LONDON _ Soccer is a religion over here, just like cricket, and the British have been hooked on the NFL since the 1980s. Our national pastime will never be the international pastime, but you'll be surprised by the amount of interest in baseball, cricket's younger, distant cousin, in the Old World.
It doesn't approach the passion in Latin America or Japan, but baseball does have a significant presence on the other side of the Atlantic. In an email to Newsday, Major League Baseball spokesman John Blundell said there are more than 100,000 regular players of organized baseball in Europe. More than 20 of them _ from the Czech Republic, France, Russia, Italy, Holland, Germany, Lithuania, Moldova and Spain _ are under contract to major league teams. Twelve networks show big league games in 35 of Europe's 51 countries.
For its debut in England, MLB is showcasing its most intense blood feud, and the two-game series between the Yankees and the Red Sox at London's Olympic Stadium sold out (capacity is 60,000) in one day. Many fans Saturday wore hats and jerseys with Yankee and Red Sox logos. According to Blundell, last year Europe produced approximately 30% of MLB's international consumer products revenue. The Brits not only buy expensive MLB gear but bet on the games.
