Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Baseball and the Invisible Couch

Looks like they might be playing baseball tonight. The question is, who cares?

This World Series has been dismal. One game didn't start until 10:30pm because of rain, and another got chopped in half because of rain. Tonight we might get to see the Phillies win after only 3 1/2 innings of work.

I can't blame MLB for the weather, but I can blame them for these ridiculous 8:30 pm start times. When I was a kid I had to lie very quietly on the couch, just out of my dad's peripheral vision, in order to catch the first quarter of Monday Night Football. I couldn't cough, sneeze, sigh, or twitch my foot. If I did, he'd snap his head to the left and say, "You're still up? Time for bed."

Any kid watching the World Series these days must be going through the same hell. They must be as amazed as I was at the pure focus of a father-fan. You can lie on the couch forever and fathers won't notice you. You get to hear them curse, rant, blame the QB, fire the coach, and hang the referee, all from the sanctity of your invisible couch. But take one deep breath, and you're in bed within two minutes.

MLB needs to bring the start times back down to earth and give kids a chance to see the game. Or at least what's left of it.

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