>>>>>>It has zero chance of succeeding.
>>>>>
>>>>>I think the big problem with the XFL is that NFL fans didn't buy the Extreme part of the title. I think that college football fans would watch a lower-tiered league to see some of their favorite college players that didn't quite make the draft. At least it would provide more drama for ESPN's front page.
>>>>
>>>>I think though, that it's hard to make a good buck on 2nd rate quality. There will always be the die-hard fans who will go out to watch anything, and when you have a 500 seat venue, the stands will be filled and it'll seem like the Rose Bowl, but stretch that out to a 20 or 30 thousand seat venue, and it starts to look pretty sparse.
>>>>
>>>>Fans are pretty fickle, and I think once the players fail to make the grade for the Show, the fans will drop them pretty quickly.
>>>>
>>>>Triple-A baseball is probably a good example of that.
>>>
>>>
>>>Some minor league teams actually draw pretty well, especially if they have a flair for marketing. If I were coming out of college today I would seriously consider taking a marketing job with a minor league baseball team and seeing how things turned out. Explore my inner Bill Veeck. They say do what you're passionate about, right?
>>
>>Ok, but now you have to define 'pretty well'. As I said, you can fill a small park and make it seem like a huge crowd, but generally, and especially where there is a major league franchise nearby, they only do so-so.
>>
>>>
>>>This Monday, Memorial Day, I got a little lucky. My daughters were here for the three day weekend and one of the events I planned was a Brewers game. Miller Park is a great place to go to a game and we have been going to one or two a year there. I got tickets for Monday's game. Lo and behold, it turned out to be the home debut of their new phenom. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_Braun). The Brewers called him up on their West Coast trip last week and immediately announced he would be their everyday third baseman and would bat third. I do not remember a rookie being placed in the #3 slot so quickly.
>>>
>>>So here's how it went. Traffic was all snarled between ordinary holiday traffic and I-94 being closed just west of downtown Milwaukee. The game was already underway when we entered the park in the bottom of the first. Before walking up to our nosebleed seats we found a spot right next to the TV camera on the right side of home plate to watch Braun's first home at-bat as a Brewer. When his name was announced there was a huge ovation, as there always is when a new player makes his first appearance. In this case there was more than the usual excitement. Were we witnessing the debut of the next Mays, the next Clemente, the next Mantle?
>>>
>>>He struck out.
>>>
>>>He came up again in the third and popped out to shallow right.
>>>
>>>In the 5th, with the Braves leading 2-1, he came up with runners at second and third and two out. It was storybook. Except he struck out again.
>>>
>>>In the 7th it was the same deal. Two on, two out, game on the line. Now's your moment, rook.
>>>
>>>He struck out again. This time there were some boos. A short honeymoon. That's baseball.
>>>
>>>The kid is going to hit. He's still batting third. He has hit, emphatically, everywhere he has been. He has done some hitting already as a Brewer in a major league uniform. How does this story turn out? Good, I hope.
>>
>>I hope so. I'm always happy when I hear about a kid who makes it to the show. I didn't, but I got sort of close, so I guess I feel a little vicarious lift when it happens.
>
>
>Interesting! What organization and level? What position did you play?

I played junior ball here in Toronto in the Leaside Baseball Association within the Toronto Baseball Assn. The LBA was once written up in a Vancouver newspaper (of all places) as the best junior league in Canada. We used to have a lot of bird dogs hanging around. There was a guy from the Yankees (Chinese guy whose name escapes me at the moment) who used to hang out in the stands behind home plate. That is also where my dad used to sit. We were playing for the city championship against Columbus Boys Club, and they had a pitcher by the name of Doug Beckett who had already been drafted into a Boston farm club. Anyway, the guy was a little over 6' tall and had a fast ball that made you think you were trying to hit a pea launched out of a rocket 6 inches in front of home plate. I hit a homer and a double that day. Anyway, the bird dog was beside my dad and asked him if he knew how old I was. Unfortunately, I was 20 and my dad told the truth (for which I never forgave him). As far as the majors are concerned, 20 is a bit too old to start bringing people along.

Anyway, the Milwaukee Braves (I'm dating myself) were coming into town later that season to run try outs in sort of a travelling road show. It was by invitation, and I got one. I didn't make it, but I did make it to the last day.

I was mostly an outfielder, but I also played infield (preferred it, in fact). Anytime one of our infielders couldn't make it, I played the position. I think my best spot overall was 3rd base. I was not a fast runner to say the least, but I had very quick reflexes. I even pitched one game because two of our pitchers were out and the other had to pitch the next day. I got the call because, even though I couldn't throw even a bad curve ball, I had a rocket arm and could hit a dime at 30 paces (ok, a bit of an exaggeration, but I was very accurate and had a very good arm). I wasn't a pitcher, but I went 8 innings and gave up 2 runs. I ended up popping a muscle in my shoulder and my arm was never the same after that.

Our 2nd baseman was the best I ever saw up close. He was slower of foot than I was (hard to believe), but he got to balls nobody should ever have been able to get to because of incredible reflexes and anticipation. I was good, he was a whole lot better. He got drafted by Kansas, but came back home because he said he didn't want to end up kicking around in the minors.

There it is; my life in baseball. Maybe not the stuff of Hollywood epics but it was fun while it lasted.