“The Optimism of Sports?”
Written By: Nicholas Carafa
(Grade 12)
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When people watch their favourite team on television, they mostly concentrate on
winning that game as it means everything. Every goal, every save, every win, and every
loss; all those aspects of the game are vital to us. That is what every sports fan across
the world has in common - they want their team to succeed and win that coveted
championship. However, the thing is, not everyone thinks the same way as these
traditional sports fanatics. The people observing their “product” in the suites are paying
attention to something completely opposite. They’re worrying about whether they sold
out for the night’s game or whether people have purchased that over-priced slice of
pizza. This is what the typical fan does not realize, these owners, general managers do
not care about the fans in some aspects, and they are concerned by means of whether
or not you have spent money on that jersey of your favourite player. Their main
intention is to bring in what is most important to them; the all mighty dollar.
There is no doubt that every sports franchise across the world is a business, the main
objective is to sell their “product” and construct a fixation that will help these
corporations be successful. The only way this can be achieved is if there is currency
being brought in. The art of business deals with the promotion of merchandise that
captures the attention of a specified audience, and a sports team is the perfect
commodity. A sports team gives people a reason to come together, a sense of spirited
patriotism.
But there is one burning question that puzzles a sports fanatic like myself. Should I
continue to follow a team that has continually failed expectations for the past forty-one
years and counting? A perfect example is the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. Going
back to the days of Harold Ballard and the countless number of horrible teams being
presented onto the ice, it could really turn a fan away from the game. The same story
has been told over and over again, “we are re-building”. It still continues today, the
Leafs are still re-building but there is one issue that really confuses me, why is every
game still sold out if the team is predicted not to make the playoffs?
That is why sports are an amazing business because of a thing called optimism. Every
year is a new year, and those die-hard Leafs fan think, you know what; maybe this will
be the year, and we can celebrate down King Street. I believe that corruption and the
idea of making that extra buck has really ruined one of the greatest NHL franchises of all
time; they got too greedy. To even make matters worse, the prices for tickets are so
expensive that the average fan cannot even go to the game to watch their team, and
that’s why you see suits all over the ACC because it’s all covered by businessmen.
The key component to being a great company is success. I believe that is Maple Leafs
Sports and Entertainment really want to bring in the money, I suggest putting an
amazing team on the ice and then they’ll see they money pouring in, and isn’t that the
purpose of business. Money is what makes the world go round even in the places you
least expect.