First a business. Second a Team

Let’s break-out the Rorschach inkblot test for a moment.

When I think of Ebay.com, my first verbal knee-jerk reaction is “Damn, why didn’t I think of that”, in a tone of transparent jealousy, with maybe a dash of self-enmity.

When I think of that peer-to-peer late 2000 sensation, Napster, my reaction is similar, probably a little more pretentious: “This isn’t all that special. I can code this, give me a month.”

But, if you show me an insignia t-shirt of a professional sports team juxtaposed with a price-tag, or if you playback a 30-second clip of monkeys in suits, and then whisper over that this Superbowl commercial costs over 2.4 million to air on TV, I would probably drop my jaw for a few seconds, capitulating my haughty-air of feigned business acumen, and simply concede, “Wow… that’s a stroke of Genius”.

Alright, so this is the makeup of the football product:

1. A group of guys with enormous athletic talent.
2. The important claim that these guys “represent” the citizens of a particular region of the Country.
3. Then, let sit over time till the eventual engendering of an artificial solidarity by the community they represent.
4. Make money. If you’re a decent team, charge 80$ for a seat in your stadium. Start with this “till-jar” of ticket sales, and quickly advance to the more lucrative potential in million dollar TV ads, products, magazines, etc. Sky’s the Limit.

The Patriots have won their 3rd Superbowl in over 4 years, and now the whole of New England is in a state of accomplishment, as though they had some contribution to this victory. And, I am one of them. I was squirming on every New England fumble, jubilant for every McNabb sack, and sincerely joyful at how the game overall turned out, a Patriots Victory.

It’s easy to forget that the Patriots, and all professional teams, are: First, a business, and only Second, a sports team. And hey, if you can combine the two and be filthy rich in the process, Amen, it’s America.