Sports & Market Forces

This long awaited post was supposed to be about the Indian Premier League and what I thought about it. But the recent happenings in cricket with the entry of Stanford 20-20 overlapping with the silly season in the European football leagues & the Euro 2008 turned my attention to the predominant role of “market forces” in all sport today.

For the record, the IPL was a resounding success. I am sucker for cricket; there have been times I have even seen the Sunday League (English county ODI’s in the 90’s) and Bangladesh battle it out with Zimbabwe. So I have nothing against the format of T20 except for there is only so much I can take of it. At the end, it can all becomes a bit numbing and sometimes a hollow experience. I will do follow up on the IPL.

Back to the subject market forces; I think its fair to say that market forces in majority of sports today consists of broadcasters, advertising, sponsors and then the sports organizers. The fans ofcourse but not to as large an extent we think. The first 3 are all in the business of profit. I am not saying sports bodies should not make a profit, but their priority is more about ensuring the fair health of the sport. Business is about products, consumers & profits whereas sport is about contest, spectators & glory.

The reason I am so apprehensive of the market forces taking full control of the way our sports are structured and run is that it treats from a purely commercial point of view. Yes, commerce is necessary for sport to survive and thrive, but not the extent to that the game becomes robotic, monotonous and far away from what we loved it for. Left to market forces here are some of the scenarios that almost happened or will soon,

• The English Premier League playing a 39^th game all over the world
• The London ‘somethings’ participating in the NFL or NBA or whatever American league fancies you
• Tennis being reduced to pinball with only baseliners due to a high tech racket which only focuses on hitting the ball as hard as one can
• Mumbai Indians full of Australians playing Victoria full of second rung players (since most of them play for Mumbai Indians) at an indoor stadium in USA

They all might make perfect economic sense but I think deep down there is something fundamentally wrong with it. Call me a luddite or a romantic if you may.

The role of market forces in English football is a prime example. Today the EPL might call itself the biggest brand in football leagues, the most profitable and valuable league in the world. But the fact is that Italy & Germany with supposedly inferior & poor leagues were amongst the top 4 at the World Cup. Ask any English football fan if he prefers Russian / Thai / American dollars or seeing English glory at the Euros or the World Cup. I hope and I think I am right in saying that they will prefer the second. The priority of the Man Utds and the Chelseas is now to build a global brand rather than become a breeding ground for future England players. So one sided has market forces made English football that noone in the near future can think of breaking into the supposed big 4. English clubs talked about losing their soul at the sight of being brought over by a foreign billionaire. I think they lost their soul the moment they listed on the stock exchange and left themselves open to the happenings of it, buyouts & takeover being some of them.

Market forces in cricket are also one of the reasons for the decline of Test cricket in India. Test cricket as a contest can only survive as long as there is a balance between bat & ball. The emphasis on ODI’s has shifted from a contest between bat and ball to a slugfest. TV demands 4’s & 6’s to entertain people. This in turn changes perceptions of the game for newcomers who think that it is all about 4’s & 6’s. Flat pitches & short boundaries encourage high scores. The bowlers in ODI’s turn into run restrictors from wicket takers. The flat pitches in turn make Test matches about which team can score more runs than the other. There has been a decline in the number of results in Test matches in India over the past few years. This at a time when India seems to posses a better pace attack than they had in the 90’s. A lot of the draws can be attributed to flat pitches.

Watching Australia slaughter Bangladesh over 3 days is also a bad advertisement for Test cricket. So the authorities are hand in glove with market forces for the decline of Test cricket.

I am a big believer in changing with times. But unfortunately for Test cricket it is a game which if tampered with too much will just not the same. It is not Test crickets fault that it cannot change with time. It is just the way the game is.

Test cricket needs to T20 to flourish to ensure that the cash keeps coming in. But the balance has to be maintained. There has to be clear boundaries defined. Cricket has till now been a nationality based contest. Franchises and leagues based on European football is venturing into unchartered territory. The club versus country debate will arise and the authorities must be prepared to deal with it. Cricket’s marquee contests are still international matches; the Ashes, India V Pakistan & Australia, West Indies (if they regain their glory days) V England & Australia & the ODI World Cup.

The franchise model will raise serious questions about loyalties. Kevin Pietersen seems more interested in taking part in the IPL than the Ashes. That the authorities are clearly unprepared is obvious from the fact that someone like Lalit Modi is making rules like a magician pulling tricks from his hat. Barring players from playing for their respective home teams is simply not done. He has created a monster which threatens to overrun international cricket. Not that I am against the IPL or T20. Its just that going the football way is not necessarily the right way. The franchises & Modi will be laughing all the way to the bank but cricket as a sport will be poorer for it.

Sport needs the money, but it is the duty of the bodies to be guardians of the game and their morals. The organizers of the cricket & football World Cups can make life hell for the average Joe who is told what drink he can drink and what shirt he can wear. Profit is not a dirty word but I think it has sport a lot more muddier than it used to be.