While watching a football game yesterday, I had a sudden epiphany about the sport I love. I began to realize why people always say that baseball is boring, and I came to the conclusion that these people just don’t understand the game. Football is relatively simple to learn: the offense throws or runs the football in an effort to cross into the end zone, all while the defense attempts to stop them from doing so. But with baseball, it’s a little different. Sure, the offense still tries to score and the defense tries to counteract the opposition from doing so, but it is a little more complex than that. There are so many tiny nuances of the game that go unappreciated by those who aren't looking for them. Whether it be a catcher framing a pitch two inches off the plate so that the umpire calls it a strike, or an outfielder shifting three feet to the left because of the wind, these minuscule things can mean the difference between winning and losing. That's what many people don't see, but that's one of the biggest reasons it is so great.

I have come to realize that baseball is one of the only sports that doesn't cater to the casual fan. It doesn't attempt to dumb the game down or make it more “entertaining” so that Uncle Joe might sit down and watch two-thirds of a game every other Saturday. The game has remained consistent because it values its passionate fan base who understand and appreciate the game. These fans love and enjoy baseball for the game it is, not the game that attention-lacking Americans want it to be. In the age of ADD, baseball is harder and harder to get into for people without the patience to truly get it. Baseball is the national pastime, meaning millions have liked it in the past and millions still do. This goes to show that the decline in popularity is not any fault of the sport, but a change in the people.

The bottom line is that baseball is not boring; it's merely an acquired taste. Think of baseball like a fine wine; your taste buds dictate whether or not you find it appealing, but you can still appreciate each note the libation has to offer. In time, you may come to enjoy a certain drink that you might not have liked in the beginning. It’s the same with baseball: you might not find it enjoyable, but if you never take the time to truly understand and appreciate the beauty of the game, then you will never get why people enjoy it in the first place.

Sit down sometime and watch a baseball game. Look up the rules; try to comprehend why a person does something in a certain situation. Pay attention to the little details, and realize how complex and incredible the sport really is. Pretty soon, you will start to see baseball not just as a game, but a work of art. Give it a shot.