Column: Football has replaced baseball as America's pastime

It’s that time of year when the baseball season is dwindling down.

After seven long months of baseball games almost every day, football and basketball are about to take over.

There are two baseball teams still standing, fighting it out in the crowning jewel of baseball — the World Series.

It’s a World Series few seem to care about.

There’s something the World Series is lacking this year, much like in previous years.

I’m not the only person who thinks so.

Although last week’s Monday Night Football game featuring the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings was a matchup between two horrible teams, more people decided to watch that game than Wednesday’s World Series opener.

In a dull, boring game Monday that was miserable to watch, the Giants defeated the Vikings 23-7. 

The football game had a 9.5 viewer rating compared to Game 1 of the World Series, which had a 9.4 rating.

That truly shows something.

Baseball isn’t America’s national pastime anymore.

The World Series had fewer viewers than a football game between two teams that had one win combined.

Last year’s World Series was the lowest rated and least watched World Series ever.
Baseball has definitely lost its edge.

The World Series used to be the biggest sporting event in the world.

Not anymore.

Many other events have become bigger than the World Series.

There’s a plethora of reasons why people aren’t tuning in to watch the World Series.

Baseball is a tough sport for some to watch.

People don’t like watching baseball because they think it’s boring and there’s not enough action.

The athletes are often standing in one spot for long periods of time.

Football always provides entertainment.

From hard hits to exciting plays, football seems to grab the average sports fan’s eye easier.

Players are always active, alert and on their toes, expecting the next play.

But that might not be the No. 1 reason why more people watched the football game. Maybe football is just that good of a sport.

Football is a sport where every game counts. The baseball season, at times, seems too long.

The 162 baseball games during the regular season followed by a one-game playoff and three best-of-seven series can get tiring.

Teams can have extended losing streaks in the MLB and still make it to the playoffs.

In the NFL one loss can cost a team the playoffs.

It’s time to crown football as America’s new favorite pastime.

Football seems to have taken over as the most talked about and watched sport.

Fans in St. Louis and neighboring regions had an interesting choice to make Monday.

The St. Louis Rams played host to the Seattle Seahawks while the St. Louis Cardinals played host to the Boston Red Sox.

Don’t be surprised if the Monday Night Football game had more viewers than Game 5 of the World Series.

I know what I watched.

­— jayljohn@indiana.edu
Follow columnist Jaylen Johnson on Twitter @nelyaJohnsonIDS.