can’t buy Joe Buck’s argument that people don’t watch baseball because it’s slow and boring. Anyone kept time in a football game lately? Some of those things go on for 4 or more hours! And I sure don’t sit there the whole time and watch. Sometime about the second and third quarters, I get ancy, walk around, do other stuff, and watch some more. Anyone ever GO to a football game for that matter? It’s not like they play continuously either! Plays last for like 10 seconds, then they huddle, go over game plans, set up, and finally snap the ball. There are TV time outs, officials time outs, instant replay, etc, etc. And, nothing like watching a team run out the clock!!

But, to make a short story long, I think it really boils down to the fact that there are so few football games, so everything matters a whole lot more, which makes it more intense and exciting, and then ESPN etc. play off that excitement and so they have created this huge animal via snowball effect.