FAN
ACTION NETWORK NEWS
Our news stories will be regularly changed and updated. Keep checking
back for the latest news from the world of professional sports
and the professional fan. At the bottom of the two feature news stories,
you will find an archive of past news articles. Feel free to browse them
to find out about what the Fan Action Network has been up to.
February 2008 Newsletter - February 17, 2008 |
FAN January 08 Newsletter - January 29, 2008 |
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| David J. Kolbuc
FAN Action Network
Box 4139
Edmonton, AB
T6E 4T2
www.fanactionnetwork.com
info@fanactionnetwork.com
Recession?...certainly not in professional sports
February 2008
Is there anything you would purchase regardless of the cost? Health care? Education? Your Own Home? Food? An automobile? Probably not, although we in Canada are more fortunate than our neighbors to the south regarding health care costs. But what about everyday items that we feel we need or want to support our lifestyle? Things like your cell phones or some of its features, your computer, TV, the type of vehicle you drive or the beverages you drink? Have you cut out any of these items or curtailed their use? If you haven’t you are one of the more fortunate consumers. Is there a time when you might have to make some hard choices? Cut backs at work? Kids in college? Retirement? To maintain or enhance our life style we can do one of two things or perhaps both. We can increase our revenue or cut our costs. I think most of us have been through making some tough decisions regarding our finances..
We are inundated with advertising flyers, TV ads, internet ads and many other sources as companies market their goods and services attempting to get a bigger share of our limited after tax dollars. How much do corporations spend on marketing? We all know the story of the cost of manufacturing a running shoe in some country like Mexico or Asia .where the cost is small compared to the retail price we pay for the item. Why the big price difference? It has to be either profit and or marketing costs.
It is difficult to determine how much a corporation spends on marketing and how much of their marketing dollar is spent in the professional sport business but it certainly has to be substantial as we hear about the cost of a thirty second Super Bowl ad. There doesn’t seem to be a limit as to how much the professional business will charge as they continue to sign players to bigger and bigger contracts even with a salary cap. There is not much of a cap when the NHL has boosted their cap by 30% since the lockout with another substantial jump expected again in 2008. Fans might even be inclined to ignore the rising costs if the presented product fostered a high level of sportsmanship and ethical behavior on and off the playing surface which young aspiring players could emulate.
So what will be done about it? NOTHING, unless fans work collectively to make our voices heard. What side of the field, court, blue line are you on? FAN Action Network can be that vehicle for a collective fan voice to help preserve the games we love and cherish as part of our culture. Please add your voice, your thoughts and your support to the possibility of influencing the professional sports business in a most positive way for our children and our culture. Contact Fan Action Network with your opinions.
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David J. Kolbuc
FAN Action Network
Box 4139
Edmonton, AB
T6E 4T2
www.fanactionnetwork.com
info@fanactionnetwork.com
Professional Sports - the godly Delusion
January 2008
The four major professional sports leagues in North America continue to spend spend spend outpacing inflation rates at the expense of the flock. New cathedrals are being considered and built to attract and pack more parishioners into the pews so they can watch their superhuman idols show us their miraculous talents. In those communities where they can’t afford a new building, team management invests upwards of three million dollars so our saintly team can be comfortable when they put on their vestments before the service. In two years the NHL salary cap has risen 30%. Fewer fans will be able to purchase game tickets to watch their idols as corporations purchase season tickets for marketing and advertising purposes while writing the cost off as a business expense.
Sinful. All this is happening as communities struggle to provide playing facilities for the kids who want nothing more than to play. Rising facility costs has forced registration fees up to the level where parents are taking on a second job just to provide an opportunity for their children to play. Gifted young athletes who make elite community teams have the added cost of a fulltime paid coach to their expenses. But fans continue to flock to watch their idols often spending tomorrow’s cash to do so. I truly hope that the gods many idolize don’t turn out to be false. I pray that the godliness they display is truly either natural selection or divine intervention and not as a result of the forbidden apple laced with performance-enhancing drugs PARTICULARLY after paying for tickets for the family and then spending my tax refund to support the team’s charitable foundation just to see “him” arrive with his big white Hummer. If I could only get close enough to touch his sleeve, shake his hand or maybe have him sign my autograph book for $10 I would be almost in heaven.
The similarities between the professional sport industry and organized religion are more than coincidental. It really is all about money and power. Both strive to maximize their membership through the promise that if you follow we can bring you the holy grail or the silver chalice. The question is what values will be used to achieve this end.
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