Scalping the Game...

Just a quick problem that I've been having with local sports writers. I love how people are so quick to play the card that sports have lost their loyalty and management and athletes only think about money. That seems like a great argument, unless of course you have a few brain cells to rub together...

I love hearing the old line "they're only in it for the money." It actually makes me laugh. OF COURSE THEY ARE. Do you really think that they actually care where they play or what the fans think? Do you personally think about your co-workers when you decide to change jobs? No, you go to where the money is. Nobody would tell you that you should work for minimum wage because the Hamburgler really likes you when you have an offer to run a Fortune 500 company.

These same fans that claim that sports are nothing more than a business are the same ones posting their spare tickets to a game on ebay for 10 times the face value. Or, you're that fan in the crowd that yells out "I paid 'X' amount of dollars to watch this." As though because you paid a certain amount of money to go to the game you are entitled to a better performance/outcome. Yeah, see that's not how it works. If it was then the teams with the highest ticket prices would always win. But, right, you have reason to complain that it is merely just a business. It's a business, get used to it.

As fans it's our nature to develop an emotional attachment to a team. However, expecting players to do the same is foolish. Sure, athletes appreciate the fan base that makes them what they are (sometimes we create gods out of men; ie Tom Brady, Lebron James), but at the same time they know that fans are a dime a dozen and they could easily go to another team and find more just like them.

We bought Nike products because we wanted to "be like Mike." We drank Gatorade because Mia and Mike played to "anything you can do, I can do better." We drank Coke because of Mean Joe. We wear UnderArmor because the Old Ball Coach says "click clack."

We fuel the business. We flock to trends like they want us to. We're the reason why Jordan still makes millions a month even though he hasn't laced them up in years. Don't hate the player, hate the game.

Long Live Sports,

DG2