Yankee Radio

Ever since living in Belgium I've listened to a great deal of Yankee radio when it was the season. I've tried to listen to other sports on the radio but it just doesn't work. Basketball is just to frantic, they call out every pass until I tend to loose track of which team even has the ball, and football is too jarring with long periods of inaction followed by frantic action. Also with football you really need to be watching what everyone is doing not just the person with the ball. But baseball was built for radio. Pretty much only one thing is happening at the time whether it be the pitch or where the ball is going or how far the running is advancing. The pacing is more even which gives time for more stories and general commentary about the game. I have no idea how the Yankee commentators fill up three plus hours a game 162 games a year. I fist started to listen to the Yanks on the radio since I couldn't get them on the TV but I eventually found I liked it. I could do other things, like play games, while keeping one ear tuned to the broadcast. So now here in China I've found the the live streaming radio of the Yankees is one of those things that actually works here, in fact the quality has been really good.

It's funny how much I seek out US things sometimes in China. I look for any US stuff I can buy at Wal-Mart I eat a McDonalds even though I don't really like the food very much. Being far away doesn't always effect me on a day to day basis but it can be tough over time. Sometimes I just want things to work like they would in the US, even if only for a day or two. That's why I like listening to Yankee radio it brings me back to something that could not possibly be more American. The biggest problem is that with the 12 hour time difference the only games I can really listen to are 1 pm games, on at 1 am here, or 10 pm ones, 10 am. Most games are on at 7, which is just too early to get up, or 4, to far in between. On weekends though more games are played during the day so I can at least listen to some. It's always nice to hear "The Yankees win, The-e-e-e-e Yankees Win!"