When I say that NO ONE CARES about the existence of the Houston Astros, I may not be talking hyperbole. We’re getting dangerously close to being literal when we say that no one is interested in the Houston Astros. It isn’t just myself and David Kmiecik on baseball hiatus in 2013; it’s the entire fourth largest market in the United States.
Houston DOESN’T CARE about the Astros, and that’s a big problem for MLB. Recently the Astros televised a game with less than a 1,000 viewers. Not joking. I’m being serious here.
And that Astros telecast went head to head against a Chicago Sky and Minnesota Lynx game- AND LOST! Yes, an out of market WNBA game beat the Astros in Houston!
Then, just this past Sunday another Astros game competed against the Houston Texans of the NFL, and they drew a 0.00 Nielsen rating. It’s just like in “Animal House” you remember Dean Wormer “And Mr. Blutarski, 0.0”
Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life. And having everyone say “DON’T CARE” to your baseball team, (who currently have a record of 51-109, by far the worst in baseball) in your own city, is no way to run a sports franchise. And for baseball itself, when the Astros, who reside in the nation’s 4th largest city, inspire that much apathy…well that’s not good for the game.
I’m glad I’m publishing this Astros piece on a Saturday, the slowest web traffic day of the week. However, now that I realize everyone says Who Cares?? in response to the Astros…I doubt I’ll be writing about them ever again.
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. An analyst for 95.7 The Fan and 1620 The Zone, he also writes for Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks) and Facebook