World Series: Ask FOX Why They're Secretly Rooting Against the Cubs
It seems that everyone I talk to or hear from is rooting for the Chicago Cubs to win the World Series. And it’s not that no one likes the Indians, because they always add, “But that Cleveland team is good, too.” No, it’s more of that sentimental thing going on with the Cubs. I’ll tell you a little secret, though. FOX would die to see the Cubs lose.
Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the past month or so, you have to know that it’s been 108 years since the Chicago Cubs won a World Series title. In fact, 108 has become an interesting number and a topic of conversation all of a sudden. Did you know, for instance, that there are 108 seams on a baseball, or that it takes 108 outs to win a World Series? The hype is never ending. But who cares, it’s a good baseball story.
The Cubs Are Living in the Moment
The players don’t care. Well, check that, they care but they don’t care. They live in the moment and it’s a good thing they do because they have enough to think about before they take a stroll down memory lane.
Joe Maddon, manager of the Cubs, told the New York Daily News about how Game 1 got out of hand for his players. “We got out of the zone way too much,” he said. “A lot of our (eight) strikeouts were from chasing pitches. We’ve gotta do better than that.” That could be doublespeak for, “My guys looked like they have their minds more on the hype than they do on the game being played.”
And the fans? Oh, they are absolutely buying into it. The entry city of Chicago has taken a self-proclaimed three-day holiday. Maddon couldn’t even get near Wrigley yesterday without risking running over the crowds that had started gathering in Wrigleyville as early as 10:00 in the morning.
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But there is one group that is gathered at 120 Mederia Drive in Albuquerque, New Mexico that has no interest in the Cubs winning the Series. And they are the FOX executives who have been checking the ratings lately and they’ve been delighted by the fact that whenever the Cubs play, the ratings skyrocket.
Now, they’ve already lost one storyline when the Cubs won their first World Series game since 1945. But they’ve still got the big 108 thing going. But wouldn’t it be great if the Cubs lost and we had this whole thing to talk about all of next year?
So, is that supposed to be breaking news? “TV Executives Only Care About $$”. That’s it? Yes, that’s exactly it. And here’s why.
Baseball Is Bigger Than FOX-TV
Baseball, and fans of baseball, survived more than a century without the graces of FOX present. And FOX may need the hype of 108 and all that for its ratings (read: $$), but fans of this game don’t. All we need is for the games to be played on the field. Because baseball creates its own drama and dreams as each game plays itself out.
FOX, I get the fact that we have to live with you as the only way to watch the World Series. But you don’t have to rub it in with your condescending notion that we need to be “entertained” by anything more than the game of baseball. And for my punishment, if you want I’ll write that 108 times on the blackboard.
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