The BIggest Difference Between Baseball and Football

[andyfox]

Baseball star Rafael Palmiero, handsome,well-built, and articulate, pushes Viagra.

Mike Ditka uses Levitra.

'Nuff said?

No pun intended, BTW, in the title of this post.

[B-Man]

The biggest difference between football and baseball is that in football, any team can win the Super Bowl, and even the worst teams can improve enough to win a championship very quickly (the 1999 Rams and the 2001 Patriots, both of which won the Super Bowl, each finished last the previous season).

Baseball is simply not as competetive. It's dominated by a few big market teams that have more money to spend than everyone else (the 2003 Marlins being a major exception).

The NFL's salary cap and revenue sharing provide an ultra-competitive league. Pete Rozelle's dream has come true (though he is not around to see it). The days of dynasties, like the Steelers of the 70s, the 49'ers of the 80s, and the Cowboys of the 90s, are over (though I am hoping the Patriots of the 2000s can join that club). In the NFL today, no team can dominate for too long, and everyone has a chance.

Baseball used to be my favorite sport, and I still love the Red Sox. But the NFL has far better management and provides a superior product. That's why it is the best sport.

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

Baseball is run like free-market capitalism. Football is run like a socialist collective.

That being said, I'll take the Patriots over the Red Sox any day. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[B-Man]

Interesting point. I guess this is one situation (perhaps the only situation) where I prefer a socialist system over a free market system.

[elwoodblues]

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Baseball is run like free-market capitalism. Football is run like a socialist collective.


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I think what distinguishes Baseball from Football is how they (the team owners) have defined the competition. The NFL owners seem to have defined the competition as the other professional sports leagues competing for television revenue. Baseball owners have defined the competition as other Baseball owners. The result of this is that the NFL has created rules to create the best league while the Baseball owners have created rules to create the best individual teams.

[adios]

The big difference between the two is local TV money. The Yankees from what I understand make $100 million+ from local TV. I have no idea what some team like the KC Royals or Pittsburgh Pirates make but it's not anywhere close I know that. National TV coverage for baseball in it's current form of all games is totally impractical. Too many friggen games. In the NFL this is not the case and it's very workable to have all games covered under such contracts. TV revenue streams are the major difference between the two.