World Series at a Neutral Site?
Last week, the Phillies/Rays had Game 5--which was a critical game, because either the Phillies would win the World Series or they’d go on to Game 6--postponed/suspended/delayed by rain. I forget the official call because I have a mind like a bad hockey goalie*. It was delayed by about 48 hours. This led many people saying that maybe the World Series should be played in a neutral site, like the Super Bowl (which is not necessarily neutral, from my understanding. A team could play the Super Bowl in their own stadium by making it there in a year their stadium was selected to host the superbowl). As far as I know, every other major sport plays their final championship as a series, with the games held in each team’s home field/court/ice.
As a fan of a couple of local major sports (hockey and baseball), I like the home field/ice. Playing at home does give the home team an advantage, usually, but that’s not what I’m concerned about. Every fan of every team really wants to see their team win it all--the Stanley Cup, the World Series, the Super Bowl, the NBA Championship. The season ticket holders are given first dibs to the playoff tickets. This makes sense. The fans that supported the team all year get to see the team in the playoffs, and if they make it to the ultimate game, they might get to see their team win it all. The Phillies fans have seen a lot of losses in their years as fans. But this year, they got to see a World Series win.
Now, granted, during a playoff run, there are a lot of fans that aren’t die-hard showing up. That doesn’t necessarily make them bandwagon jumpers. But the die-hard fans who sit through some pretty miserable games? I’m of the opinion that they deserve to be there as their team plays in the play-offs. Even if the winning game is on the road, the fans will still get to see at least two playoff games at home (in the first round, if the team loses, the fans may only get to see one playoff game at home, but my point stands: fans will get to see one playoff game).
Besides, neutral territory for the World Series won’t work any better than home locations, unless the World Series will only be held in locations with a roof--and we should probably take Florida and Texas teams out of the equation, because of hurricanes, as well as any northern city that is in danger of snowstorms. Even if there is a roof, if people can’t get to the game, they shouldn’t be played. Otherwise, we’re facing the same risks as the current system, in terms of bad weather. And it’s not like it can be decided the day before, because stadiums need to let employees know if they’ll need to work, and fans need to know which city to be in. Thus, to prevent as many weather conflicts as possible, we need a stadium with a roof, in a climate not likely to get snow. I’m just not willing to give all World Series to Seattle and Arizona.
Keep the playoff teams playing at home. In a one-game series, it might make sense to have a neutral site (so no one gets home-field advantage), but in a seven-game series, give them both at least two games of home field advantage. The fans deserve it, and there's no advantage to a neutral site.
*A mind like a sieve. Get it? Anyone? Sigh.
Apparently the NBA has started playing. So, we’re going to keep up with a Minnesota Timberwolves Watch again here on Thursdays, which will be suspended if the Timberwolves manage to keep above a 40% win percentage for any length of time. Fortunately for this blogger, they have a 1-3 start to the year, which puts them tied with six other teams for fourth worst, with three teams with a lower win-percentage. As there are two teams 1-2, but only the LA Clippers without a win (in five games), this race for worst in the NBA is still up in the air! Stay tuned.
As a fan of a couple of local major sports (hockey and baseball), I like the home field/ice. Playing at home does give the home team an advantage, usually, but that’s not what I’m concerned about. Every fan of every team really wants to see their team win it all--the Stanley Cup, the World Series, the Super Bowl, the NBA Championship. The season ticket holders are given first dibs to the playoff tickets. This makes sense. The fans that supported the team all year get to see the team in the playoffs, and if they make it to the ultimate game, they might get to see their team win it all. The Phillies fans have seen a lot of losses in their years as fans. But this year, they got to see a World Series win.
Now, granted, during a playoff run, there are a lot of fans that aren’t die-hard showing up. That doesn’t necessarily make them bandwagon jumpers. But the die-hard fans who sit through some pretty miserable games? I’m of the opinion that they deserve to be there as their team plays in the play-offs. Even if the winning game is on the road, the fans will still get to see at least two playoff games at home (in the first round, if the team loses, the fans may only get to see one playoff game at home, but my point stands: fans will get to see one playoff game).
Besides, neutral territory for the World Series won’t work any better than home locations, unless the World Series will only be held in locations with a roof--and we should probably take Florida and Texas teams out of the equation, because of hurricanes, as well as any northern city that is in danger of snowstorms. Even if there is a roof, if people can’t get to the game, they shouldn’t be played. Otherwise, we’re facing the same risks as the current system, in terms of bad weather. And it’s not like it can be decided the day before, because stadiums need to let employees know if they’ll need to work, and fans need to know which city to be in. Thus, to prevent as many weather conflicts as possible, we need a stadium with a roof, in a climate not likely to get snow. I’m just not willing to give all World Series to Seattle and Arizona.
Keep the playoff teams playing at home. In a one-game series, it might make sense to have a neutral site (so no one gets home-field advantage), but in a seven-game series, give them both at least two games of home field advantage. The fans deserve it, and there's no advantage to a neutral site.
*A mind like a sieve. Get it? Anyone? Sigh.
Apparently the NBA has started playing. So, we’re going to keep up with a Minnesota Timberwolves Watch again here on Thursdays, which will be suspended if the Timberwolves manage to keep above a 40% win percentage for any length of time. Fortunately for this blogger, they have a 1-3 start to the year, which puts them tied with six other teams for fourth worst, with three teams with a lower win-percentage. As there are two teams 1-2, but only the LA Clippers without a win (in five games), this race for worst in the NBA is still up in the air! Stay tuned.
Labels: G-g-g-girl, MLb
posted by thisisbeth | 8:30 AM
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