This isn't a post about the Tampa Bay Rays Cinderella march to the World Series per se, of which, our Florida neighbors to the north can be very proud. It is about something else, though the Rays do help in highlighting the point.
Here's a reminder to all the feel-good story fans. Having the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series would not be good for television ratings. And the answer is no. The bottom line if the Rays made it to the World Series, they'd arguably be the most anonymous team to ever make it there.
Well, I wonder why they are an anonymous team. They have been good all year. Could it be that none of the small market teams ever appear on national television? Perhaps if the Games of the Week bothered to show some other teams besides the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Cubs, Cardinals and the Mets, the baseball watching nation would've been introduced to them.
Oh, and it might help if the announcers on television ever talked about the small market team instead of droning on and on about the large market one.
People love a Cinderella story, but for them to get interested, the story has to be told. And it wasn't for the Rays or the 2003 Marlins.
If the sports television networks continue to only hype the same six teams, year after year, they get what they deserve when the ratings come out. They bring it upon themselves.