J
Joseph_Gallant
Guest
Fox Sports cannot be happy that the American League Championship Series is between the Anaheim Angels and Chicago White Sox.
On the surface, it is a series between teams in the #2 (Anaheim, part of the Los Angeles market) and #3 (Chicago) television markets. But it's between the "second" teams in both markets.
A friend of mine who grew up in Chicago once told me that a major milestone of childhood for every youngster in Chicago is going to their first Cubs' game. Not White Sox, Cubs. And my girlfriend lived for several years in the Los Angeles area, and she once mentioned to me that the Los Angeles Dodgers have far more of a fanbase than ther Anaheim Angels---even though she was out there in 1986 when Aneheim went to the ALCS (blowing a 3-1 series lead and losing to Boston in seven games). Yet even while the Angels were going for the 1986 pennant, the Dodgers had more fans.
The last two years, Fox got two seven-game ALCS playoffs between the New York Yankees and Boston. Combining a team in the #1 market with 26 championbships in it's storied history (Yankees), a team in the #5 market with a huge regional following (Boston), the two teams being baseball's (and professional sports') biggest rivalries, and two dramatic seven-game series, Fox got strong ratings. This year, they won't get any of that.
The National League Championbship series will feature the Houston Astros (#10 market) against the St. Louis Cardinals (#21 market). The NLCS may well get more viewers than the ALCS for these reasons:
(a) The Astros are the only major-league team in Houston.
(b) Although in a smaller market, the Cards do have the advantage of having a substantial regional following through much of the Central United States (much like the Boston Red Sox have a huge regional following throughout New England).
(c) And as mentioned earlier, the two ALCS qualifiers are the "second teams" in their markets.
Fox must hope that the White Sox win the ALCS. This way, they'd be in the World Series for the first time since 1959 and have a shot of winning it for the first time since 1917 (most of the players on the White Sox' 1917 championship team would two years later be caught-up in the "Black Sox" scandal, accused of throwing the World Series). A year ago, Fox's Series ratings were no doubt helped by Boston winning it's first World Series in 86 years.
A White Sox/Houston World Series would assure either a team winning the championship for the first time in 88 years (White Sox) or the first time ever (Houston).
On the surface, it is a series between teams in the #2 (Anaheim, part of the Los Angeles market) and #3 (Chicago) television markets. But it's between the "second" teams in both markets.
A friend of mine who grew up in Chicago once told me that a major milestone of childhood for every youngster in Chicago is going to their first Cubs' game. Not White Sox, Cubs. And my girlfriend lived for several years in the Los Angeles area, and she once mentioned to me that the Los Angeles Dodgers have far more of a fanbase than ther Anaheim Angels---even though she was out there in 1986 when Aneheim went to the ALCS (blowing a 3-1 series lead and losing to Boston in seven games). Yet even while the Angels were going for the 1986 pennant, the Dodgers had more fans.
The last two years, Fox got two seven-game ALCS playoffs between the New York Yankees and Boston. Combining a team in the #1 market with 26 championbships in it's storied history (Yankees), a team in the #5 market with a huge regional following (Boston), the two teams being baseball's (and professional sports') biggest rivalries, and two dramatic seven-game series, Fox got strong ratings. This year, they won't get any of that.
The National League Championbship series will feature the Houston Astros (#10 market) against the St. Louis Cardinals (#21 market). The NLCS may well get more viewers than the ALCS for these reasons:
(a) The Astros are the only major-league team in Houston.
(b) Although in a smaller market, the Cards do have the advantage of having a substantial regional following through much of the Central United States (much like the Boston Red Sox have a huge regional following throughout New England).
(c) And as mentioned earlier, the two ALCS qualifiers are the "second teams" in their markets.
Fox must hope that the White Sox win the ALCS. This way, they'd be in the World Series for the first time since 1959 and have a shot of winning it for the first time since 1917 (most of the players on the White Sox' 1917 championship team would two years later be caught-up in the "Black Sox" scandal, accused of throwing the World Series). A year ago, Fox's Series ratings were no doubt helped by Boston winning it's first World Series in 86 years.
A White Sox/Houston World Series would assure either a team winning the championship for the first time in 88 years (White Sox) or the first time ever (Houston).
