Mariners and A’s Open 2012 MLB Season in Japan (Really???)

For centuries, philosophers and scientists have asked the question, 'can something exist without being perceived.'  The example everyone knows and quotes is 'if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?'

Pardon me for my ethnocentrism, but did Seattle and Oakland really open America's past time in Japan?  Obviously, the 44,000+ that filled the Tokyo Dome to see Ichiro play a professional game in his native land for the first time in over a decade know the game was played, but how but us poor saps in the good old U.S. of A.

Highlights and a box score will tell us this game was played, but isn't opening day in Major League Baseball supposed to be something sacred to Americans.  The politically correct among us will say, 'what's the big deal, Selig is trying to grow the brand and expand revenue streams in a foreign land.'  That's fine, but we already know how baseball crazed Japan is.  Others will say, 'it's great that Ichiro finally gets to play a MLB game in his native land.'  IT'S CALLED A TELEVISION, Ichiro is playing in America and getting paid in American dollars.

I understand I'm getting a little salty about all of this, but I have not received a good explanation why this game was not played in Seattle or Oakland.  Would the English Premier League open its season at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Ca. to help grow the game in America?  HELL NO IT WOULDN'T!!!!

As for the game, the Mariners downed the Athletics 3-1 in 11 innings.  Ichiro went 4-5, and Felix Hernandez pitched 8 strong innings in a no decision.  In his Major League debut, Cuban super prospect Yoenis Cespedis went 1-3 in a losing effort.

Was this really our opening day?  Does a tree make a sound when it falls in the forest?  I guess it all depends on who you ask.