So far in this World Series, there have been some questionable calls. Players called safe when they are really out. Balls called strikes. Players not awarded first base after getting hit by a pitch. Suspicious timing in determining when to call a rain delay.
The most questionable of all the calls, though, came last night before the continuation of Game 5. Before the first pitch was even thrown. Before the players ran onto the field to take their positions. Before the national anthem was sung.
The bad call? Fox’s decision to delay the first pitch to accommodate Barack Obama’s 30-minute campaign advertisement.
The issue with the delay, though, is not about personal partisanship. It’s about the blurring of the distinct line between sports and politics. No matter who is paying for the ad — John McCain, Barack Obama or Ralph Nader — the wedge between the World Series and the 2008 Election should be Grand Canyon-like. There should be no seepage. No allowances. No push-backs or move-forwards.
It’s not like Fox was the only station airing the ad either. If someone really wanted to turn off the game and watch a political ad — which is understandable — it would have been as easy as pushing the “up” or “down” button on the remote. It’s not as though Fox is helping viewers out much by airing the ad.
For most, watching sports is one of a few havens from the onslaught of election coverage. The only way to turn on the television and not hear about Sarah Palin’s pregnant kid or Joe Biden’s hair plugs is to flip to a baseball game.
Three hours of spitting, scratching, cowbells and rally towels never seemed so refreshing.
And so, the decision to mix two things that should be as naturally separate as oil and vinegar is a bigger blunder than calling Jimmy Rollins safe at third in the first inning of Game 4. And it only gets uglier as you dig down further into the story of the World Series “Game 5 move-back.” For starters, Fox will receive at least $1 million in revenue by airing the ad.
What, you thought the decision to air Obama’s ad and change the start of the game was a favor to you, the sports fan/educated voter? In reality, it was a financial move aimed at improving the bottom line of the balance sheet. You better believe that if Fox received $1 million for starting the game on time instead of airing the Obama ad, the first pitch would be in the catcher’s mitt by 8:20:01 p.m.
The accommodation of the ad not only brings out the true motives of a television network, but also it gives the outspoken spokespeople for each campaign something else to blab about: A worker for the Republic National Committee told reporters that Obama is placing politics “before our national pastime.”
What, did Obama rig Game 5, too?
We should have seen this whole thing coming. Before the first pitch of Games 1 and 2, Fox aired an introduction to the World Series, narrated in part by McCain and Obama.
But it’s not the first time something like this has happened. In September, an NFL game was moved to guarantee that it would be finished in time for John McCain’s acceptance of the Republican presidential nomination.
Though there should remain a distinct line between politics and sports, there are a few exceptional instances when it can be allowed to blur. In 2001, a Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers exhibition game was being played during a presidential address to a joint session of Congress in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. The speech was shown on the jumbotron during the second intermission. Fans booed when it was turned off at the start of the third period. In response, the chief operating officer for the Flyers ended the game and turned the speech back on. Fans and players stayed in the arena and watched the president speak for the next 30 minutes.
In a situation like that, where there is an overwhelming sense of patriotism, mixed with fear and uncertainty among almost all Americans, it’s right to forgo the game to hear what the next move is for the United States. It was also a decision that was essentially made by the fans — not by a profit-seeking television network.
Determining when the line can be blurred is, like the decision to yell “ball” or “strike,” a judgment call.
It’s based on the circumstances: The current atmosphere of the nation; peoples’ attitudes and mindsets.
Last night’s call, more than anything, was based on money.
That’s a blown call if there ever was one.
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