Playing Professional Sports Is NOT a Privilege

Last week I began an argument that is likely to be unpopular to most American sports fans who read it. The entry draft system, as employed by all of the major American professional sports leagues, operates in a vacuum devoid of common sense or fairness to most of the participants in the process. I said in Part I that the public has been duped into believing professional athletes should be thankful for the privilege of playing a sport for a living, much to the delight of the greedy team owners. This is a point that bears revisiting, as it is a mindset that allows the public to continue backing a broken system.

|In a perfect world where all of us could do whatever we wanted to do for a living, many of us would choose to be professional athletes. And why not? We love sports, we'd love the attention and we sure as heck would love the money. However, it is not a perfect world and many of us can't do what we we would ideally do for a living. Why? Because God or evolution or genetics or life being unfair didn't grant us the height, strength, speed and other attributes needed to compete at a professional level. So, to answer the question 'Why am I not a professional athlete?', the answer is simple. We can't! I like to think I was a decent ballplayer at one point in my life, but if I took the court against NBA players I would be destroyed. That is the reality of the situation. It is why so many people rip professional athletes or try to live vicariously through them. We want so badly to do what they do, and the frustration of not being able to manifests itself in all sorts of unhealthy vitriol.


Look at it this way. How many people are paying to watch your Sunday softball team play? Or you rec hoops squad? That would be none. Zero. Zilch. We tune in to see the games we love played at the highest level. They are played at the highest level because the players are the best in the world at what they do. The product (the league, the sport, etc) is great but without the best athletes the product becomes watered down. Athletes possess a rare skill set that the leagues need to hold our attention. Someone being able to have a job you wish you had does NOT make it a privilege.

Poor Picked On Philly Sports Fans

If you have tuned in to the Philadelphia news or national sports information outlets since Wednesday, you have undoubtedly heard the story of the scumbag (I refuse to give the idiot attention by typing his name) Phillies fan who purposely vomited on fellow fans who took umbrage with his friends' drunken behavior at a game that night. The disgusting nature of the act in and of itself made it newsworthy. The fact that this chucklehead (allegedly) did this to family group which included children adds to the vitriol. Naturally, this has become a national story, one with the typical "Philly fans are the worst in the country" theme.

There is a growing trend in the Philadelphia media, whether it is sportswriters or sports radio talk show hosts, where it has become chic to take on the role of defender of the poor, picked-on Philadelphia sports fan. Our collective reputation as violent drunken fair-weather louts is apparently completely undeserved. We are victims not of a well-documented history of ugly fan incidents, but a conspiracy of injustice perpetuated by derisive lazy journalism by the national media. Wow.

This morning I read the John Gonzalez' piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer and I threw up a little bit in my mouth. Gonzo, as he is known, makes the case that Philly fans are being treated unfairly and provides a laundry list a of ugly incidents that have gone down in other towns as if to say that it's okay for Philly fans to act like idiots, you know, since other people do it too! I am usually a fan of Gonzo's work, but enough already! I have had it with local media types making excuses for boorish behavior at Philadelphia sporting events.

Gonzo writes "Once it became news, we all knew the national media would pounce and pound the city". Why? Because this stuff happens here more than anywhere else in the country! The truth is that binge drinking has become commonplace before Phillies games. I have noticed it a lot in recent seasons. Phillies games have become an event, and a larger number of Philly fans, especially young adults, are tailgating before games. Eagles games have long been known to have an element of booze, as football tailgating is a time-honored tradition. Phillies games have now reached a similar level of pregame boozing. I have attended a handful of games in recent years, most on weeknights. I remember commenting to a friend last year how it bothered me that we saw three kids in a state of total drunkenness on the concourse, all slumped against the wall outside the bathroom. Another guy from their group was throwing up into a sink. This scene played out during the third inning.


I am no prude. I do not see myself as any better than any other fan. I have tailgated. I have behaved badly at sporting events. I have said nasty things to visiting players that were rude and downright wrong (though I am told they were usually pretty funny). I do not sit here in judgment. However, to argue that Philly fans do not deserve the scrutiny we receive is ridiculous. For media types to cry in their columns and on their shows about how we are misrepresented is a joke. Gonzo lists a handful of serious fan misbehavior from other cities. Do we have a monopoly on serious fan incidents? No. Is the national media quick to jump on Philly fans for a quick "they are evil!" story? Yes. But are we innocent? No! Philly has way more than our fair share of nasty incidents. No other city comes close. To be honest, I used to revel in the bad-fan reputation. I was proud of it. Maybe I am just getting old.

Gonzo further weakens his argument by stupidly claiming that the mad puker shouldn't be added to the Philadelphia fan bad behavior tab because he is from Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Really, John? Cherry Hill, as any Philadelphian knows, is as much of a part of the Philly fan base as any city neighborhood. I actually can't believe he would write something like that, and I hope that it was an attempt to be funny that I just didn't get. As I said, I am a fan of Gonzo's work, but the Cherry Hill thing was just dumb.

All I am saying is that local media types need to cut out the excuse making and whoa-is-me rhetoric that is an obvious attempt at pandering to the local fan base. The culture in Philly, whether you like it or not, is one of extreme alcohol intake before Eagles and Phillies games. Is it everyone? No! But it's ENOUGH people that the "one bad apple spoils the whole bunch" argument is preposterous. Why do so many Philadelphians feel it necessary to liquor up before a sporting event? I don't know. Again, I am no prude and have done and will do my fair share of tailgating. However, I won't sit and whine because the national media continues to lump Philadelphia sports fans into the bad seed bucket. The truth is, we continue to put ourselves there.

Why Professional Sports Drafts Are Evil - Part I

The 2010 NFL draft is mere days away and the entire NFL fan base is atwitter. Everyone loves the drama, the wheeling, dealing and all of the theories from reporters and other talking heads that we can't seem to get enough of. Will the Eagles trade out of the first round again? Which team will make the first reach? Will Mel Kiper's hair move? Face it, we love the NFL and NBA drafts. We love the agonizing hours that lead to our team's picks and all of the emotion that comes with whether we agree or disagree with their selections. But there is another side to professional sports drafts that goes mostly ignored.


American sports leagues have convinced the public that playing for them is a privilege. Listen to talk radio some day and listen to how the average Joe talks about a player who is in the midst of a contentious contract negotiation or who is trying to circumvent the draft system. Public opinion is such that fans feel that athletes should pay to be allowed to play pro sports. The truth is, professional athletes possess a valuable skill set that, if not provided to the sports leagues, would lead to a watered-down product that likely would leave sports fans unimpressed and disengaged.


Imagine you are a young professional coming out of college or grad school. You have a bright future and have a skill set that elevates most job seekers. There is no shortage of suitors that are willing to bid for your services, and your future is as bright as can be. However, instead of being able to choose the best situation for you, a rightful expectation given how hard you have worked, you find out after graduation that you have been drafted to work for ChachieMac, Inc. After doing some research on ChachieMac, you find they are known to be a poorly-run outfit with a long tradition of poor performance. Oh, and they are based in Anchorage, Alaska. You have always dreamed of working for one of America's great companies in one of America's finest cities. Those companies would love to have you come work for them and would be willing to pay you what you are worth. Too bad though, as you have no mechanisms at your disposal to change your fate. THAT is the American professional sports entry draft system.

I used to have a ton of animosity for athletes who bucked the draft system in recent years, namely J.D. Drew and Eli Manning. At the time, I felt that both were arrogant for thinking they were too good for their respective systems. I hated them for what I perceived as their feeling that they were better than everyone else and deserving of special treatment. Looking back, I can totally understand where they were coming from, and to be completely honest, I can now applaud them for standing up for themselves.

American sports leagues are the only industry that I can think of that can get away with this type of system, one that removes most, if not all, control of their new employees' career path. I can hear the arguments now - "but it's a PRIVILEGE to play professional sports!". People have been suckered into believing this ridiculous notion mainly because many of us grew up idolizing players and fantasizing about the lifestyle and money that comes with success as a professional athlete.

So, what is the harm? Who does this system hurt? The answers might surprise you...

Coming Soon: "Why Professional Sports Drafts Are Evil - Part II"

Sports In America Are Broken

Most who know me realized relatively quickly that I am a pretty big sports fan. I have followed the American major sports leagues and top-tier European football (see soccer) for as long as I can remember, with a particular fanatical fervor for my hometown teams - The Philadelphia Eagles, Phillies, Flyers and 76ers. If you have attended a sports event with me, you know that I get into it and take providing a home field advantage very seriously. However, in recent years I have noticed that I don't quite live and die with the results as I once did. I still throw myself into supporting my teams, but it is rare that a loss cripples me for long or a win makes all of my problems seem less important.

I have theorized that this development is one of maturity, what with the addition of adult life responsibilities. I mean, even if the Eagles were to win the Super Bowl (not happening any time soon, obviously), is Andy Reid going to pay my mortgage? Is Ed Snider ever going to reward me for my loyalty to the Flyers and Sixers by paying my monthly day care bill? In the immortal words of Sonny LoSpecchio (as played by Chazz Palminteri) in A Bronx Tale, "nobody cares". I justify my rooting interest by applying logic to the equation. The city is a little bit more pleasant when our teams are succeeding. With that said, I have realized of late the real reason why I don't care as much as I used to. Sports in America are broken.

There are things about the professional and major college sports landscape that rub me the wrong way, and for the life of me I can't get past many of them. The closed-systems that the leagues operate within, entry drafts, the BCS, franchise hijackings (see the Baltimore-Indianapolis Colts and the Seattle Supersonics-Oklahoma City Thunder to name a couple), perpetually bad teams and poorly-run franchises being rewarded for futility (see the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Los Angeles Clippers to name two), geographic monopolies and municipalities squeezed for tax money to build new stadiums are just a few of my least favorite things. The truth is that American sports leagues are cartels, and the current system is one of the most corrupt rackets going.

By operating in closed systems, our sports leagues in effect create a false scarcity of product. Think about it. Say you hit a mega-jackpot lottery and are the proud new owner of a couple hundred million dollars. Your dream has always been to own your own professional sports team. You have a plan, you know it will work and you know it is am improvement over anything anyone else is doing. How do you get into the game? You either have to pay an exorbitant expansion fee, and only when the respective leagues have decided to expand - a rarity. Or, you have to buy an existing franchise - if you can find one for sale. What if your dream was to operate a team in your hometown, and that hometown already has a franchise that is protected geographically and is not for sale? Or, your hometown doesn't have a team in place? You will have to buy an existing franchise and move it to your hometown. Do you see where this is going?

I wonder how many of you Philadelphia-area folks that are rolling your eyes remember when Leonard Tose flirted with the idea of moving the Eagles to Arizona in 1984. Can you imagine how different our town would be if he went ahead with the plan?

Who suffers under the current system? For starters, players, fans and municipalities - those suffering with horribly run franchises that dominate their home regions and those who would support a franchise but whose cities have not been deemed worthy of expansion. Yes, I argue that players suffer under the current systems. Save your "athletes make too much money" arguments. I will explain myself in the next couple of days with my "Why Drafts Are Evil" entry...

Friends and family have heard me say that democracy is being done better in other countries, and now I am going to say that professional sports is being done better elsewhere as well. Why do I bring this up here? Because I believe we can fix most of what ails American professional sports by adopting the model used almost everywhere else, most notably in Europe. That's right, no more entry drafts, no more closed systems and no more geographical monopolies for franchises. I am calling for the complete adoption of the promotion and relegation system. Teams earn their way into the top tier and have to perform to stay there. Players coming in to the league would be able to sell their services to the highest bidder - you know, like employees are able to do in any other line of work. Again, this concept is worthy of its own entry - trust me.

More and more, the systemic flaws inherent with American sports are being noticed by the masses. However, the combination of fans' fear of change and the power wielded by the sports leagues works to keep these broken systems in place and unchallenged. Well, I am challenging them now.

Coming soon: "Why Drafts Are Evil"; "Give Me Relegation!" and "Blow Up the Cartels".