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The 30 or so other posters who replied seem to care even though they did not come up with the same conclusion as me.
How can any of these so called American Pastimes continue to be popular if they are not popular with the rapidly growing immigrant population?
Do you see a very large immigrant population at Professional Baseball, Football, Hockey and Golf games?
I don't think you could legally have some of the spectator sports the majority of immigrants favor......Chicken fights...Bull Fighting etc.....Maybe soccer will take off? Whatever it is theres always going to some type of spectator sports....Have to keep the masses happy somehow! Maybe rollerball or deathrace!!!!
When I go to a baseball, football or any sporting event whether it be pro or amateur, I see sporting fans enjoying a game. I don't care as to what the color of their skin is.
I just wonder what would make you even think of creating a thread of such a topic?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Weekend Traveler
The 30 or so other posters who replied seem to care even though they did not come up with the same conclusion as me.
How can any of these so called American Pastimes continue to be popular if they are not popular with the rapidly growing immigrant population?
Do you see a very large immigrant population at Professional Baseball, Football, Hockey and Golf games?
Was there football after the American revolution? How about baseball? Basketball? Hockey?
No, those sports and others either were created here or were imported. We adopted what we liked in some cases after some modifications.
At the same time immigrants did adopt many of our favorite entertainments that included sports.
Even today, many immigrants may helped make soccer more popular but they also have adopted football, baseball, and basketball. Actually baseball and basketball are very popular in other countries to the point that we have stopped being the sole powerhouse on those sports. Many immigrants do come liking those sports already.
Football is getting to be more popular in other countries also. Actually in some of those countries they may not have a league but do watch our teams on their cable channels.
What may happen is that some of the sport my loose some of the monopoly so to speak but there will be people that will still like them.
I don't get why people don't get it... it's not about costs or other trivial things like that... it's about the availability of many OTHER things that weren't available before... I am sure TV lead to the decline of the broadway arts, I am sure the internet lead to the decline to reading newspapers... people don't do the limited amount of pasttimes because there is so much more to do that is probably more enjoyable for them then watching baseball which they may occasionally do... its all about individual preference... just because kids don't go out and play in the street isn't a reflection of racial heritage, its cause they are too busy talking on their cellphones or whatnot... it isn't a reflection of racial diversity... its a reflection of entertainment diversity... some people like to do other things more than what they used to do back in the haydays...
I'm going to rant a little bit here. Ive been a Cardinals fan all my life, way back to Marty Marion, and there is something going on in St. Louis that nobody is talking about. The Cardinals have not had an African American playing in 100 games since Reggie Sanders in 2004. The have only one black player now, who is getting playing time only because a regular is injured. This, the team that was a league powerhouse in the '80s with several black superstars leading the way (McGee, Ozzie and Lonnie Smith, Coleman, Pendleton, Hendrick). What's going on?
They have retired the number of the white Ken Boyer, but not the black Willie McGee, although McGee's playing years and stats with the Cards were at least equal if not better than Boyer, and McGee came back (after being traded) to become a huge fan favorite (nearly all white fans, of course) in his declining years. Why do they refuse to retire his number? Why do they not have any black players now? St. Louis city/county combined is 25% black
Baseball in general is a hugely white sport. There are fewer African American players in MLB now than there were in 1980. A decade ago, I went to a lot of games at a junior collee in a half-black town in Florida. Every single baseball player was white. The past two years Ive been going the games of the college team here in south Texas. No black players, only one Hispanic player. We have a team in the Texas Collegiate summer league. Two black players in the entire league, no Hispanic at all. The only black spectator Ive seen is the driver from the visiting team's bus, who came in to watch the game.
I've been to minor league games in about 20 southern cities. Rarely a black person in the crowd. They are so rare, that if there is one, you'd notice him. In Greenville SC, a little group of about 8 members of the family of a Greenville boy on the visiting team, sitting off separately and rooting for him. The rest, all white. Next time you watch a MLB game on TV, look at the crowd shots.
Good questions. African American youth have gravitated towards basketball and football in particular. One reason for this is Proposition 48 which has killed a lot of scholarships for baseball, killed wresting programs, mens volleyball etc.
So, if you are a talented athlete and are lower income and counting on that scholarship...you will be focused on football or basketball.
So, MLB in general has a lot fewer blacks. I cannot speak specifically to St. Louis situation but in general I don't view it as anything sinister on the national level.
I've read several articles on this phenomenon and would be happy to link them if you are interested if I can find them on-line.
I started played soccer over 30 years ago. Hell, I trained for a short period of time for marathons. Hockey was even cool back then. But I watched sports evolve to the point that it is not fun anymore. I don't really care about watching the Olympics. I would rather go watch a co-ed softball game then pay the money to go to a baseball game.
It stopped being fun. It stopped being fun because it had less to do with the actual athletics and all about the cash.
You asked why I would start a debate about ethnic minorities and the changing interests of America. Well first off because it is an interesting topic and by the large number of responses I got to my original posting, it appears others feel that way too. Also as I go to these events I see the audience is like 99% white which is shocking in a metro area that is majority ethnic minorities. I have to assume as America gets more brown these activities will die out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Just One of the Guys
When I go to a baseball, football or any sporting event whether it be pro or amateur, I see sporting fans enjoying a game. I don't care as to what the color of their skin is.
I just wonder what would make you even think of creating a thread of such a topic?
There may be a little truth to this thread, but for the most part I don't put most of the blame on the Hispanics. I can't see what they have to do with the decline of these interests.
For example, our local county fair has a LOT of Hispanic attendees, and I've heard comments about how they are "taking it over". But that doesn't tell me why the whites don't attend. "They" don't stop a vendor from applying to sell his wares there, they don't block off whites at the gate from going in. White families simply stopped going because there are "better" things to do, and perhaps some of them have a stigma in their minds. I think fairs became too hick'ish for some yuppie families. But WE go, every year. A lot of cops parade the grounds (because of gangs), but seeing the brown faces isn't going to stop ME from something we enjoy as long as it doesn't get us into trouble.
I think THE COSTS are the main blame. Most of the pasttimes listed here are exhorbitantly expensive. I can't believe that people pay what they do for concerts. My husband stopped playing golf several years ago. I like to watch a live NBA game once in great while, but nose-bleed seats aren't worth it.
And so are most fairs, by the way. I griped to High Hell last year at paying $11 entrance to the State Fair. Don't know how a family does it. The county fair locally that I mentioned earlier decided to eliminate entrance fees (but still pay to park) and it did indeed boost attendance. That enabled people to spend more inside. One night some of the food booths even ran out of stuff early.
As a black person, here are my experiences/observations:
Baseball- have gone to several games and have many friends that do
Golf- know several black friends taking this up thanks to Tiger
NASCAR- all yours
Hockey-all yours
Rock and Roll- will never die, most of my friends of all colors listen to and appreciate some good rock
Ballet- all yours
Plays, Musicals, Broadway Shows- seriously, we have our own plays and see them frequently. I sometimes go to 3-5 a year
National Parks- will never die
Camping, fishing, Hunting- have several black friends who go camping
Tennis- many people are also taking this up thanks to the Williams sisters
Bowling- love it. I know blacks on leagues.
Cruising-if you mean going on cruises, puh-lease. I know blacks that go every year.
Just because you observe something where you are does not mean it exists everywhere.
As America becomes more Hispanic and brown many of the traditional national past times have seen a decrease in attendance and participation. These include:
Baseball
Golf
NASCAR
Hockey
Rock and Roll
Ballet
Plays
Musicals
Broadway Shows
National Parks
Camping, fishing, Hunting
Tennis
Bowling
Cruising
If you research these traditional pastimes you will find they are basically "white" dominated activities (yes with some small level Hispanic Participation). As our country turns more brown, these activities will continue to lose popularity.
No.
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Because there are so few minorities in the stands
