There's no crying over recessions in baseball

Here's a NY Times article on the buoyancy of baseball during economic down times.

Sports leagues like the N.B.A., the N.F.L. and Major League Baseball are fairy-tale lands, an otherworld of packed stadiums, charter flights, multimillion-dollar training facilities, multimillion-dollar player contracts paid by multibillionaire owners.

Yet in a time of severe economic crisis, the leagues, at least for now, are holding forth, if not completely thriving.

Several theories explain why these sports leagues — especially baseball — thrive when money is tight. Baseball, to a greater extent than the N.F.L. and the N.B.A., is dependent on gate receipts. When families begin to feel the economic pinch and stay home rather than take a long trip, many choose to attend baseball games.

I think each moment such as this is different than one that came before it. Baseball needs to be careful. Ticket sales were down last year, and tickets are as pricey as ever at most parks. There's more out there entertainment-wise than ever before, so baseball better not just rely on the economics of yesteryear and think that they'll float through the lean times as easily as before.