I don't know what brought this on. Maybe because I've been living in the mountains for the last 9 weeks with very little access to the “real world”. Or maybe this has been building for a while. Or maybe this comes from the commercials I've been seeing every inning tonight on MLBTV but I am starting to reach a point where I can't take the merchandise.
Its weird because all of the “this call to the bullpen is brought you by” does not bother me. In fact, I like it. It shows some culture from other aspects of life bonding with Baseball. If I watched the telecast 30 years from now, I feel like I could learn somethings about American culture and American life. The problems I am having is with MLB's promotion of itself (so maybe the title of this article is misleading). All of the mlb.com shop commercials are unnecessary. Part of that is the products are not needed. These commercials would not be so bad if it wasn't for that they make you feel that you need the product to be a fan.
Now I am not a sucker, so I am not going to be get drawn into buying a Mets Lamp to show my fanship (although I do have a lot Mets related items). These commercials are just getting a little obnoxious. These feelings get compounded with the NFL versions that have the mouse clicking through the items and then a voice yells “I want that”. (The MLB shop commercial is nearly identical, just without that voice).
Writing this is not going to change anything though. Writing to them is not going to change anything. Its not like I can't live with it either. Its just an annoying fact about baseball. (Also, I would not even be thinking about this right now if the Mets were not currently losing 9 to 1).
