Mixing Business and Pleasure

Today is my last day of work before taking August off and heading to school in September and, since you don't tend to do a whole lot on your last day other than say your goodbyes, waste time online and go out for drinks afterward, I can't use my typical "I've been too busy at work to post on my blog" excuse.  Lately I've been doing a lot of reflecting on the last two-plus years working for a major sports league here in Manhattan and how I can use my experience, combined with the two years in business school that lie ahead of me, to further my career in professional sports.  What I haven't really stepped back to think about, though, is how working in professional sports has effected me as a sports fan.

I'm not naive enough to believe that everyone involved in professional sports - owners, executives, coaches, players, etc. - is as passionate about sports as I am.  It didn't take a job in a league office to teach me that this is a business, much like any other, and that the bottom line comes down to dollars and cents, not wins and losses.  That being said, working here has magnified that to some degree.  Rather than just understanding the old "sports is a business" axiom conceptually, I have now been able to witness it firsthand.  I had spent the first quarter century of my life flip-flopping between blaming players for their greed and blaming owners for their stinginess.  Now, I can see that both are just trying to get the most they can out of a dysfunctional business model.  Working here has hardly dispelled my belief that sports is mainly about the money.  In fact, it's confirmed it.

In a strange way, though, this has only made me even more passionate about watching and following sports.  Rather than taking away the fictional mystique of "men playing a kids game" that many fans thrive on, a deeper understanding of the sports business landscape has provided me with another dimension of pro sports to follow.  Now, in addition to watching sports for the games, I watch for creative advertising, clever in-game promotions and new television deals.  While I've always appreciated the player negotiation side of the business (my lifelong dream of becoming a Major League Baseball GM remains unchanged), I've also become increasingly passionate about sponsorship, media deals and ticket sales.  Even though I still dream about being involved in player development, I more clearly understand that a team's goal is not only to put the best team on the field, put also to put the best crowd in the seats.

Working in sports has also broadened my appreciation of the global sports marketplace.  While I've always been a die-hard fan of the "big four" American sports, I now find myself looking to other leagues to quench my thirst for novel and creative business practices.  My trip to the World Cup this summer was partly motivated by my desire to see how FIFA is monetizing soccer, the world's most popular sport.  I've learned to appreciate the WNBA not only for its unexpected high level of play, but also for its traditionally un-American, but particularly business savvy, jersey sponsorships.  I've increased my consumption of NASCAR, not so much because I love racing, but because no sport does a better job of integrating advertising with the actual event.

 NASCAR: King of integrated advertising.

Had I never worked a day in pro sports, I'd still follow the NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL throughout my life.  My time here in New York, though, has taught me to look one level deeper than balls and strikes or goals and assists.  Now when I've up late at night, watching the last few innings of Diamondbacks at Rockies on MLB Network, I can do more than merely wonder why Rockies reliever Joel Beimel wears number 97.  Instead, I can sit back and wonder how much The Denver Post paid for that giant ad to the left of the Coors Field scoreboard.