I’m dating myself, but I’m sure I’m not the only one who remembers the Ludacris hit “Area Codes” featuring the late Nate Dogg. Ludacris raps about having women in different cities shouting them out not by their name or city, but by area code.
The song was an instant hit, but the part that was special for each listener is when Ludacris dropped your area code or area codes you actually knew. (Remember, this song was released in 2001 before incoming phone calls displayed the area code of the caller’s city.)
It’s been a long time since the single Area Codes was on the billboard charts, similar to another major hit from back in the day that hasn’t seen much love recently.
And that hit… is literally about hitting… Baseball.
Yes… in case you live in Washington, DC or Houston, Texas (202 and 713 respectfully) you probably didn’t care much about the classic 7 game World Series that took place between the Washington Nationals… excuse me… the WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS Washington Nationals (yes I’m still a DC sports fan while living in Texas) and the Houston Astros.
That’s because like Luda’s Area Codes only being special for area codes you know… the once number #1 sport in America has now been reduced to a regional game. Meaning you’re likely only watching baseball if your team is playing, but not much else.
Which is a shame, because baseball was still very popular around the time “Area Codes” was on the radio. The likes of Derek Jeter and Barry Bonds were household names equal to their NBA and NFL counterparts.
Not anymore.
Spotify ain’t checking for Ludacris anymore and people aren’t checking for baseball either.
Baseball for the foreseeable future will continue to distance itself from specifically younger non-white viewers. A trend that says more about the increasing cultural divide between generations and demographics.
In victorious Washington D.C., viewership was the highest for any MLB telecast since 1998. However, the Game 7 World Series clincher marked the lowest-rated and least-watched Game 7 of the Fall Classic on record. The previous marks were the Giants-Royals in 2014.
Outside the big markets/teams (Yankees, Cubs, Dodgers), MLB will continue to be the greatest example of an American pro sports league with exciting game 7’s… that somehow find themselves competing with meaningless NBA scuffles… in November.
If MLB wants to improve their viewership and ratings, maybe they should try to appeal to younger generations and more demographics. If they don’t want to, then I guess they’ll continue to do what they’re doing.
Similar Read: Candy Corn Sports… What Happened to Baseball?
2 claps
Loading…