I’m weird. Always have been, and barring something unexpected, always will be.
I watched the Pirates last weekend.
Baseball was my first sports love, and my go-to when I watch sports. That includes most nights when the Penguins are in a playoff game.
During the last Afternoon Ask Anything segment I did Monday, several people referenced how I was unlucky I was that I watched baseball over the Penguins last weekend. (Part of the job people. Not that bad of a gig, either.) But I understand that from most sports fan’s point of view, it’s a no-brainer to watch the hockey game.
Now that the Penguins’ run has been cut short, I want to ask -- what are you tuning in for now? And how often were you watching the Pirates when the Pens were nearing or in the postseason?
The hockey-baseball viewership dynamic is interesting to me. Football is...football. No sport is competing with them on Sunday. But hockey and baseball split viewers for the first couple months of the MLB season. Hockey is the more popular of the two right now (hence why the Pirates get relegated to the dreaded PIT-2 channel), but exactly how much more popular? Enough that people don’t care about the Pirates game? Switch over during intermission or commercial breaks? Maybe it’s Pirates first and switching over to the Pens during the end of an inning.
So yes, I’m weird and choose May baseball over playoff hockey. (There’s a reason why I’m in this line of work, after all.) Did anyone else do that over this playoff series? Anyone going to watch more baseball now that the Penguins are done? Maybe less because of a bad taste the Pens left in your mouth?
Or, to simplify this all into one question...
YOUR TURN: Are you going to be more invested in baseball season now that the Penguins are eliminated?
