Unlike professional basketball and American football, interest in baseball has not been sweeping the globe . Declining participation at the amateur level and protracted labor problems at the professional level have thrust "America's Pastime" into an era of uncertainty. Despite this current adversity, baseball will always occupy an important place in American culture. .
Baseball over the years has been losing in popularity. Every year the ratings on T.V. decline steadily. This is in part due to the fact that baseball cannot compete with other sports such as basketball and football. With these two sports fans receive a greater amount of immediate stimuli, which in turn leads to more satisfaction overall. In baseball the build up is far and in-between. It is the primitive idea of crushing your opponent that many men crave and baseball often times fails to deliver this desire. In football it may be a powerful hit delivered onto someone, or in basketball a massive dunk which displays dominance. These actions show superiority of one over the other, which in sports is the main goal strived for. In baseball it is the combination of mental strategy that gives one dominance, which doesn't satisfy many who watch the game. Baseball continues to thrive because true fans realize that much more occurs than what is seen on the surface. .
It is hard to describe why Americans likes to watch baseball. For some, it has to do with the excitement and appreciation of the game. According to Angell "Nothing is altered, nothing has been allowed to happen. This orderliness and constraint are among the prime attractions of the sport". For others the attraction is the order and style that is brought to the game through ritualistic actions as described by Roger Angel. Baseball is a mental sport, whereas sports like basketball, football and hockey are more reaction based. This is partly why on first glance baseball my appear dull and boring, but on a deeper level the same intensity is there.