Comments on: St. Louis Gov’t To Milk All-Star Game For Cash

By: ObviouslyAnyIdiotCanBlog

ObviouslyAnyIdiotCanBlog — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:01:23 +0000

I am sure that this piece felt “funny” and “biting” just before the send key was pressed, but it’s really just mean-spirited and not worth anyone’s time.

The sad thing is (and I am a resident of St. Louis) that there’s more than a grain of truth in the taxation element — which is what this article purports to be about. But, in his effort to portray St. Louis, eastern Missouri and southern Illinois fans (of course, Cubs’ fans and Royals’ fans are ultra-classy) as a bunch of beer-swilling, obese, rubes the whole purpose of the article is lost.

Also, the statistics in our “motto” are totally misleading. Yes, St. Louis CITY’s population is down because, as anyone who really did any research would know, it’s a closed border city with no possibility of expansion — and, like most cities, there has been since 1950 an increasing movement away from the inner city. The St. Louis metropolitan area, however, has not experienced anywhere near the population decline that this “article” would try to lead you to believe is the case.

Oh, and by the way, I spend a fair amount of time in Pittsburgh. I love the city, and have attended games at PNC. Great stadium, and a great time at the game. And you know what’s really cool? Unlike St. Louis, their games are so poorly attended you can actually purchase a ticket close to the field on game day. How many empty seats do you see in the beautiful pictures included in this article?

Yes, Pittsburgh has a wonderful skyline (leave the tunnel through Mt. Washington toward the city and not be stunned — it’s impossible.) But, compare unemployment statistics, per-capita income, total expenditures on sports, etc. Maybe you don’t need a renaissance when you’re already doing just fine.

By: Brooksisawhackjob

Brooksisawhackjob — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:43:07 +0000

Nice hit piece. Who wrote this and where are you from? This article could be written about any sporting event.

By: dumdum

dumdum — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:16:10 +0000

I feel dumber for having read this.

By: InStl

InStl — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:13:23 +0000

Nice pics of fat Midwesterners. It must have been pretty easy to post 2 pics for your piece. I’m not disputing that there are a lot of obese people in the Midwest but I think you could have picked 2 pics from any stadium in MLB and come up with the same results. Not every person in LA is a size 0 with a boob job. I agree with Tim in the fact that cities and states are losing revenue left and right during these times and are looking for creative ways to generate income. I think, regardless of where the All Star game was this year, you might have had the same story.

By: Tim

Tim — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 12:56:03 +0000

Uh-huh. Pittsburgh didn’t tax All-Star money, and that is why they are experiencing a “renaissance”. You need to quit this gig and teach economics at Harvard.

Every government in this country is having a hard time meeting their budgets for even basic services. I can’t blame St Louis for doing this. I’d like to see what Pittsburgh would have done in this economic climate instead of the good days back in 2006. Comparing 2006 to now is why you write sports and not financial news…

But, those poor millionaires. How will they ever feed their families!