Take Me Out To The Ball Game

Great spot, ideally calibrated for American sentiments:

“Hey, they may hate us out there; but, we’ve got a job to do, and we’re going to do it well.”

Underscoring the images with “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” is brilliant. Even for those who don’t like baseball, this song carries with it a certain feeling of Americana and patriotism.

Wow. That was good. Thanks for putting that up.

Great spot! Where is is running?

I saw it while watching the West Wing on NBC and later the Family Guy on Fox. So network primetime (if on Sunday for now).

Thanks for the post Daryl. I’ve actually been looking for it all over. I even sent an email to Gatorade requesting they put it on their site. I think it’s a great way to drum up a little domestic support.

Here’s 2 cents from a non-soccer guy after having just seen the Gatorade ad.

1) I am behind US Soccer!
2) Most Americans have no idea about the hostility the team faces. The ad shows this very well and grabbed my attention.

3) I did NOT appreciate the use of Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

4) Soccer is Soccer.
Basesball is NOT soccer!

Why Gatorade would go here and try to imply that soccer is the new game is crap!

Soccer can stad on its own merits just like baseball.

I’ll support US Soccer eventhough I may not go to a game.

I won’t support it if the “powers” of soccer want to try to take away from a game I love!

Real Americans will support our US Soccer team, especially once they understand what these guyss have to fight just too play in hell holes like Mexico City.

You don’t need to take away from baseball to grow soccer. In fact, you will only piss off the non-soccer fans more by trying to make this claim!

Go US Soccer!
Go Baseball!

Dan Klare
Cincinnati, OH
dpklare@fascor.com

Yah.

I suppose if they really want something that “captures the drama of soccer, and the hostile reception we get for CONCACAF away games,” then maybe they should play the audio of the Mexicans jeering our National Anthem…

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/2004-02-10-mexico-usa_x.htm

Or shouting chants of “Osama, Osama!”

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/03/26/sports/s124450S00.DTL

I’m not so sure the use of ‘Take Me Out To The Ball Game’ is a dig at baseball.

I think it’s more of an ironic juxtaposition between the usually cheerful ‘Take Me Out To The Ball Game’ song and the hostile reception the US team receives at the ‘ball game.’

How does everyone else read the commercial?

If I were in Germany this summer, and the Yanks did well, I’d sure as sh*t be singing Take Me Out to the Ballgame at the top of my lungs. I don’t care about it being a baseball song. It’s the most American song about sports I can think of, and it’s really really fun to sing loudly. It’s use in the ad is definitely ironic; notice how soft the music is. It makes me really excited about these games, and it draws awareness that there’s a very American team playing against hostile crowds, and does it without using any words.

Soccer is more fun to watch when you have a team to believe in. I think this ad does a great job getting people excited about the MNT. It doesn’t seem to me that it’s trying to say baseball is obsolete. Besides, who in their right mind would stop following baseball because of a Gatorade ad?

The “Osama, Osama” chant is pretty freaking awful, but the idea isn’t new. Remember “Radovan Karajic” from the Serbs/Yugoslavs in ‘98? Charming.

Please please please, someone in Sam’s Army get them singing “Political Science” by Randy Newman if the team does well.

On the surface, it may be about Soccer, but on a deeper level, it is one of the most blatantly political ads I’ve ever seen.

Welcome, Dan K!

It is encouraging to read from a non-soccer guy that soccer can stand on its own.

I kinda take Daryl’s point of view. I didn’t think the commercial dissed baseball. Then again, I’m not a big baseball fan.

If you didn’t like the Gatorade commercial because it used a baseball song, then I would say most football fans would find the following downright blasphemous:
____________________________

With apologies to Bocephus:
____________________________

Get Ready! I mean get Ready!

Are you ready for some futbol?
A summer-time party!

We’ve got Kasey, Pope, and Gooch…
They’re gonna get it kick-started!

Eight groups are set,
and the crowd is psyched!

‘Cause the World Cup returns —
It’s Back on June the 9th!

Colin said it well: “It’s the most American song about sports I can think of”.

This is a song that appeals to Americans – not just American sports fans, or, even more narrowly, American baseball fans. As such, the musical cue will catch more ears than cheers from Sam’s Army or a Brazilian samba (which is cluttering the Nike ads right now).

As a result, soccer is become linked in the American mind as being an American sport.

I think that baseball is big enough to take it.

what is baseball? never heard of it. is it some sort of children’s game?

Armin,

Baseball is one of the oddest games in existence. Here is a synopsis:

The defense is ALWAYS in possession of the ball.

The number of defensive players on the field at any given time is always greater than the number of offensive players. The defense will always have more than twice as many players on the field as the offense does, but sometimes the ratio is 9:1 in favor of the defenders!

The coach of the team wears a uniform just like the players — he even gets assigned a jersey number and everything!

Though allowed in certain situations, physical contact between players of opposing teams is rare.

The guy who scores doesn’t even get to touch the ball (at least, he’s not supposed to).

And, there’s no time-limit!

Pretty wierd, eh?

Chuck,

I’ve got to say, that’s a great description of baseball.

Do you mind if I steal it?

Nick — Have fun with it!

It’s really not meant to disparage baseball… just wanted to illustrate how very different that game is from nearly every other sport.

One similarity between top-level baseball and professional soccer, however, is that once you are subbed out, your game is over! You’re not allowed to go back in. Not too many other sports handle subs in this manner, and I think baseball fans, if nothing else, tend to respect that aspect of the beautiful game.