Archive for March 7th, 2008
Saving fans money? Or killing them slowly?
USA Today’s cover story effectively presents the two sides of the controversy surrounding Major League Baseball’s new trend, all-you-can-eat seating sections.
Michael McCarthy impresses with his thoughtfully laid-out juxtaposition of the opinions of those who love the idea and those who call it absurdly unhealthy. His story presents the profitability for teams and enjoyment by fans of the novel concept, while countering these upsides with the experts’ scrutiny of the potentially health-risk-imposing implications. The story jumps back and forth between the positive and the negative, invoking critical consideration from the reader.
The quotes used in the story are particularly effective (and sometimes funny), including author Neal Pollack’s offerings: ” ‘…a gluttonous orgy of stupidity. The smell… was unbearable…By the end of the game, it was like sitting in a sewer.’” The olfactory image this conjures is hilariously gross. I can almost smell, and see, the gluttons chomping away–and emitting the gaseous consequences.
Although all this fuss about the seating arrangement that is growing in popularity is stimulating, the story also offers an underlying informative presentation of the facts: ticket prices at notable stadiums, how it works, what kinds of foods/beverages are available, and which teams are introducing the concept are all included. Furthermore, a helpful comparison of the average food intake by all-you-can-eat fans with the Agricultural Department’s recommended daily values aids readers in preventing personal subjection to the health risks associated with the ingestion of the kinds of junk you can eat at baseball games.
Overall, the story provides readers with a useful and provocative overview of this new–and, perhaps, alarming–development in the world of MLB.
Oh, and one more thing: good job Richard Lui, of the Associated Press! The cover photo is priceless! (On the print version he captures three former jocks chowing down simultaneously. One even has his tongue out as he eyes the mustard dripping from his hot dog.)
