When Is Sport Not For Everyone?

Dr. Seth S. Tannenbaum Talks About the Illusion of Sports Egalitarianism

If you’re a long-term reader of this here Sandwich, you’d know I am a fan of baseball. For me, it’s the balance between the high-strung pursuit of perfection and how it clashes with the more laid-back “America’s Pastime” that works best for me.

Recently on my “In The Booth with Flobo Boyce” podcast… You know, the one I released in collaboration with The Black Baseball Mixtape, I had the chance to sit down with Dr. Seth S. Tannenbaum. Dr. Tannenbaum penned the book, “Bleacher Seats and Luxury Suites,” which takes a sharp eye at how baseball as a sport tried to divide its fanbase by class despite the fact that the sport maintained an air of it being “for all.”

We talked about how working class fans were shut out in some cities, what it means to be priced out today, and how the rise of modern “hospitality packages” furthered the divide. Dr. Tannenbaum is a wealth of knowledge on the subject, and our interview is already one of my favorite conversations of the year.

Check out the episode on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. And if you haven’t already, make sure to leave a review.