In the late 19th century tobacco companies devised a new way to market cigarettes to American consumers. In each pack of cigarettes, they placed cards depicting Major League baseball players, until eventually, by 1909, whole sets were issued. Now as much a nostalgic aspect of the American Pastime as the game itself, it’s difficult to remember that collecting baseball cards began not as a young man’s hobby, but as a marketing ploy. Baseball cards, like the athletes they represent, are a business disguised as sentimentality. But unlike collecting cards, there’s no hiding the power of economics in sports. It’s not that sports weren’t always a business. They were. Money, in the form of gambling, player salaries, ticket sales and media sales, have forever laid at the core of American professional athletics. But for more than a century, fans did their best to ignore this reality in favor of celebrating legendary accomplishments on the field. Home run totals, rushing yards and championships were numbers fans followed, not salaries, shoe deals and performance-enhancing drug use. Sports have always been America’s escape, but in the 2000s, one fact became inescapable: Sports are a glorified business.
The Decade of the Expiring ContractTrading talented players to save money has been a part of sports since the Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees some 90 years ago. But in the 2000s the NBA took this practice to an entirely new level. Teams consistently sent their best players packing in exchange for role players with expiring contracts to save money. Not only has this trend damaged the competitiveness of the league, but today the most promising pieces on an NBA roster are Lebron James, Kobe Bryant and salary space. The Decade Baseball Became MoneyballFor all the talk about steroid use this decade, it wasn’t a chemical but a book-Moneyball, written by Michael Lewis in 2003-that will have the most lasting affect on baseball. Lewis followed the Oakland Athletics management for a full season and introduced the public and-pathetic as it may be-some baseball executives to a new way of evaluating talent. Of course the Moneyball method favors management strategy that resembles corporate America more closely than conventional baseball wisdom.
The Decade Lacking LoyaltyPerhaps fans can overlook it when teams dump all-star veteran players, who sacrifice their body for years, only to be released in favor of cheaper players so teams can avoid paying the veteran’s minimum salary. But fans can’t ignore their favorite franchise turning their back on them. In 2000 the Detroit Lions begged its surrounding residents to devote half a billion tax dollars to a spiffy new stadium. Now that Detroit has fallen on harder times, these same residents can’t even watch their football team. Tickets are unaffordable, so the Lions don’t fill their stadium and, as per league rules, cannot televise games played at their deserted home field.
In a decade where leagues acted like corporations and players like “brands,” it’s more difficult than ever for fans to remain loyal to teams and leagues that show no signs of reciprocating that sentiment. But perhaps the worst symbol of business’ unavoidable influence over sports came in the one area that appeared safe from its affect for so many years. In 2007 the Honus Wagner tobacco card issued in 1910 was sold in an auction. It netted $2.8 million.
