Former Cardinals Watch

[Socnorb11]

I wonder if Rasmus hates playing baseball. Like, he has some talent, but he just hates the work and playing, and he'd rather be a MRI technician or a playwright or a veterinarian or something, and his whole life was his dad forcing baseball down his throat and now he just wants to puke every day getting up and going to work. I know that sounds crazy, because who wouldn't want to be a millionaire ballplayer, but maybe he just doesn't want to play.

Ronnie O'Sullivan (world's greatest snooker player) entertained fans throughout most of the 00s with his post-tournament interviews where he said he wanted to be a runner, or a stay-at-home dad, or basically anything but a snooker player. He's calmed down a bit now, but it helps with him that he can enter a tournament having not practiced a bit, with a bad attitude, and still stand a 50% chance of winning the entire thing; something Rasmus doesn't share.

Yeah but even with Rasmus being a mediocre ball player people actually care about baseball while about 12 people worldwide care about snooker. Watching billiards on TV is about as boring as it can get, and snooker can only be worse.

That might be a good thing, though. Virtually nobody knows that O'Sullivan can be a jerk, while everyone knows that Rasmus is a jackass.

O'Sullivan has apparently earned somewhere around $11 mil in his career, so he's doing OK.

[Famous Mortimer]

Yeah but even with Rasmus being a mediocre ball player people actually care about baseball while about 12 people worldwide care about snooker. Watching billiards on TV is about as boring as it can get, and snooker can only be worse.

As a percentage of the population, way more British people watch snooker than American people watch baseball - and they're about equal in the rest of the world (no-one cares about either). Ask a random Brit who Ronnie is and chances are they'll know, whereas the same is definitely not true of Colby Rasmus and a random American.

I'm really not sure why some of you are so desperate to put down other sports. If I started saying "hockey is [expletive] [expletive] and only wankers care about it" if one of you brought it up, you'd think I was being weird, right? Or if I said NASCAR was Formula 1 for morons. Or that American football is basically rugby for people who needs tons of padding in case they get an ouchie, that stops every thirty seconds. Or that basically no-one outside America gives a toss about most of the American national sports whereas the biggest football tournament is only eclipsed by the Olympics for worldwide popularity.

And I was only using it as an example!

[heyzeus]

I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say that nobody in the rest of the world cares about baseball, the way nobody outside of England cares about snooker. Cuba, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Korea, Japan, a small portion of Canada - sure, that may not be most of the world by any means, but a lot of people like baseball outside of the US.

[Famous Mortimer]

And snooker is wildly popular in China and does pretty well in Australia too. So, still about equal. And the point is yet again missed.

[GeddyWrox]

NASCAR *is* Formula 1 for morans.

[heyzeus]

And snooker is wildly popular in China and does pretty well in Australia too. So, still about equal. And the point is yet again missed.

The point is that this conversation is tiring and dull.

[Hoot45]

Never mind our arrogant world views, Famous Mortimer. For many people arrogance creates ignorance. If it makes you feel any better, I just discovered World Darts Championship, and now I can't get enough of it. Can't believe I was unaware of its greatness for so long.

Getting back on topic, and speaking of bizarre world views, Colby Rasmus is an interesting one. I used to believe that he was just a clueless ignorant jerk eternally puffed up by his father, but after time never gave birth to maturity I now am more likely to buy the argument that he's just a miserable SOB who would rather do something else but won't because the money is too good and big papa would disapprove.

[Socnorb11]

And snooker is wildly popular in China and does pretty well in Australia too. So, still about equal. And the point is yet again missed.

The point is that this conversation is tiring and dull.

I actually thought that Mortimer's initial comment was really relevant. Some people just aren't happy doing what they're doing, even if they're among the best in the world at it. O'Sullivan is a good, outspoken example of that. Maybe Rasmus fits into that category, as well.

[lukethedrifter]

I'm confused why we're dogging the pommie.

[Swirls]

I'm really not sure why some of you are so desperate to put down other sports. If I started saying "hockey is [expletive] [expletive] and only wankers care about it" if one of you brought it up, you'd think I was being weird, right? Or if I said NASCAR was Formula 1 for morons. Or that American football is basically rugby for people who needs tons of padding in case they get an ouchie, that stops every thirty seconds. Or that basically no-one outside America gives a toss about most of the American national sports whereas the biggest football tournament is only eclipsed by the Olympics for worldwide popularity.

And I was only using it as an example!

Nah, I'd think you were weird for calling us wankers.

Also, I have nothing against other sports. I enjoy playing pool when I'm drinking a bar - I suck at it, only slightly less than I suck at darts, and way less than I suck at foosball. God I am beyond awful at foosball. As for other more "athletic" sports, I personally can't stand watching golf, tennis, or soccer on TV. I find them painfully boring to watch. I've never seen them live, so perhaps they're more entertaining if you're physically at the event. I wouldn't know.

Other people love those sports, and more power to them for their love. The world is better with lots of sports in it, and lots of fervent fans for those sports. Like you said, soccer is the most popular sport in the world, and it's really not very close at all. Just cause 90% of the world likes it doesn't mean I have to. I personally find it incredibly boring.