| Only 29% Think Baseball Is America’s National Pastime |
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02/04/2011 04:14 (424 Day 10:04 minutes ago) | |||||
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The FINANCIAL -- Baseball has been described as “America’s national religion.” But as a new season of Major League Baseball gets underway, most Americans aren’t placing as much importance on the sport as they once did.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American Adults shows that only 29% believe baseball is still America’s national pastime, as it has long been considered. Forty-six percent (46%) don't view the sport that way, while another 25% are undecided.
Of course, that all depends on whom you ask. Fifty-two percent (52%) of adults who follow news about the sport Very Closely think it is still America’s national pastime. Among those who don’t follow the sport at all, just 10% agree.
Last June, Adults picked the National Football League’s Super Bowl over baseball’s World Series as their favorite championship to watch. The Philadelphia Phillies are the favorite to win the 2011 World Series for 21% of baseball fans, followed closely by the Boston Red Sox.
Overall, most Americans (64%) are not following news about Major League Baseball closely, if at all. Thirty-five percent (35%) say they follow professional baseball news at least somewhat closely, but that includes just 16% who follow Very Closely. Men are more likely than women to follow the sport.
One of the story lines tainting baseball in recent years has been steroid use among players. Sixty-seven percent (67%) of adults nationwide say that the steroid scandals have at least somewhat affected the integrity of Major League Baseball, including 29% who say the issue has affected it Very Much. Only 20% say the scandals haven’t affected the game’s integrity much, if at all.
Those who follow the game are more likely than those who don’t to believe steroid scandals have hurt the integrity of the game.
In July 2009, however, 56% of baseball fans said news about steroid use had not caused them to follow the sport less.
Thirty-seven percent (37%) of all adults say high player salaries make them watch MLB games less, but 56% say bloated salaries don’t affect how much they watch. Just one percent (1%) says high player salaries make them more likely to watch Major League Baseball.
Interestingly, those who make $100,000 or more annually are most likely to say high salaries make them less likely to watch compared to those in other income groups.
The New York Yankees payroll in 2009 was around $200 million dollars, more than the national GDP of 13 nations. Despite the loyalty that many in New York feel toward the Yankees, 51% of voters in the state say professional athletes should not be paid more than teachers.
Thirty percent (30%) of Americans believe the government should make it illegal to pay movie stars and athletes more than $1 million per year. But 59% oppose government pay limits for film stars and jocks.
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