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Heidi Watney's Agent Should Read This Post

In one of the media trade mags I read in my day job, they had a list of the ten baseball teams with the highest average local ratings for their games until about the halfway point of the 2009 season. It will not surprise you that the Red Sox were the "American Idol" of the diamond -- by a lot.

The Sox had an average rating of 9.4, and the second highest rated team had a 7.4. That is proof that New England has a great many Red Sox fans, and that it is a place where it makes far more sense to watch baseball on TV in April and for May night games than it does to do so outdoors.

Nor will the identity of the runner-up shock many readers. It was the Cardinals, whose large, loyal following has been around for many decades. They're actually about as smug about their fanhood as Sox fans are, but being Midwesterners, aren't so pushy about their moral superiority to followers of lesser franchises.

The identity of the third-highest rated team on local television WILL surprise you. It surprised me enough to write this blog post on the topic. So here's a quiz. What was the franchise with the third-most loyal (or, alternatively, third most in need of more in their lives) fan base?

(Insert "Jeopardy thinking music here.)

Time's up. Sorry, you're wrong. The correct answer is, your Milwaukee Brewers, a team that has functioned in utter obscurity for decades, ignored in both leagues. In Wisconsin, they're gods. Maybe Bob Uecker's agent is the one who should read this post.

To those of you who answered "the Brewers:" no, you didn't. And even if you did, no one will believe you.

posted by Michael Gee @ 4:41 PM