Twins fans get the shaft in playoffs
I won’t lie. I’m skipping class to watch the Minnesota Twins playoff games. I’d bet my college tuition I’m not the only one.
I don’t want to skip class, but it’s playoff baseball. My apologies to you Dr. Collins, but don’t blame me, blame ESPN, FOX and Major League Baseball for scheduling a playoff game at noon. How absurd is that?
Not only is Tuesday’s game at noon, Wednesday’s game is at noon too. But wait folks, it gets a whole lot better!
Friday’s game is scheduled for 3 p.m. Three guaranteed games for the Twins, and zero games scheduled for primetime.
Most people who wish to attend the games or watch them are forced to skip work or school.
Shall we look at the schedule for Yankee playoff games? Let me see … 7 p.m. on Tuesday, 7 p.m. on Wednesday, and surprise, surprise, 7 p.m. on Friday.
Three guaranteed playoff games for the Yankees and all three scheduled for primetime. New York fans don’t have to skip work or cut class, so why are Twins fans forced to make that decision?
This is typical of ESPN and their treatment of the Twins.
The Twins had eight games shown on ESPN stations this year. The Yankees had 32.
I understand that New York has the larger fan base and thus draws more viewers, but now we’re into the playoffs where every game counts. At least give us one game we can watch within our normal schedule.
In the regular season, games at noon are scarce. In the playoffs, because every game counts, TV networks are maximizing their income by showing every single game at separate times (code for “give small markets the shaft”). More airtime means more sponsor money.
For once, I would like to see TV networks and Major League Baseball take a fan’s perspective when planning their broadcast schedule.
I understand the reasons behind their decisions but show some respect for ALL your fans. Without fans, professional baseball would not be the money-maker it is today.
For me, this is the last straw in ESPN’s growing love affair with the Yankees and Red Sox.
Playoff series between those two are always good, but do we really need to see 12 of their 19 regular season match-ups? ESPN thinks we do.
For a network that prides itself on being “the worldwide leader in sports,” ESPN doesn’t offer much in the way of diverse baseball programming.
If you don’t believe in the Yankee bias, just watch SportsCenter sometime.
Here’s the rundown of typical “SportsCenter” stories:
1.Yankees (Understandable)
2. Terrell Owens (Do we really care anymore?)
3.Yankees (Didn’t we just see those highlights?)
4.Barry Bonds (See Owens)
5.Yankees (Ughh … )
6. Sausage Race (Has potential to be #1)
7. Derek Jeter Love-Fest (I think I’m going to be sick …)
8. Barbaro Update (It’s a freakin’ horse!)
9. Talking heads debate how the sausage race affects Jeter’s MVP candidacy (Dry heave … )
769. Twins (“Twinkies get lucky, win by 10 runs”)
770. Royals.
771. 18th promo of upcoming Yankee game (full-fledged upchuck).
So in a nutshell, ESPN and FOX favor the Yankees and Major League Baseball happily obliges the TV networks by screwing small market teams, such as the Twins and their fans.
In conclusion, I’d love to boycott ESPN but I can’t; they’re carrying Friday’s Twins game.
Columnists' opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of The Spectrum