The Patriot Post® · More Americans Now Like European Sport

It wasn’t that long ago that baseball was considered America’s national pastime. Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Stan Musial, Joe DiMaggio, Sandy Koufax, Hank Aaron, Cal Ripken — we could go on and on with its celebrated stars. And that’s not to mention today’s stars, like Clayton Kershaw, Giancarlo Stanton, Mike Trout and others. In recent decades, of course, football has largely eclipsed baseball as America’s favorite sport. But ever since the national anthem became a politicized source of ungrateful discontent among the NFL’s overpaid players, American enthusiasm for the gridiron contest has waned, too.

Well, a recent poll brings even more troubling news: Just 9% of Americans say America’s pastime is still their favorite sport, and among Americans under 55, fewer of them like baseball than the other kind of football. That’s right; soccer has gained immensely in popularity.

Now, don’t get us wrong. There’s something entertaining about the shorter length and constant action of soccer — you know, if you like 90 minutes of monotony settled by a 0-0 tie, which, incidentally, is what we blame for the regular soccer game riots around the world. But baseball once was the showcase of American exceptionalism. If we are now to favor soccer, the international, European sport, how are we ever going to Make America Great Again?

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Full disclosure: The author has five kids, three of whom have played baseball, and four who’ve played soccer. Tongue is at least partly planted in cheek.