We've covered the story for ten months now, beating the drum for the cause of bringing professional baseball back to Israel-- thanks to our pal and contributor Our Man Elli In Israel, whose loves of baseball and his nation are unrivalled-- yet finding ourselves forced to report the sad news that the billionaires and bagel barons behind the grand schemes have fouled out for this year at least. Then the giant Jerusalem Post deigns to report on its own local story that we've covered and developed for months, uses its massive resources to send it round the world-- and now everyone's getting into the act.Even the "Unknown Blogger," who provides "fresh insights on the news business... and life in general..." for KCBS and KCAL TV News (can you believe that former scrappy TV news rivals now work together, in Tasslike teams nowadays?) is having his uninformed say:
Swing And A Miss?
Posted by Unknown_Blogger
The IBL may be DOA. What's the IBL you say?
The Israel Baseball League.
Yes, there is, or maybe was, such a thing.
The six team league got a lot of hype in its inaugural season last year, at least internationally...
But there apparently wasn't a big enough marketing push in the homeland.
There is some grass roots love for baseball in Israel, there are youth programs, and the Israeli national team is taking a shot at the World Baseball Classic next year.
But the experts say the marketing aspect of the pro game is just not big enough yet.
As they say, maybe next year -- in Israel!
Ah yes, "the marketing aspect" is what killed the dream...
Who is kidding whom?
ReplyDeleteThey're gonna put in an amateur team against professionals from around the world?
Bud Selig would not put the Israelis on the firing line like that.
That sentence is like saying Elli is hoping to make it onto the U.S. track and field team at Beijing this summer. He's hoping, but with even less of a chance than slim and none.
Which are about the same odds that the Israel National team has of making it to the world baseball classic.
Someone gives a throwaway line to the Jerusalem Post reporter, and it goes unchallenged and spreads around the world.
Pathetic.