I suppose I enjoy both games live, but I wanted to put this poll out there to see what people think are the reasons why one is better than the other. We seem to have enough people on the forum from around the world to get a reliable enough result.

I'll start:

Baseball
Pros:
- There's a big bat involved
- Some great slow buildups of nerve-wracking innings (bases loaded, etc)
- Home runs, as a gaming concept, just kick ass
- Some superb fights

Cons:
- Learning *all* the rules beyond seems to be a black art (correct me if I'm wrong!)
- Potential for godawful long games
- Some fat players

Soccer
Pros:
- Guaranteed time limit (+/- a couple of minutes), even when it goes to golden goal overtime, so there's that whole "shit! only 5 minutes left!" feeling
- Rules are a piece of piss to explain - the hardest being the offside rule which is a no-brainer
- Can be played in simpler form by anywhere from 2 to 22 people
- To make it more interesting, they changed the rules to stop that dreadful "defender passing back and forth to the goalie" shit - which was nice

Cons:
- Low scores tend to bore anyone not raised from birth on it
- Now associated with middle-aged moms, minivans and their girls in the USA
- Plenty of pussy potential - "Oww! You hurt me, you bad man!" to get a penalty etc.
- No big wooden bat

Soccer gets my vote.

im gonna say soccer too... i have never had the patience to watch a whole baseball game though, so maybe all the good stuff happened when i fell asleep.

baseball is more rewarding for me by a long shot

about 100 times more complex

i like soccer, however, and i think it deserves to be called 'football' at the expense of american football

Baseball is better than any other competitive or recreational endeavor that man has ever played.

Baseball is better than chess.
Baseball is better than hockey.
Baseball is better than lumberjack competitions.
Baseball is better than cricket.
Baseball is better than trap shooting.
Baseball is better than competitive speed typing.
Baseball is better than boxing.
Baseball is better than horse racing or dog racing.
Baseball is better than rollercoasters.
Baseball is better than any dice game.
Baseball is better than flyfishing.
Baseball is better than bowling.
Baseball is better than football, whether American or Australian Rules.
Baseball is better than tennis.
Baseball is better than poker.
Baseball is better than surfing.
Baseball is better than the rodeo.
Baseball is better than birdwatching.
Baseball is better than hot dog eating contests.
Baseball is better than any form of motor sport.
Baseball is better than water polo.
Baseball is better than "Jeopardy".
Baseball is better than bullfighting.
Baseball is better than golf.
Baseball is better than mountaineering.
Baseball is better than SCUBA diving.
Baseball is better than basketball.
Baseball is better than any Nordic or Alpine sport.
Baseball is better than yachting.
Baseball is better than big game hunting.
Baseball is better than skydiving.
Baseball is better than Rank.

And baseball is better than soccer.

This one is not a close call.

By the way, this poll reminds me of a game that I play with my friends. It is called "SPORT/NOT A SPORT". It bears a strong resemblance to "CRAP/NOT CRAP", but "SPORT" was developed without knowledge of "CRAP"

In this game, I am the sole arbiter of whether or not an athletic or recreational endeavor truly constitutes a "sport". Be advised that activities such as table tennis, knot tying, and the beautiful biathlon have been deemed SPORT, while wresting, swimming and marathon running are NOT A SPORT.

It is a very funny game. It also makes some people really angry. I will post it as a new game.

I had a feeling Bradley would step up to the plate
Just one question for you then:

Why is baseball better than [insert sport here]?

I'm not being confrontational, I just really want to know, and it sounds like you're passionate enough about it to know why you like it so much, and be able to elucidate why it kicks ass.

I didn't grow up playing little-league, I don't know the more complex rules, I don't make regular visits to Fenway, and I don't play it myself. Which one of these factors is making me prefer soccer to it?

Thanks in advance...

stewie wrote:I had a feeling Bradley would step up to the plate.

I will post on a thread titled "Baseball" just as surely as Ed Gein would post on a thread titled "Pussy Belts".

stewie wrote:Why is baseball better than [insert sport here]?

I was just thinking about this exact question on Saturday, or at least why baseball is better than soccer.

Like anything in the world, the people who practice soccer at its highest level are artists.

But it's a simple man's game. Don't get me wrong. I grew up playing soccer. I can be excited by soccer from time to time. I will attend a soccer game of my own volition and enjoy it.

But it is nowhere close to baseball.

my vote goes to soccer, mostly on the grounds that i can play it, and grew up playing soccer. baseball however, still eludes me. i can't explain it - i keep trying to figure it out, but there was this huge lapse in my life (like from birth until i moved to chicago) where i a) never watched a baseball game b) never played baseball c) i dunno what else.

perhaps i don't understand the intricacies of baseball yet - actually, that's quite likely. however, what i do like about soccer more than baseball, is the teamwork that goes on, more specifically - the movement off the ball, and the relationships between the players. to my untrained eye, baseball appears like a dude on the pitchers mound throwing the ball, then another dude hitting it, and then everyone reacts. a series of hops towards a final goal of winning if you will. soccer however seems more fluid to me - and once the ball is set in motion, it's more of an interplay rather than action/reaction.

soccer however loses if the teams suck. a bad soccer game is horrible to watch. good soccer isn't even the same game.

i watched a chicago fire game a couple seasons ago while they were renovating soldier field, and it was decent - but watching some of the england teams play, it's just as fast paced as basketball going from end to end of the field - and that field is a hell of a lot bigger than a basketball court.

verdict: soccer

oh, and on the soccer player being pussies comment, a bunch of drunk brits were making fun of me (by virtue of being an american, and somehow i must have made up the game of football, or was responsible for it somehow) because they thought american football was for pussies because of all the pads. real men play rugby and football, the real football i was told.

My mother, she who taught me to love the game beyond home-runs and shut-outs, was a big believer in the "poetry" of the game. Not to be "Bob Costas" on anyone, but this is an element that is both ephemeral yet concrete. Movements, academics of the game, just the goddamned baffling nature of pitching alone. The mechanics and intellectualizing of actually attempting to strike another person out through a series of breaking balls, cutters, change-up, then another change-up, then a slow curve, then a fastball, then etc. etc.. What a badass concept!

What other sport has this? Sure, Pele or Miradonna (spelled WAY the fuck wrong) spinning on top of a ball in mid-sprint is pretty bitchin', but it's the minority in soccer. Only a select few can bring that level of play to the game. The list of great pitchers goes on and on.

Anyway, poetry!

Ike

Bradley R. Weissenberger wrote:Be advised that activities such as table tennis, knot tying, and the beautiful biathlon have been deemed SPORT, while wresting, swimming and marathon running are NOT A SPORT.

I'm very excited to learn about "wresting," even though it's not a sport. A combination of wrestling and resting, I assume. As I understand it, it starts off with the two competitors squaring off, circling the ring... then they tackle each other, get all tied up, and take a nap.