Root For the Dodgers in the World Series

Posted on October 25, 2017

Description:

I've been more intrigued by the first two games of the World Series than I expected. I even thought about asking a friend to go to a bar to watch game three. But then I thought that maybe baseball fandom is a slippery slope...

I've never been a true sports fan. Closest I got was hiring writers to cover triple A baseball in the pacific northwest. My interest in sports leans more WWE than MLB but a friend introduced me to the numerology of baseball (AKA sabermetrics) and it's pretty compelling.

Years later I'm in LA and the Dodgers are in the world series and maybe I could be a baseball fan... But before we talk about getting addicted and becoming a true fan let's just talk about the gateway drug of watching the world series.

The question is: Should I actively root for the Dodgers, my new home team (I went to one game, the Stadium is great, Rob Lowe was there)? Or should I just keep ignoring baseball. A yes vote means I'll have your blessing to pay close attention to the rest of the series. A no vote means I'll keep spending my free time without watching sports (likely on the computer or reading economic books).



Past Discussion

davehayden ☕️💯 (106.0 shares, voted no)
If you still haven't picked a team two games into the World Series, try again next year.
awmahan 💼☕️ (40.0 shares, voted no)
^ what dave said. if you want to support the Dodgers, do it for a whole year first.
Thomas King (24.0 shares, voted no)
The way I see it, there are a limited number of reasons for KmikeyM to adopt a baseball team: as a casual (but expensive!) business outing; as an exercise in statistics; and as a true fan who develops an emotional connection to a given team. I reject the last option outright. As @davehayden implies, you can't manufacture a genuine love for a team on command, and to do so at this point in life would be to sully the whole enterprise. That kind of love derives from going to the ballpark as a kid and eating Crackerjack and root root rooting, etc. Those days are past. The middle reason also lives on shaky ground. To my mind, while baseball has become more complex and interesting to certain stat-heads, I would argue that its entertainment value to the seasoned fan has diminished. The rise of "absolute outcomes" (i.e. home runs and strikeouts) has sapped the game of much strategy. Case in point, the first two games of the current World Series have seen some 90% of runs scored via the long ball. That's boring. Then there's the businessman's angle -- the baseball game as a business development opportunity. I am familiar with this angle from my own father's days as a season ticket holder. But that was the 1980s, before every seat was a luxury box and the only people who could afford the luxury of giving away games were corporations and megarich. All of this to say, it doesn't seem that baseball fandom is the best bang for your buck. Whew. To brass tacks. How does baseball fandom improve KmikeyM's value? Based purely on how you might spend your time, it seems more a distraction than a value-add. As a lover of baseball, someone who gets immense enjoyment (in spite of myself) from watching a high-leverage at-bat, I wish you that joy. And in fact, I would LOVE to watch a hard-fought World Series game with you and talk through the decisions, the highs, the lows, the strategy. That would be a joy for me. But until you can convince me and the other shareholders that a late-onset baseball addition can further the K5M project, I have to vote nay.
wandersean 💯☕ (72.0 shares, voted yes)
If this were a vote on "Become a baseball fan" then I would agree 100% with Thomas King. But, I'm reading it as a vote on "Cheering for the new hometown team in the World Series, which incidentally means paying attention to baseball for the first time". I am a casual fan of baseball, and I think the energy around a world series run in your city is not something to be missed. I would assume and hope that true baseball fandom would be up for another vote.
reuben (5.0 shares, voted yes)
All work and no play makes the share price stagnate
aaronpk 💯☕️ (1312.0 shares, voted no)
I fail to see the economic benefit to KmikeyM or the shareholders of paying attention to the game.
freddy (6.0 shares, voted no)
Thomas' analysis FTW!!
E*Rock ☕️ (2.0 shares, voted yes)
I doubt that you will "become a baseball fan" after one season. More likely you will go with the flow for one season, and then lose interest. I mean, baseball is hella boring, you are more interested in the current hype.
jrg3 (7.0 shares, voted no)
'Stros or no's
Richard S. Jensen (6.0 shares, voted yes)
Baseball is both tedious and stressful, an excellent alternative to relaxation for the perpetual executive.
molly (9.0 shares, voted yes)
Loving the Dodgers is not just about being a baseball fan. It's about integration into your adopted city! It's about community! It's about a game played outside at night at a time of the year in which there are a precious few cities that are pleasant to be outside for a four-hour stretch into the middle of the night. Why vote not to care about a thing?! Care, damnit, and get the t-shirt!