The Glory and Perversity of Sports
Ancient men used to mark the time by the changing of the seasons, winter to spring and summer to fall. So does modern man - football season to basketball season to baseball season.
America embraces sport like no other nation. Except for a few dedicated soccer types, no young man dreams of putting on the uniform of a sports team based outside of a league anchored in the United States. When it comes to sports, America is the magnet.
For us, sport mirrors what we want in a society. Everyone plays according to one's ability; there is no affirmative action. And, thanks to guys like Jackie Robinson, there are no barriers either. You can either play or you can't.
When the President uses phrases like "playing by the rules" and "fairness," it speaks to our sporting nature. Yet no one gets a "waiver" from the rules in our games (in fact, the waiver in sports usually means an unwanted change in employment.) Here we believe in the meritocracy. No "participation trophies" for us - just showing up is not enough.
Even the unions are different. No one fights for the slacker or the unproductive to keep his job.
If there is a true liberal sports organization in America it is the NCAA. Title IX has wreaked havoc on universities' sports budgets. Some major colleges have eliminated vast swaths of men's sports to comply with it. And the NCAA ties coverage of women's sports to the television contracts of the men.
As an economic exercise, the level or the gender of the participants in front of the cameras has nothing to do with the cost of televising the event. There are no discounts from vendors or crews because the players are also women.
But the results are hardly the same. CBS garnered a 12.3 rating off of Monday's men's college basketball title game between UK and Kansas. Over on the other side of the coin, ESPN managed to post a 2.6 for the women's title tilt between Baylor and Notre Dame.
You can lead to the horse to the television set, but you can't make it watch.
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Comments:
Jul '11
Re: The Glory and Perversity of Sports
Well Blake, the day my kid trades in the Larry Bird/Tim Thomas jersey for Messi/Ronaldo I'm disowning him.
You are absolutely correct about how the world views and loves that sport.
Dec '11
Re: The Glory and Perversity of Sports
EJHill:
For us, sport mirrors what we want in a society. Everyone plays according to one's ability; there is no affirmative action. And, thanks to guys like Jackie Robinson, there are no barriers either. You can either play or you can't.
Beautifully put! The level of excellence in American sports is truly reflective of the power of the free market.
I do so hope that Women's NCAA basketball is making universities money, is "earning its keep" and is not just an unprofitable Title IX imposition. (Full disclosure: I have a bad crush on Geno Auriemma.)
Oct '10
Re: The Glory and Perversity of Sports
DocJay: Well Blake, the day my kid trades in the Larry Bird/Tim Thomas jersey for Messi/Ronaldo I'm disowning him.
You are absolutely correct about how the world views and loves that sport. · 7 minutes ago
You would have disowned me long ago.
Actually, maybe only half disowned me. I traded my Tony Parker jersey (a French basketball player in the NBA) for a Clint Dempsey jersey (an American soccer player -- and a Texan! -- in England).
Good trade.
May '10
Re: The Glory and Perversity of Sports
Not a chance. Bloomberg examined the 53 public schools in the the six largest conferences through FIA requests and found that women's basketball lost $109M last year while their men's programs made $240M.
The whole thing is worth a read.
Jul '11
Re: The Glory and Perversity of Sports
EJHill
Not a chance. Bloomberg examined the 53 public schools in the the six largest conferences through FIA requests and found that women's basketball lost $109M last year while their men's programs made $240M.
The whole thing is worth a read. · 10 minutes ago
Figures. But God forbid the boys that really want to play sports in college but cannot afford it would get a scholarship.
Dec '10
Re: The Glory and Perversity of Sports
One other point I'd make about kids outside of the US. Well, I suppose it's mostly in the US, but pretty much every kid in Canada dreams of wearing an NHL jersey.
May '10
Re: The Glory and Perversity of Sports
TGA is about to be beat around the head by our friends from Canuckistan. Hockey players don't wear jerseys... the wear sweaters. He would know that if Oregon played hockey...
Nov '10
Re: The Glory and Perversity of Sports
"For us, sport mirrors what we want in a society." This is college sports you're talking about, right? That is the noble enterprise you find so edifying?
I'll just say I don't share your enthusiasm. Better the whole sorry mess implode under the weight of Title IX and its enablers at the NCAA. Something that actually honors the virtues you applaud might then replace college sports as they are.
Dec '11
Re: The Glory and Perversity of Sports
EJHill
Not a chance. Bloomberg examined the 53 public schools in the the six largest conferences through FIA requests and found that women's basketball lost $109M last year while their men's programs made $240M.
The whole thing is worth a read.
EJ, the stats in the article were unassailable, particularly the salaries of the coaches. I am also aware that Auriemma was one of the first in the NCAA to make a $1 million dollars a year in base salary. The truly eye-opening stat was the difference in ticket prices between mens and womens games. Speaking strictly on an entrepreneurial basis, was this a sound decision? Could the market bear a more expensive ticket for womens basketball?
I wouldn't watch womens softball and I only pay attention to womens water polo because my niece starts for the Wolverines at the goalie position.
Edited on April 4, 2012 at 11:00pmSep '10
Re: The Glory and Perversity of Sports
The University of Wisconsin, one of the founding members of the oldest conference in the country, with an annual athletic budget exceeding $90 million, has not fielded a men's baseball team since the early 1990's.
Jul '11
Re: The Glory and Perversity of Sports
EThompson:
EJHill
Not a chance. Bloomberg examined the 53 public schools in the the six largest conferences through FIA requests and found that women's basketball lost $109M last year while their men's programs made $240M.
The whole thing is worth a read.
EJ, the stats in the article were unassailable, particularly the salaries of the coaches. I am also aware that Auriemma was one of the first in the NCAA to make a $1 million dollars a year in base salary. The truly eye-opening stat was the difference in ticket prices between mens and womens games. Speaking strictly on an entrepreneurial basis, was this a sound decision? Could the market bear a more expensive ticket for womens basketball?
I wouldn't watch womens softball and I only pay attention to womens water polo because my niece starts for the Wolverines at the goalie position. · 3 minutes ago
Edited 1 minute ago
I like women's water polo :)
Dec '11
Re: The Glory and Perversity of Sports
DocJay
I like women's water polo :)
DocJay: I figure you, of all people, would understand my pride at having a family member receive an athletic scholarship to the Big Ten and as a goalie, no less! :)
Edited on April 4, 2012 at 11:47pmDec '10
Re: The Glory and Perversity of Sports
EJ - thanx for your concern, but that's an Eastern Canada affectation. I grew up in BC and played hockey from age 6 all the way through HS, and also played a couple of years of city league down here in Portland. We called them jerseys, not sweaters. Probably something the frogs came up with.
Jul '11
Re: The Glory and Perversity of Sports
EThompson
DocJay
I like women's water polo :)
DocJay: I figure you, of all people, would understand my pride at having a family member receive an athletic scholarship to the Big Ten and as a goalie, no less! :) · 19 minutes ago
Edited 18 minutes ago
Not only do I love and understand that but I actually like all water polo. At UCSD we had a pretty decent team and I enjoyed watching this odd sport. I had an intramural basketball team half made up of water polo players who could run forever and pass in the most interesting ways. Female athletes in speedos add a whole new dimension though.
Dec '11
Re: The Glory and Perversity of Sports
DocJay
EThompson
DocJay
I like women's water polo :)
DocJay: I figure you, of all people, would understand my pride at having a family member receive an athletic scholarship to the Big Ten and as a goalie, no less! :)
Not only do I love and understand that but I actually like all water polo. At UCSD we had a pretty decent team and I enjoyed watching this odd sport. I had an intramural basketball team half made up of water polo players who could run forever and pass in the most interesting ways. Female athletes in speedos add a whole new dimension though.
The world of sports is a small one, indeed! I love UCSD because it is the former employer of Jim Harbaugh. And, interestingly enough, my niece is from LA and most of her teammates are from Orange County.
Jul '11
Re: The Glory and Perversity of Sports
Alas ET that was USD that employed Harbaugh, a great Jesuit school on a beautiful hill. We had no football.
Dec '11
Re: The Glory and Perversity of Sports
I stand corrected and my apologies for the error.
Jul '10
Re: The Glory and Perversity of Sports
Y'all are skirting around the issue.
Title IX is proof that there is not the same interest in Women's sports as in Men's or there wouldn't be a Title IX (the Chevy Volt of the NCAA).
More fuel for the fire: if Women could play at the level of Men, then there wouldn't be Men's and Women's leagues.
Mar '11
Re: The Glory and Perversity of Sports
I used to watch sports, but it was a guilty pleasure. It is a time-waster. So because I want to make my time on this earth count, I have stopped.
Let's face it: sports are a lot like pornography: an easy way to release suppressed male energy in a civil society, with only minimal damage to the audience. Nothing productive is accomplished with either one, but at least fatalities are kept to a minimum.
The difference is that with sports, the viewer gets to identify with a group, and comes away convinced that he has spent the time somehow being relevant.
Edited on April 5, 2012 at 2:23amMay '10
Re: The Glory and Perversity of Sports
Except my kids get to eat. Other than that...