Chris Rock rants about the lack of African-Americans in baseball (HBO's Real Sports)

[TMC1982]

Among his points:

– it’s too slow

– the old fashioned code is a problem

– it’s too expensive

 

[Ronnie-]

Baseball is dying Chris? Someone better tell them.


http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-b...first-two-weeks-of-2015-season-185440752.html

While many people still like to moan and groan that baseball is dying, the numbers continue to tell the opposite story. And the latest data from MLB tell us that the start of the 2015 season further punctuates that.

In fact, the start of the new season was so popular it broke attendance records, according to these nuggets announced by the league Monday

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-b...ch-a-record--9-billion-in-2014-210652796.html

Major League Baseball's revenues are up 13 percent, according to Forbes, reaching a record $9 billion for 2014. That's $1 billion more than 2013

As Forbes notes, MLB's revenues have grown 321 percent since 1995.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-b...-of-mlb-teams-are-skyrocketing-192424682.html

Forbes published its annual list of MLB team values and profits Wednesday, and here's the big headline: Baseball has never been so profitable and teams have never been so valuable.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

Someone could make the same arguement about Basketball.

Not enough white guys
Expensive
The game is boring and nothing matters except for the final quarter.

 

[bobvick]

The baseball teams for Alabama State and Alabama A&M, the State's two public historically black colleges, are predominately if not nearly wholly white.

 

[Ronnie-]

The baseball teams for Alabama State and Alabama A&M, the State's two public historically black colleges, are predominately if not nearly wholly white.

Thats a trend that likely holds across the nation.

 

[EarDemon]

I would really love to stop watching Real Sports, but they do have some very nice pieces on occasion. I like the stuff on e-sports, the Boomer Esiason/CF story and countless other things they’ve done over the years. The show is extremely biased and has a knack for blaming everything on ‘old rich white men’ without specifically saying so. I almost stopped watching the show after an episode last year where they did a piece on youth and gun sports, which was pure garbage. Living in a rural area and growing up around firearms, that piece looked to be so heavily edited to purposely push an agenda.

This year Real Sports is celebrating their 20th year with commentary from comedians. So far none have been very funny, they are just there to further push Bryant Gumble’s agenda. The Chris Rock segment was stupid. If Larry The Cable Guy would have said the same thing but replace the sports league from MLB to NBA and change the color from white to black, can you imagine the reaction? You’d have meaningless words like racist, bigot, intolerance and redneck thrown around. It’s the double standard that is accepted by bleeding hearts.

Quickly Googling it, the MLB is 60% white, 9.5% black. The US as a whole is 72.5% white, 12.5% black. So I don’t see what the big deal is. The numbers aren’t that different. Maybe Rock would like a baseball league where it was only black players? Then he would have nothing to cry about. I believe that was done once before. I was really surprised he compared MLB fans to the Tea Party. I thought for sure when he said white and 53 he was going to compare it to either a Klan rally or the kryptonite of every bleeding heart, the audience of Fox News.

Basically what I got out of Rock’s hissy fit was he no longer likes or follows baseball because there are too many white players and too many white fans.

 

[Kraven]

Someone could make the same arguement about Basketball.

Not enough white guys
Expensive
The game is boring and nothing matters except for the final quarter.

Not enough Canadians. Last one we shipped down there finished his career w/ 2 MVP titles... Name sounded a lot like Flash...

 

[TNGTony]

Please watch the video before commenting.
Caution, some language


Chris Rock did a bit on Real Sports. It wasn't just about blacks in baseball, but the current trend in baseball to be an old white guy's sport. The average baseball fan is white, male, and 53. So that is exactly me!
So why is it that the younger generation finds the game slow and uninteresting? An average football game which takes over 3 hours to play (60 game minutes) has a whopping total of 11 minutes of real game action that actually counts towards the game. That's from snap to whistle.
There are, on average 70% more commercial breaks during a football game than a baseball game. The commercial breaks are longer during football than during baseball. But still, many find baseball boring and football the most exciting thing since the Cyclone at Coney Island!
I don't get it. I love football, but I still like baseball. I find it difficult to understand how others don't. Baseball's apparent pauses in action are filled with just as much drama and anticipation as football's to those who are into the game. Watching today's 2-1 Reds win over Milwaukee was riveting. It had me on the edge of my seat by the end! Hanging on every pitch, and getting more excited during the pauses as everyone sets. The feelings are the same ones I get as I await the next play in football.

In Chris' dissertation, he brings up that the game isn't jazzed up enough and needs more going on. I sort of get that when it come to the players appearing as if they are just at the office and seem to see the fans as an inconvenience. You get the feeling that they would rather be doing this at a knothole park with no one in the stands. But don't mess with the game. Take the side shows and leave them on the side and out of sight for those that came for the show at center ring.
Anyway, enjoy this pretty well thought out bit by Rock. WARNING...Some foul language.

 

[salsadancer7]

I think it was very funny and very insightful. I played baseball in the inner city and is a little older the Chris Rock. When I played, there were tons of black kids that played as compared to now.

 

[Jimbo]

Please watch the video before commenting.
Caution, some language


Chris Rock did a bit on Real Sports. It wasn't just about blacks in baseball, but the current trend in baseball to be an old white guy's sport. The average baseball fan is white, male, and 53. So that is exactly me!
So why is it that the younger generation finds the game slow and uninteresting? An average football game which takes over 3 hours to play (60 game minutes) has a whopping total of 11 minutes of real game action that actually counts towards the game. That's from snap to whistle.
There are, on average 70% more commercial breaks during a football game than a baseball game. The commercial breaks are longer during football than during baseball. But still, many find baseball boring and football the most exciting thing since the Cyclone at Coney Island!
I don't get it. I love football, but I still like baseball. I find it difficult to understand how others don't. Baseball's apparent pauses in action are filled with just as much drama and anticipation as football's to those who are into the game. Watching today's 2-1 Reds win over Milwaukee was riveting. It had me on the edge of my seat by the end! Hanging on every pitch, and getting more excited during the pauses as everyone sets. The feelings are the same ones I get as I await the next play in football.

In Chris' dissertation, he brings up that the game isn't jazzed up enough and needs more going on. I sort of get that when it come to the players appearing as if they are just at the office and seem to see the fans as an inconvenience. You get the feeling that they would rather be doing this at a knothole park with no one in the stands. But don't mess with the game. Take the side shows and leave them on the side and out of sight for those that came for the show at center ring.
Anyway, enjoy this pretty well thought out bit by Rock. WARNING...Some foul language.

Problem is, we now live in a Instant results world ... if you need a score, no need waiting for the next set of scores to scroll around, use to be top and bottom of the hour. Nope, look it up, its available now on line in a matter of seconds.

Everything is RUSHED in life anymore .... Its really sad that this is what life has evolved too.

 

[TNGTony]

The thing is the instant, rushed lifestyle is just as present for football. Why is it people will hang around for 3 and a half hours to watch 11 minutes of actual action, but complain about a 3 hour baseball game being slow?

 

[Claude Greiner]

Someone could make the same arguement about Basketball.

Not enough white guys
Expensive
The game is boring and nothing matters except for the final quarter.

Believe it or not, there are no black people at baseball, hockey and basketball games in Detroit.

Not sure about football as I don't go to the games.

 

[Jimbo]

The thing is the instant, rushed lifestyle is just as present for football. Why is it people will hang around for 3 and a half hours to watch 11 minutes of actual action, but complain about a 3 hour baseball game being slow?

At least theres Action every 30 seconds or so ?

Baseball could be much longer ?

Not sure really ... personally, I like both games, Football MUCH more, both College and Pro, but I watch baseball thru the year.

It use to bring the beginning of SPRING (start of baseball), not so much this year, there was snow in Detroit the other day and I think 38*.
This morning it's a balmy 28*.

 

[Nebugeater]

I like and watch both but I summarize the difference as follows.

Football is like watching a demolition derby. Very entertaining but you can watch without being fully ingauged in the game.
Baseball is like watching a chess match. Very entertaining but you need to stay in tune with what is happening for it to be.

Please watch the video before commenting.
Caution, some language


Chris Rock did a bit on Real Sports. It wasn't just about blacks in baseball, but the current trend in baseball to be an old white guy's sport. The average baseball fan is white, male, and 53. So that is exactly me!
So why is it that the younger generation finds the game slow and uninteresting? An average football game which takes over 3 hours to play (60 game minutes) has a whopping total of 11 minutes of real game action that actually counts towards the game. That's from snap to whistle.
There are, on average 70% more commercial breaks during a football game than a baseball game. The commercial breaks are longer during football than during baseball. But still, many find baseball boring and football the most exciting thing since the Cyclone at Coney Island!
I don't get it. I love football, but I still like baseball. I find it difficult to understand how others don't. Baseball's apparent pauses in action are filled with just as much drama and anticipation as football's to those who are into the game. Watching today's 2-1 Reds win over Milwaukee was riveting. It had me on the edge of my seat by the end! Hanging on every pitch, and getting more excited during the pauses as everyone sets. The feelings are the same ones I get as I await the next play in football.

In Chris' dissertation, he brings up that the game isn't jazzed up enough and needs more going on. I sort of get that when it come to the players appearing as if they are just at the office and seem to see the fans as an inconvenience. You get the feeling that they would rather be doing this at a knothole park with no one in the stands. But don't mess with the game. Take the side shows and leave them on the side and out of sight for those that came for the show at center ring.
Anyway, enjoy this pretty well thought out bit by Rock. WARNING...Some foul language.

 

[cosmo_kramer]

The "Expensive" point can be made about any major league sport.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ronnie-]

The thing is the instant, rushed lifestyle is just as present for football. Why is it people will hang around for 3 and a half hours to watch 11 minutes of actual action, but complain about a 3 hour baseball game being slow?

Generally the action in football is more explosive and more metered throughout the contest. Whereas baseball can have long drawn out sections where while there is gameplay, there is very little energetic action occurring.

I played baseball for 17 years, and football for only 4 in comparison, so while I did prefer playing baseball, I much prefer watching football.

 

[Juan]

Baseball is better at the stadium..football is better on tv

 

[Ronnie-]

Baseball is better at the stadium..football is better on tv

I like both better at the stadium personally.
Although one does see more of a football game at home on the tv.

 

[Juan]

I like both better at the stadium personally.
Although on does see more of a football game at home on the tv.

The seat license issue killed football for me.I can still see a good quality AAA game at a reasonable cost

 

[TNGTony]

I can ALMOST see the point of something happening every minute or so in football and not in baseball IF and ONLY if your definition of "something happening" is a someone getting a hit. To me, every pitch is "something happening". Defense is as entertaining as offense. It's like complaining about a "chorus line" football game (you, know... 1-2-3-kick! 1-2-3-kick). Some people's heads explode in excitement over a 3-0 overtime football game, while they complain about a boring baseball game.

It is definitely a matter of perception.