This post started as a response to Mark’s latest post rhapsodizing about the Nuggets. It’s nice that the Nuggs have finally overcome their jinx. They do seem to be playing better than at any time in their history and Denver is really rallying behind them. Awesome!
I’m being sarcastic. Now I’ll turn on the charm.
I don’t have the obsession that most people have with professional sports. In fact, I hate professional sports, almost without exception. And college sports are nearly as bad. If the Nuggs, Broncos and Avs left town never to return, not only would I not miss them, but I would cheer and openly celebrate.
Why, you ask? What did the Nuggets or the Broncos ever do to Matt?
But that’s the wrong question. My question is, “What have the Nuggets or Broncos ever done for me?” I understand the appeal of watching a game. What I don’t understand is the sentimental attachment. The Nuggets are not our friends. Most are not from Denver. They are millionaires, hired mercenaries, paid to use their athletic talents to fool you into thinking we have some kind of stake in their success, that their triumph is ours. We have no stake, and their triumph is not ours. They do not care for us, they do not love us, and they have no loyalty to Denver.
Neither do any of the other major professional sports teams have any particular loyalty to any location. They are notorious for pulling up stakes as soon as they find they can make more money elsewhere. It’s not surprising. Any business would do the same.
What is surprising is the adoration and love that sports fans shower upon their “heroes”. It is completely one-sided – we can read in sports magazines about the sadness sports fans every time their idols do not live up to their perceived status as “role models”. Which is quite often, though the reality never seems to sink in to the fans. Sports stars are generally egomaniacal prima donnas, jerks who relish their status and care what the fans think only so far as it affects their abilities to sign fat endorsement contracts.
And why would they? To be a sports star in America is to be the closest thing to royalty we have in this country, and rare is the scandal that ends one’s career. The worst forms of behavior are winked at. The reality is that the culture of sports encourages it. And people expect these overgrown babies to be role models?
But sports star culture is not even close to being the worst thing about professional sports. Far worse is the parasitic nature of the industry on the economy. Most sports teams could not survive economically without public subsidy of their enterprises, through public financing of stadiums, special laws granting them the ability to effectively operate as monopolies, etc. If the public balks at providing subsidies for the multimillionaire owners, the owners threaten to move to a town more favorable to their public extortion scheme. And they do not hesitate to follow through on these threats if their bluff is called.
Here in Denver, the public provided nearly 70% of the financing for the Bronco’s home, Invesco Field at Mile High, nearly $250,000,000, through a special metro-area sales tax levy.
The rationale behind this public “investment” is a supposed benefit to the economy at large. In reality, the positive effects on the economy are dubious at best, non-existent or negative at worst.
But certainly, some people do benefit economically – the wealthy owners and athletes. They are lucky to have such a deep reservoir of public goodwill and trust, which never seems to deplete, no matter how badly they misuse and abuse it.
It’s true that, in Denver’s case at least, the tax increase in question passed by a wide margin of a popular vote, so clearly the public believes it derives some form of value from the Broncos et al. My question is therefore, what value? The right to purchase overpriced tickets and merchandise? $8 beers and $5 hot dogs, while being prohibited from bringing your own food into a facility that your tax dollars paid for?
Of course not. The “value” to the public is what they perceive to be the “team spirit”, the loyalty to the hometown, the vicarious thrill of victory when the “hometown boys”, who are neither boys or in most cases from the hometown, defeat the enemy. But as I have shown, that is manufactured, not genuine, the result of successful branding campaigns and gigantic marketing budgets. The reality is precisely the opposite. It is cynical exploitation of mass delusion, and very, very lucrative. Every time you buy something in the Denver area, you are paying the interest on the bonds that were issued to pay for Mile High Stadium.
If you feel good about that, consider this: perhaps the worst thing about the public subsidy of pro sports is what economists call “opportunity cost”. An opportunity cost is the result of choosing one economic option over another. How much affordable housing could have been built for that $250 million? How many schools built and funded? How many public works like parks and infrastructure could have been paid for? Don’t ask the owners of the Broncos. They’re too busy putting that new wing on the mansion or vacationing in Bermuda.
I am under no illusion that professional sports are going away any time soon, or that they don’t command significant popularity. I just think that people should try to be a little more aware of the realities of the world of pro sports before they go painting their faces orange, or arguing about statistics in some bar. Professional sports teams are not your friends.
Wake up. Class dismissed.
5 comments:
Amen, brother. Amen.
Matt,
I agree that too much money is thrown at professional sports and especially at athletes. Who needs $100,000,000 over 7 years anyway? Besides myself of course.
Although I am not like you and I do enjoy watching a good basketball game, especially during the playoffs, we can agree that there is a strange, and pathetic, level of love given to athletes by some in this world. And even though there are many of these athletes that are self centered egotistical jerks, there are also many that are doing a lot of good with their money. Sadly, that usually doesn't entail giving money to me.
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Matt, like always you make some good points, but I have to say that you went a little far this time. I for one, love to watch professional sports. It is one of my favorite things to do.
While I was in Ghana the world cup was going on and it was amazing to see what it did to a place with so many social and economic problems. I have never seen a whole country get behind something like that before. It really became their identity. When they beat the USA, it was impossible to drive a car for 24 hours because so many people were in the streets dancing. It was like they had just been liberated after a hundred years of oppresion or something. The funny thing is that only one of the players on the national team still lived in Ghana. The rest were making boku bucks in Europe or the USA playing professional soccer. Think about where the money could have gone if Ghana didn't have a team. Housing, public facilities, etc. But it did so much good to lift those people's spirits and I promise you if you go to Ghana right now and mention the Black Stars to them, they will start talking for hours and hours about how they are one of the worlds elite teams.
My point is that for many people, like myself, there is a certain bond that forms in sports that unites a people, a city, or even a country. For some people, there is tons of good, besides money, that come from sports. That is one of the reasons why people don't have a problem forking out money to keep these teams in their cities.
Although I agree with you that most athletes are paid too much, and that many are big jerks that don't care where they live as long as they get paid, there are still just as many that make huge contributions that help the communities in which they play.
My last point, is that whenever I travel for track or anything else and I tell somebody that I am from Denver, 4 out of 5 times their next comment goes something like this: "Man what about those Nuggets this year" or "Those Broncos are really hurting this year, aren't they."
You gave several points about how people perceive the value of a sports team and then you tried to prove them false. You were right in some ways but, I think that professional teams give a city a sense of identy to millions of people. Just as many people who think of mountains when they think of Denver, so too do many think Broncos or Nuggets.
It may be sad, but when I think of Cleveland, which I visited last year, the first thing that pops into my head is Lebron James and the Cavs. The same thing goes for Chicago or Boston or even New York. For many sad people like myself, that is how we think.
So say what you will, I think that professional sports do enough good for cities for people like me, that they merit the investment required. So go Nugs, bring on the Lakers, we can take them!!!!! The Rockets don't stand a chance.
Guzy:
I think this may be the longest comment I've ever read from you! I'm flattered you took the time to respond, and your perspective is widely shared I am sure.
Your story about Ghana exactly proves my point. Judging by your account, the Ghanan soccer team has little actual connection to the country it "represents" beyond the adulation and love of the masses. It is not a two way street. I am sure they do love "their" team. But it is not really theirs, and I am sure they do not benefit from the team materially much at all. That is a total illusion. In fact, one could argue that the authorities like it this way... nothing distracts people from their dire poverty and oppression like a little ol' fashioned patriotism, and what better way to create a facsimile of patriotism than through pro sports?
Though my post was mainly about American pro sports, I'm sure it applies to many other sports worldwide.
At least you seem to acknowledge the cognitive dissonance between the marketing campaigns responsible for your feelings and perception of place identity and the reality that it's nothing more than image fostered by big businesses with zero interest or love for the places they market to. The next step is to question why you and so many others give it such credence.
I repeat, the Nuggets do not care about you. Any love you show them will not be reciprocated in any real way beyond these good feelings you marinate in. They do not care for your love beyond how much they can get you to pay for tix and expensive merchandies.
You describe the tons of good that comes from pro sports besides money. I'm sorry but I don't think good feelings aren't enough to justify the public subsidies they receive in most cases. We give them money. They take the money. Take heart that the illusion you love is so widely embraced, but you should question it more.
Sports are healthy and fun, but pro sports are a racket and a drain on us all. Its' is only covered up by the "good feelings" you get from the teams. That's not a positive benefit, that is smiling at you while they're picking your pocket.
Matt, we are really saying the same thing. In fact I agree with you in almost every point you made. There is too much money in pro sports and I am certainly not naïve enough to expect any reciprocated love from the Nuggets or Broncos (especially not Kenyon Martin), but what we do disagree on is if pro sports merit the public investment they require.
My point in sharing the Ghana story was that the Black Stars (the Ghanaian national soccer team) did more good for that country than anything else I saw there. The whole country was united behind a common goal, and even though individually each deluded fan got absolutely nothing out of it materially, psychologically the country was different. They believed man; they believed they could conquer the world if they needed too.
Maybe I did a bad job describing the feeling that existed there, and maybe it is one of those things where you had to be there to understand, but I’m telling you I have never been apart of something so cool.
The other point I want to make is that not all public policy is aimed at monetary gain. Take public parks for example or even libraries. We certainly pay for the upkeep and maintenance of such public facilities through taxes, and yet what value do we get out of them? I’m not saying that I want parks to go away; in fact I am willing to pay more taxes to have more of them. I love the Provo River Trail and Clement Park, and I think they are worth the investment made and more. I don’t see that big of a difference in pro sports. There are tons of benefits that come to us from them that aren’t monetary, and that can certainly make them legitimate.
My last point is that there are still some monetary benefits from pro teams. There are hundreds of jobs created and numerous businesses that benefit from the stadiums and teams. Look at all the restaurants and bars down by Coors field.
All I am saying is that I am willing to look past the fact that the Nuggets don’t care about me and that I don’t gain any material thing from their success because there are other benefits. I mean what could be better than rubbing a Western Conference finals championship in the face of all Lakers fans. Nothing could be sweeter, except for a 5-pound bag of Gummi Worms, but you now how much I love my gummis.
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