Is this the End of Sports?
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Currently the French Open is on going, tomorrow night is the NBA Finals and then the Stanley Cup Finals begin on Thursday. Both leagues and international professional tennis did not get the most optimal matchups and the sports media will not shut up about it. “Ratings will be down” they say, “the gambling community is not happy” they cry. I personal believe the last point the sports media cries about, gambling, is why clean competitive sports is coming to an end. Let me explain.
In the NHL and NBA both playoffs saw a strong team from New York not make the finals, in the NBA the Knicks missed the conference finals when they were upset by the Indiana Pacers. The Dallas Mavericks did not have to play the defending champion Nuggets to advance, they got to face the young upstart Minnesota Timberwolves. In the NHL the defending champion Las Vegas Golden Knights were bounced in the first round by a big market Dallas Stars team, then Dallas was knocked out by the lower seeded Edmonton Oilers. Over in the east the little thought about Florida Panthers advanced to their second straight cup final over the massively loved New York Rangers. The biggest market to have their team playing for a championship is Dallas or Miami, and Dallas is a football town and most of you readers probably did not know the Florida Panthers played in Miami. For ratings and gambling, these matchups are not the best. Also the French Open, Novak Djokovic, the man everyone wants to watch, withdrew today with a knee injury. This is all not according to plan.
I listen to a lot of sports radio and I follow these sports personalities on social media. I hear each and ever “expert” complain about the matchups and then do an ad read for a gambling website. The studio show for the French Open is sponsored by Fanduel, the hockey and basketball arenas are covered with gambling adverts and every other commercial is telling you to bet. It is annoying and it is getting a little scary because if gambling means this much to the leagues, then getting optimal matchups, with the most popular teams and players, it means more money.
Before I go on I want to make it clear that I am not calling for a ban on sports gambling. I do not gamble myself, but is not for addiction or moral reasons, I just don’t like to spend my money that way. What I am afraid of is that all of our sports leagues/governing bodies have prioritized revenue more than competition. That is why in the span of less than five years we have gone from zero gambling to non-stop advertisement. I have no faith that the NFL, NBA, MLB, ATP, the Grand Slams, NASCAR, the NCAA, the IOC, FIFA, MLS, LIV Golf, or any other letter salad sports organization would take an opportunity to fix an income to drive more revenue towards their sport. I have no proof, but I think it is already happening. (When I have proof I’ll write about it here).
I am ranting here today because the last few days has been non-stop complaining from the sports media on the state of competion in our current professional leagues. The sports media is their for the management of these leagues, so anything they say can be directly tied to management. Seeing how greedy billionaires have become, and it is billionaires that run these leagues, I have little faith that competion will be important in sports moving forward. Only money will matter and getting rid of competition so management can make another couple of million dollars will win out.
When the French Open ends, the NHL Stanley Cup is hoisted, and a new NBA champ is crowned, the media people will complain on behalf of the league and the gamblers. The narrative will be set. The owners will discuss how to increase revenue, and competitive sports will be killed. I hop I’m wrong, but I am truly afraid the process has already started.
RD
RD Kulik is the founder and Head Editor for SeedSing.com