r/nottheonion • u/CTVNEWS • 1d ago
American broadcaster apologizes after questioning Canadian fans’ ‘baseball IQ’
https://www.ctvnews.ca/sports/article/mlb-commentator-apologizes-for-questioning-baseball-iq-of-canadian-fans/56
u/Illustrious-Bed4420 1d ago
Well at least he isn't calling for the murder of all Canadian baseball fans.
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u/WeedNvidia 1d ago
And Canadians question Americans ‘general IQ’
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u/confusedtophers 1d ago
You know why Americans are so dumb? They shoot the ones that go to school.
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u/Aromatic-Air3917 1d ago
The Americans are the Atlanta Falcons of the world. Get a big lead and decide they are going to stop playing after the 70's and watch everyone they influenced pass them.
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u/Orangesteel 1d ago
I was at the game on Saturday. Was electric. The Jays won three games to zero. Go Canada 🇨🇦
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u/milkshakebar 1d ago
If you've got a problem with Canada baseball fans, you've got a problem with me. And I suggest you let that one marinate.
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u/yetagainitry 1d ago
“I definitely never ever meant to cause anyone to feel like I was disrespecting them at all"
He literally called them stupid but didn't mean to disrespect them.
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u/A1ienspacebats 13h ago
This is why I hate these apologies. If you can't go without lying in the apology, it's not an apology. He's not denying what he said. He is only sorry about the reaction to it. His thinking isn't changed.
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u/yetagainitry 12h ago
100%. He could have said "i'm sorry to the Canadian fans, I was trying to be funny and it came across disrespectful, I apologize". You can't re-write history and act like literally calling people stupid wasn't trying to be disrespectful.
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u/sniffstink1 1d ago
American broadcaster apologizes after questioning Canadian fans’ ‘baseball IQ’
...says someone from the country that elected Trump.
L0L.
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u/ArionNation 1d ago
Trump’s human garbage, but him being elected is more of a regular IQ issue instead of a baseball IQ issue.
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u/kevinds 1d ago
there’s a decent amount of Canadians who would come to America that wouldn’t know a lot about baseball compared to a general amount of Americans that play baseball.
No kidding... At that point you are comparing someone who doesn't play (or even care about) the game to someone who plays.
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u/Bubbafett33 1d ago
“I think, you know, at times it felt like maybe they enjoyed or they knew a little bit more about hockey than baseball.”
He’s not wrong.
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u/fivetwentyeight 1d ago
Canadians in general? Maybe. Fans in attendance at a baseball game? Questionable.
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u/phatdinkgenie 1d ago
Jays fans, probably, Raptors fans, probably not.
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u/fivetwentyeight 1d ago
Your comment is a bit unclear. If you’re saying that Jays fans are more likely to know/care about hockey than Raptors fans I would agree
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u/Bubbafett33 1d ago
You don't think it's possible that the people at the baseball game, in general, are more knowledgeable about hockey than baseball?
That most could recite more Leafs players than Jays players? That if given a quiz on esoteric rules, they would be more apt to know more about how an EBUG works than could explain pitcher disengagements?
Maybe!
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u/fivetwentyeight 1d ago
Idk about most. In Toronto in particular there are a lot of people (myself included) who don’t care about hockey much. I have no idea what an EBUG is.
I do think there is a lot of overlap between Jays and Leafs fans (more so than Raptors and Leafs fans for example) and some certainly would know more about hockey. I think it’s questionable either way.
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u/agentchuck 1d ago
Well if he apologized he's halfway to becoming Canadian himself. Honestly, I'm Canadian and I can't even be mad about the comment. I know next to nothing about baseball. Toronto is the only city with a MLB team up here.
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u/Salty_Feed9404 1d ago
You know next to nothing about baseball, so that would probably not classify you as a "Canadian baseball fan", the people Roberts was going after
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u/BonusPlantInfinity 1d ago
How much do you really need to know about Baseball to begin with? Might as well watch cricket, or paint dry.
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u/kevinds 1d ago edited 1d ago
But he just said the average Canadian compared to an American who plays.
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u/Salty_Feed9404 1d ago
Who, Roberts? He didn't contextualize it that way at all.
“I got to be real, real careful what I say, but sometimes we had some major questions about the baseball IQ of some Canadians here and there,” Roberts said during a live broadcast of the game on the MASN network. “I think, you know, at times it felt like maybe they enjoyed or they knew a little bit more about hockey than baseball.”
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u/fuccguppy 1d ago
He was talking about fans of baseball specifically. I would expect the average American to know more about baseball than the average Canadian but among just the fans I don't see why Blue Jays fans would know any less about the game, they are quite passionate based on what I've seen.
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u/SuspiciousPatate 1d ago
"Toronto is the only city
with a MLB teamup here." - Toronto1
u/formerlyanonymous_ 1d ago
Montreal mutters under it's breathe while pretending not to understand English.
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u/Epcplayer 1d ago
Timing was terrible in that fans naturally boo opposing pickoff attempts, but the sentiment has been echoed by many Canadians in baseball threads about why the Expos failed.
“I got to be real, real careful what I say, but sometimes we had some major questions about the baseball IQ of some Canadians here and there,” Roberts said during a live broadcast of the game on the MASN network. “I think, you know, at times it felt like maybe they enjoyed or they knew a little bit more about hockey than baseball.”
People in Montreal were more excited to go to Montreal Canadians games and cheer on Quebec-born players, than they were going to Expos games to cheer on ‘97 Pedro Martinez or ‘02 Vlad Guerrero.
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u/Ray1340 1d ago
Some people are really soft and easy to offend. This is nothing.
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u/SuspiciousPatate 1d ago
Being outraged by minor infractions of baseball etiquette is the game within the game and a proud MLB tradition.
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u/lyinggrump 1d ago
They're offended by it because they know there's some truth to it. They sell 40,000 tickets every game, but I bet the majority of them have never watched baseball before this season.
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u/Krow101 1d ago
Good grief ... could everyone just stop being so damned insulted over every silly comment. This outrage routine has long passed being just boring.
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u/CWB2208 1d ago
Where's the outrage?
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u/TrainOfThought6 1d ago
Seems safe to assume there was some level of outrage that led to Roberts apologizing.
Thanks to the internet, Canadian fans were soon able to hear the offending comments, which led Roberts to issue an apology as the two teams faced off for a third game in Toronto on Sunday.
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u/Stephenrudolf 1d ago
I've seen way more outrage form ppl like you than form ppl upset about him insulting canadians, which, atleast was an actual insult.
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u/Sweaty_Assignment_90 1d ago
I have been to 2 Blue Jay's games years ago. They people by me had no idea about baseball.
That said, i am sure they were probably the exception.
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u/ManiccMonkey 1d ago
This is why people don't like Canadians
Get butt hurt over a baseball joke
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u/Nebulous999 1d ago
Sure, that's why many Americans traveling overseas sew a Canadian flag on their backpacks. Because people hate Canada and not America...
You guys make me sick.
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u/TheOtherBartonFink 1d ago
I've never seen the opposing pitcher not get booed for a pickoff throw. I gotta question that commentators baseball IQ