Baltimore is crazy about the World Cup
Did anyone work yesterday? It sure didn’t seem like it. I’m not complaining, I was one of many at a local watering hole on Thursday afternoon watching the U.S. take on Germany in their final match of the group stage in the FIFA World Cup.
Based on what I saw, Baltimore does indeed have World Cup fever. I guess the local television ratings were right, though I’m still struggling to figure out why there’s such an avid soccer fan base in Charm City.
To be entirely honest, I’m not a big enough fan of soccer to tell you how the U.S. played in their 1-0 loss to the Germans. Based on my crowd observations, neither were many others. The atmosphere felt very Olympics-esque. You know how you don’t care about swimming for four years, then Michael Phelps comes along and wins a bunch of medals and you turn into the biggest swimming fan for a couple weeks? That’s sort of how I feel the World Cup crowd was yesterday.
Here’s my crazy, wild thought though: the United States winning this tournament might actually be the best thing that could ever happen to international soccer. FIFA should be rooting for us. Think about it for a second. Soccer is huge in every other country, but not in ours. We’re the last untapped market. If the U.S. wins the Cup, fans (like myself) will start popping up everywhere in our country.
Meanwhile, the rest of the world is pissed because our fifth best athletes (baseball, football, basketball, hockey, soccer) were good enough to win the whole darn thing. On top of all of that, there’s a strong likelihood that FIFA strips Qatar of the right to host the 2022 World Cup and they’ve already told the U.S. of A to get ready to take over.
Could there be World Cup matches in Baltimore/Washington in eight years?
Perhaps an M&T Bank Stadium pitch?
Man that’d be awesome.
All-Star Game In Baltimore?
Speaking of hosting awesome events, there’s a strong likelihood that our city will host the 2016 MLB All-Star Game. Commissioner Bud Selig spoke openly about it earlier this month. Camden Yards was the venue for the mid-summer classic way back in 1993 and now that most of the new stadiums have hosted, it’s time for the game to return to Baltimore.
This season, the Minnesota Twins will have the event at Target Field. I sure hope they’re juicing up the baseballs for the Home Run Derby in that ballpark. Next year, Cincinnati will play host as the American and National Leagues alternate each year.
Camden Yards is a great fit in two seasons, but I have to wonder if D.C. may hurt Baltimore’s chances. The Nationals have yet to host the event at their new ballpark and I have to imagine they’re on the list of upcoming venues. Would Major League Baseball have the 2016 All-Star game in Baltimore and the 2017 event in D.C.? I can’t see that happening.
If Miami gets the ASG in 2017, that would actually push DC back to 2019.
A final thought…
I attended the Orioles game on Tuesday night, their only loss of the series against the White Sox. Upon leaving the stadium, I flipped on WBAL (as one does) to listen to the postgame show. Much to my dismay, no postgame.
The primaries had taken place earlier in the day and BAL was all-in on election coverage. I’m not a political guy, but I don’t fault anyone who is. I just want sports talk and I want the Orioles flagship station to have an actual postgame show after every game.
As much as I criticize 105.7 The Fan, I wish they still carried the O’s.
AM radio just seems like ancient technology and I think sports teams should be broadcasted on sports channels.
It just makes the most sense.
