Monday, May 14, 2007

The Real "Most Renown Sports Team In The World"

Since I live in New York, I do check out the Yankees games on the YES network from time to time. ("Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer," as Vito Corleone once told his son Michael.) And for those of you who do too, you may have seen this commercial that pops up on their broadcasts that just seems to emphasize why many people despise the Yankees so much.

It is usually for the latest promotion date at Yankee Stadium, and it starts out with Michael Kay, that "beloved" of all YES announcers, announcing, "The New York Yankees, the most renown sports franchise in the world..." Every time this commercial comes on, it absolutely makes me cringe.

Talk about big-headed nonsense. Don't these people who run the Yankees realize that just about the entire rest of the world plays and is loony about the sport of soccer? (They should know that, as they signed that cross marketing deal with Manchester United a few years ago. More about them to come.)

Now if the commercial said that the Yankees were "the most renown baseball team in the world" or "the most renown sports franchise in America," I couldn't argue either point. But when they think that the entire world thinks they are the most popular and well-known sports team on earth, they are either deluding themselves or so full of BS. (Probably a bit of both I think.)

"The most renown sports franchise in the world" is Manchester United, the newly-crowned champions of English soccer. No other sports team on earth comes even close to their popularity among fans across the globe. Their games are seen either live or on tape on every continent in the world, every week, and their fans clubs run in the millions. I'm no fan of United (see my post about them from yesterday), but no one can deny that no sports team can match them anywhere for devotion. (You could put the Yankees AND Red Sox fan bases together and they still wouldn't come close to that of ManU.)

It's simply a fact that the good majority of the world is mad for soccer. ManU even has devoted followings in places like Africa and Asia, and in places where the New York Yankees are totally unknown. Only nine nations of the world can call baseball a popular national sport (USA, Canada, Cuba, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Mexico by my count). How many call soccer one? Around 200, I believe.

The Yankees can talk all they want about their championships (and you know they ALWAYS do), but everytime I hear them talk about them being "the most renown sports franchise in the world" it makes me want to throw up. It impresses me as being another example of The Yankee Propaganda Machine at work, and that they want the world to believe such nonsense.

What would you expect from a desperate organization that throws an ungodly amount of money at an aging pitcher to ride in and be their savior?

6 comments:

Michael Leggett said...

Just Michael Kay, BY HIMSELF, makes me puke, cry, whatever & their YES Network is tantamount to Old Soviet TV.

Cormac said...

I would actually suggest that Real Madrid is the most reknown team in the world. Having travelled extensively through Europe and even Africa and Russia amongst other places, Real Madrid, I think, are even bigger than Man United.

People without passports who think Dubrovnik is a type of food think the Yankees are big, worldwide.

BklynSoxFan said...

I wouldn't have guessed that about Real Madrid. I think I remember reading that Real Madrid was the most valuable sports franchise in the world in terms of overall value...

Cormac said...

Honestly, their jerseys are way more popular in Europe than Man United

Man United's major fan base is, hilariously, in the far east. That's why Manchester City fans flew a plane over Old Trafford once with a banner flying behind it reading 'Man U - Pride of Hong Kong!' during a big derby game.

Suldog said...

What?!? It's not Aston Villa???

BklynSoxFan said...

I don't doubt what you say is true, Cormac. I couldn't help but think of that time the Dallas Cowboys were called "South America's Team" when you mentioned what the Man City fans once did. But it was for FAR different reasons...

No, sorry, Suldog, but I bet Villa's the most popular team in Birmingham. But I could be wrong...