---
title: "America’s Pastime?"
description: "<a href=\"/databank/dailynumber/?NumberID=443\"><img src=\"/assets/datatrends/numbers/443-front.gif\" style=\"float:right;margin-left:5px;margin-bottom:5px;border:0px\" alt=\"Baseball\" /></a>That's the proportion of adults who said they were especially looking forward to baseball's World Series according to a January Pew survey, down 13 points from 1988."
date: "2008-01-15"
authors:
  - name: "Russell Heimlich"
    job_title: "Former web developer"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/russell-heimlich/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2008/01/15/americas-pastime/"
---

# America’s Pastime?

As the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals open the baseball season Sunday night, only 38% of Americans say they are especially looking forward to the World Series this year according to a January Pew survey. That is a 13-percentage point decline from 1988, when 51% of Americans said they were especially looking forward to the Fall Classic. The presidential election (70%) was the most anticipated event of 2008, with the Olympics (52%) and Super Bowl (49%) more popular sporting events for Americans. [Read More](https://www.pewresearch.org/pubs/679/the-publics-not-so-happy-new-year)