Sports Seasons/Events: Why Are Some So Short, And Others Never Seem To End?

[lexsooner]

I know it will never happen because everything is driven by money and profits and school, but in a perfect world college football season would be longer. Some seasons are way too long and never seem to end and have many meaningless events: MLB, NASCAR, NHL, NBA. Worst of all, they seem to converge in the fall, when football rules. MLB is ridiculously long and most of the games are totally meaningless. I now know what people mean when they say they are going to "take in a baseball game." It's as much of a spectacle and event and about the surroundings as it is a competitive sporting event. NASCAR is probably even less of a traditional sport. The organizers will interfere to influence outcomes, sort of like a pro wrestling promoter interfering with the match from outside of the ring. NASCAR is a cross between a credible sport and a staged event like pro wrasslin. So MLB and NASCAR finally end right in the heart of football season, and you blink and Spring training has already started as well as the next TRASHCAR season. Worse yet, baseball and NASCAR events go on forever. You can turn on the tv at lunch time and at dinner time the event is still going. Maybe the shortness of the season is one of the reasons why college football is great?

[KantoSooner]

MLB = sticking toothpicks into my eyeballs.

Repeatedly.

[TUSooner]

I know it will never happen because everything is driven by money and profits and school, but in a perfect world college football season would be longer. Some seasons are way too long and never seem to end and have many meaningless events: MLB, NASCAR, NHL, NBA. Worst of all, they seem to converge in the fall, when football rules. MLB is ridiculously long and most of the games are totally meaningless. I now know what people mean when they say they are going to "take in a baseball game." It's as much of a spectacle and event and about the surroundings as it is a competitive sporting event. NASCAR is probably even less of a traditional sport. The organizers will interfere to influence outcomes, sort of like a pro wrestling promoter interfering with the match from outside of the ring. NASCAR is a cross between a credible sport and a staged event like pro wrasslin. So MLB and NASCAR finally end right in the heart of football season, and you blink and Spring training has already started as well as the next TRASHCAR season. Worse yet, baseball and NASCAR events go on forever. You can turn on the tv at lunch time and at dinner time the event is still going. Maybe the shortness of the season is one of the reasons why college football is great?

I find little to disagree with there, but have no answer -- as if there really is one. I happen to like a long, leisurely baseball season, but think the NBA should go on strike and never return. I like the hockey, but the NHL on TV is not an awesome thing. And what is this "Nascar" thing of which you speak? I have heard that some people watch fast cars drive in noisy circles arund fat people drinking beer and getting sunburned; is that it? Each to his own taste, of course.

It sure does seem like college football season speeds by in a big hurry, though. And that gap between the end of the season and the big bowl games is hideous. Perhaps they could fill the time with something like, I dunno, a playoff maybe?

For the longest season, consider the English Premier League. It starts in August and ends in May, and there is no playoff.

[TUSooner]

MLB = sticking toothpicks into my eyeballs.

Repeatedly.
Psssst. Change the channel. YWIA. :wink:

[NormanPride]

Football would not be so delicious were the offseason not so excruciating.

Baseball sucks because no game means anything.

[KantoSooner]

Psssst. Change the channel. YWIA. :wink:

Of course, and that's what I do. But any sport that requires you get up and move around 2/3 of the way through a game just to ward off the possibilty of falling asleep or developing deep vein thrombosis has issues.

[lexsooner]

I find little to disagree with there, but have no answer -- as if there really is one. I happen to like a long, leisurely baseball season, but think the NBA should go on strike and never return. I like the hockey, but the NHL on TV is not an awesome thing. And what is this "Nascar" thing of which you speak? I have heard that some people watch fast cars drive in noisy circles arund fat people drinking beer and getting sunburned; is that it? Each to his own taste, of course.

It sure does seem like college football season speeds by in a big hurry, though. And that gap between the end of the season and the big bowl games is hideous. Perhaps they could fill the time with something like, I dunno, a playoff maybe?

For the longest season, consider the English Premier League. It starts in August and ends in May, and there is no playoff.

The NBA playoffs can be interesting, especially if the Thunder are in it. That is the only time they play hard the whole season. NHL is milding amusing. I liked it when the Bruins won the Cup - I remember them from their farm team days in OKC.

The Premier League is so long because there is no other real sport in England. They suck so bad at most sports that it is about the only game in town. Oh wait, the best players in the Premier League are imports from the continent, S. America, and Africa.

TRASHCAR should start in winter and end at the end of summer. Their redneck fans need to focus on their other great love - college football - and with TRASHCAR going it can be too much. They can race in the winter in the South where it is warm. Besides, 99% of their hardcore fans live there. I'd like to see the Chase be decided by a grand finale demolition derby.

MLB should cut about 20-30 games from its season and finish in early fall, like September.

[8timechamps]

I'm not a redneck, and I can't do much to my car other than the occasional oil change, however, I love NASCAR. If you don't like it, then you don't "get it", like any other sport.

Not sure what you mean by NASCAR not being a "traditional" sport, but the roots of the sport go pretty far back, however, it's only been in the past decade or so that it's become nation wide. It's this countries largest spectator sport. However, I can appreciate that it's not for everyone...just as I can't stand the sight of a soccer game, many people can't stand NASCAR.

In the end, football is king, and the problem is that it's one of the shortest season sports. So, it makes all the other sports seem long (which they are by comparison).

[8timechamps]

Football would not be so delicious were the offseason not so excruciating.

Baseball sucks because no game means anything.

Yep. You get what, 8 teams in the playoff (and really only 4 are best-of-seven teams)? And they take forever...so, unless you're a fan of one of those four teams, you really don't care about any of it except the game that clinches the World Series (and even then, we only watch for the celebration)

[Jacie]

Third best thing to happen in sports this year? After college and then pro football? The NBA may go on strike! Now if only we could get the NHL owners to lock out their guys . . .

[TUSooner]

Philosophically, I believe every game means something intrinsically, whether it's game 7 of the World Series or some Tuesday night game in August between cellar-dwellers. That goes for any sport. If not, why play at all? This idea that every game has to have implications for "the championship" (often fleeting in any event) is a symptom of a spoiled society with an endless demand for more and more amusement. Nobody seems able to appreciate a simple thing any more. I'd rather have watched a mediocre 90s Sooner team play Iowa St than watch Game 7 of any NBA championship. Games should be considered good in themselves. <dismounts pulpit>

[8timechamps]

Philosophically, I believe every game means something intrinsically, whether it's game 7 of the World Series or some Tuesday night game in August between cellar-dwellers. That goes for any sport. If not, why play at all? This idea that every game has to have implications for "the championship" (often fleeting in any event) is a symptom of a spoiled society with an endless demand for more and more amusement. Nobody seems able to appreciate a simple thing any more. I'd rather have watched a mediocre 90s Sooner team play Iowa St than watch Game 7 of any NBA championship. Games should be considered good in themselves. <dismounts pulpit>

I get what you're saying, but how much does a Tuesday night game between the Mariners and the Orioles mean to YOU (unless you're a huge M's or O's fan)?

Technically, you're right. But, since I'm ALWAYS right...you're wrong :P

[Flagstaffsooner]

nascar a sport? I dont see driving a car around in circles a sport. Have you ever driven on Loop 610 in Houston? Now that's sport.

BTW, golf is not a sport; is is a game, much like tidleywinks.

[TUSooner]

I get what you're saying, but how much does a Tuesday night game between the Mariners and the Orioles mean to YOU (unless you're a huge M's or O's fan)?

Technically, you're right. But, since I'm ALWAYS right...you're wrong :P

No game in the American League has any meaning ever.

Well, yeah, I would not stay up past my bedtime to watch a game not involving the Dodgers. And I'd prob'ly fall asleep watcing them. But you're ruining my philosophical rant and social indictment with your unwelcome references to reality. Stop it.

[TUSooner]

nascar a sport? I dont see driving a car around in circles a sport. Have you ever driven on Loop 610 in Houston? Now that's sport.

BTW, golf is not a sport; is is a game, much like tidleywinks.

Golf is a sport because it's competitive, it requires physical skill, it's outdoors, you can get hurt, sore or sweaty playing it, and -- most importantly - they make special shoes for it.
NASCAR is maybe barely a sport.
Poker and chess are games, and neither has any business being on ESPN.

[OhU1]

I've been a baseball fan since I was a child but like seemingly everyone else football has by far become my #1. I think baseball would have more fans in today's world if the games were shorter (7 innings, time restrictions of pitching changes, mound meetings, ect.) and the season was 20-30 games shorter. Baseball should open in May and conclude by Labor Day.

Unfortunately football is too physically demanding by its nature to extend the season beyond what it already is without risking serious wear and tear and injuries.

I don't care much about NASCAR, I've tried to get into it before just to see what the fuss was about. If there were 15 races and 1 circuit to keep track of perhaps I might have made more of an effort. To each his own.

[lexsooner]

Golf is a sport because it's competitive, it requires physical skill, it's outdoors, you can get hurt, sore or sweaty playing it, and -- most importantly - they make special shoes for it.
NASCAR is maybe barely a sport.
Poker and chess are games, and neither has any business being on ESPN.

I agree that motor car racing is a sport. Racers need tremendous reflexes and judgment and even physical conditioning for the racing involving high g forces - Indy, F1. However, NASCAR is unlike other motor sports and is a quasi-sport because the organizers consistently interfere and manipulate the races to make it more competitive or help favorites win. I'm not saying it is all pre-determined, but rather they throw phony caution flags or change the rules on HP mid-season if one team is winning too much. At best it is a sport which seriously lacks credibility. At worst, it is a mere spectacle on the level of tractor pulls and Evil Knievel flying in a rocket across the Snake River gorge.

Maybe the difference between a sport and a game is the former requires some amount of specialized physical motor skill to succeed.

[lexsooner]

I've been a baseball fan since I was a child but like seemingly everyone else football has by far become my #1. I think baseball would have more fans in today's world if the games were shorter (7 innings, time restrictions of pitching changes, mound meetings, ect.) and the season was 20-30 games shorter. Baseball should open in May and conclude by Labor Day.

Unfortunately football is too physically demanding by its nature to extend the season beyond what it already is without risking serious wear and tear and injuries.

I don't care much about NASCAR, I've tried to get into it before just to see what the fuss was about. If there were 15 races and 1 circuit to keep track of perhaps I might have made more of an effort. To each his own.

I agree that MLB has contributed to its decline in popularity. The season is dreadfully long, the games slow and dreadfully long, and most games are dreadfully meaningless in terms of their significance to getting to or winning the playoffs. The powers to be in MLB have been slow to change anything. Interleague games during the regular season, wildcards - huge changes by the standards of the stodgy old baseball men. Of course another factor is the rise of Latin American players and decline of Americans playing in the majors. I think much of the appeal of NASCAR is the fact nearly all the drivers are white American boys.

[8timechamps]

I agree that motor car racing is a sport. Racers need tremendous reflexes and judgment and even physical conditioning for the racing involving high g forces - Indy, F1. However, NASCAR is unlike other motor sports and is a quasi-sport because the organizers consistently interfere and manipulate the races to make it more competitive or help favorites win. I'm not saying it is all pre-determined, but rather they throw phony caution flags or change the rules on HP mid-season if one team is winning too much. At best it is a sport which seriously lacks credibility. At worst, it is a mere spectacle on the level of tractor pulls and Evil Knievel flying in a rocket across the Snake River gorge.

Maybe the difference between a sport and a game is the former requires some amount of specialized physical motor skill to succeed.

I can see why a casual fan might think that NASCAR is a manipulated event, but I have to disagree. Maybe a long time ago, before it became so popular nationally, but not now. When I hear that argument, I always ask "If you had millions of dollars invested in something you believed was a fair competition, and you perceived a manipulation by the governing body, would you sit quietly by and allow it to happen?". Of course you wouldn't, and neither would the car/team owners.

Now, I do think there are events that are questionable, but that is true of every sport out there.

I've never gotten too in to the "is it a sport" question, because I think that depends on your own idea of what is "sport" and what isn't. I do think that today's drivers are athletes. Not on the same level as a pro football or hockey player, but athletes nonetheless.

[lexsooner]

I can see why a casual fan might think that NASCAR is a manipulated event, but I have to disagree. Maybe a long time ago, before it became so popular nationally, but not now. When I hear that argument, I always ask "If you had millions of dollars invested in something you believed was a fair competition, and you perceived a manipulation by the governing body, would you sit quietly by and allow it to happen?". Of course you wouldn't, and neither would the car/team owners.

Now, I do think there are events that are questionable, but that is true of every sport out there.

I've never gotten too in to the "is it a sport" question, because I think that depends on your own idea of what is "sport" and what isn't. I do think that today's drivers are athletes. Not on the same level as a pro football or hockey player, but athletes nonetheless.

I get the impression the drivers and team owners don't like these interventions, but accept it as the way thing are in NASCAR. In fact, I recall that whenever it happens, the drivers say they were expecting it, which is pretty much an admission that it was a phony debris caution to make the race closer. I think the mid-season hp rule changes are a matter of fact. Don't recall the details, though. I remember one team or manufacturer was winning too much with cars that had more hp and their better engines were totally within the rules, so the losing teams complained and NASCAR changed the rules mid-season and essentially punished the team with the better engine by making them reduce their hp to match the engine power of the losing teams. This would be like our Big XII opponents complaining that OU wins too much and builds better teams, so the NCAA intervenes in the middle of a season and makes some of our players ineligible in order to make things closer. The fake cautions are like a one-sided football game in which an official runs into the booth and takes points away from the winning team on the scoreboard in order to make the game more exciting.

[cleller]

It has to do with how much money ESPN can make off them.

[8timechamps]

I get the impression the drivers and team owners don't like these interventions, but accept it as the way thing are in NASCAR. In fact, I recall that whenever it happens, the drivers say they were expecting it, which is pretty much an admission that it was a phony debris caution to make the race closer. I think the mid-season hp rule changes are a matter of fact. Don't recall the details, though. I remember one team or manufacturer was winning too much with cars that had more hp and their better engines were totally within the rules, so the losing teams complained and NASCAR changed the rules mid-season and essentially punished the team with the better engine by making them reduce their hp to match the engine power of the losing teams. This would be like our Big XII opponents complaining that OU wins too much and builds better teams, so the NCAA intervenes in the middle of a season and makes some of our players ineligible in order to make things closer. The fake cautions are like a one-sided football game in which an official runs into the booth and takes points away from the winning team on the scoreboard in order to make the game more exciting.

If I'm on the same page with the hp rule, it was in the Nationwide series a couple of years ago, and it seems like it was a product of Toyota making more hp than the other manufacturers. So, you do have a point there. Although, it seems like there was some issue regarding falsifying testing on Toyota engines that allowed them to show less hp during inspection (had something to do with the car chiefs putting a small magnet under the accelerator so that it wouldn't run wide open, then removing it prior to the race). But yeah, that looked bad any way you sliced it.

There is no question that the sport is driven by the American manufacturers, but that's no different than the F1 series and the European automakers. Same it true with the yellow flags, the only real difference is that F1 doesn't race on ovals, so there are far less full course cautions. Not to mention that F1 is light years ahead of NASCAR in terms of allowing all manufacturers to push the envelope of performance.

The other thing is that since NASCAR is a spectator sport, nobody wants to see a driver win a race by two laps over the next closest guy. So, I do think there are times when NASCAR throws a yellow to tighten up the field. NASCAR is such a fluid sport though, and has a long way to go to make it a true "level" playing field. I think all the tweaks they make each year are steps in the right direction.

Even in the races where there is a mysterious yellow flag close to the end, the driver (or drivers) that have dominated most of the race usually end up winning. Driver (and teams) know when they have a car capable of winning, and when they have a car that's a top 10 finisher. I truely don't think NASCAR has some hidden agenda to fix the races. If that were the case, Dale Earnhardt Jr. wouldn't be on such a long winless streak, after all, he is the sports most popular driver.

[lexsooner]

If I'm on the same page with the hp rule, it was in the Nationwide series a couple of years ago, and it seems like it was a product of Toyota making more hp than the other manufacturers. So, you do have a point there. Although, it seems like there was some issue regarding falsifying testing on Toyota engines that allowed them to show less hp during inspection (had something to do with the car chiefs putting a small magnet under the accelerator so that it wouldn't run wide open, then removing it prior to the race). But yeah, that looked bad any way you sliced it.

There is no question that the sport is driven by the American manufacturers, but that's no different than the F1 series and the European automakers. Same it true with the yellow flags, the only real difference is that F1 doesn't race on ovals, so there are far less full course cautions. Not to mention that F1 is light years ahead of NASCAR in terms of allowing all manufacturers to push the envelope of performance.

The other thing is that since NASCAR is a spectator sport, nobody wants to see a driver win a race by two laps over the next closest guy. So, I do think there are times when NASCAR throws a yellow to tighten up the field. NASCAR is such a fluid sport though, and has a long way to go to make it a true "level" playing field. I think all the tweaks they make each year are steps in the right direction.

Even in the races where there is a mysterious yellow flag close to the end, the driver (or drivers) that have dominated most of the race usually end up winning. Driver (and teams) know when they have a car capable of winning, and when they have a car that's a top 10 finisher. I truely don't think NASCAR has some hidden agenda to fix the races. If that were the case, Dale Earnhardt Jr. wouldn't be on such a long winless streak, after all, he is the sports most popular driver.

Nice post, thanks, that was it - the Toyota engine controversy. It was talked about a lot here in Central Kentucky because Toyota is the life blood of the local economy. I seem to recall lots of serious NASCAR fans did not like that mid-season rule change. Maybe I am a purist, but I just can't see deliberately intervening in a race or another other sport in order to make it more exciting. Yes, it might make that particular race closer and more interesting for the fans, but I think on a larger level it errodes NASCAR's position as a legitimate sport. To reiterate, I don't believe they intervene to necessarily help or hurt any particular driver, but they do so to make the race more entertaining.

To be fair, the NASCAR racing itself is a lot more interesting to watch than F1. F1 cars are amazing feats of technology, but once someone gets in the lead, unless he wrecks or breaks down, he will win. There is little passing or chances to pass on those road courses. I think F1 fans care as much about the constructor, technology, and teams than they do the racing. NASCAR is decades old outdated technology, but the races are more interesting. Just get rid of the unnecessary interventions and the sport would be so much better.

[silverwheels]

I'd be fine if NASCAR ceased to exist, at least on television. I hope the NBA lockout is resolved at least by the end of the NFL season, hopefully way before then, to have a sport besides European soccer to pay attention to in the winter/spring. NHL needs to get back on ESPN.