Sports is a Business

So a lot of people are throwing a fit about the scheduling of sports last night. The NHL and NBA finals were virtually on at the same time. NBC vs. ABC were competing for ratings hard last night. I can tell you this much there is a reason this happened. Hockey is trying to become an exciting sport once again and draw viewers. In my own personal opinion the NHL playoffs have been better then the NBA playoffs by far. What people have to understand is sports are a business like anything else and they will do what they need to do to make money. For example, there is a reason that a game seven will happen Friday Night. They want to make money and have great ratings. The beautiful thing for them is that they are unopposed so they will draw millions of viewers. People don’t think sports are rigged or have an shadiness to them but here are some examples of what I mean sports being a business.

Example 1: Did you ever noticed when the last game of the Final Four happens, the opening day of baseball is on the same day or the Monday Night Raw after Wrestlemania is on as well. If NCAA moved the game to a Saturday Night it would probably draw more interest (depending on the teams playing as well)

Example 2: Ever noticed that WWE, TNA and UFC never schedule their pay-per-views on the same days. Why? Because WWE would probably win those battles because WWE has the greater fan base. However UFC is smart because they have their pay-per-views on Saturday Nights which makes it easier for people to watch. Just think if WWE switched to Saturday Nights?

Example 3: You notice in the fall and winter no other major sporting events really happen on Monday Nights because of Monday Night Football. Nine times out of ten, MNF usually has the most viewers, unless Monday Night Raw beats them.

People are ignorant to think that some sports aren’t rigged. Lets look at some scenarios

Scenario 1: Super Bowl XL was in Detroit. How funny that the Seattle Seahawks were the most dominant team in the league that and somehow they got beat by the Steelers. The back story is that it Jerome Bettis was playing in his hometown and that it would be his last game…Come on it was even admitted by the league that refs made some bad calls.

Scenario 2: The NBA had been struggling with ratings in the NBA Finals over the last few years. What better way to solve that problem? Have the two most storied franchises and one of the greatest rivalries reignite itself. Last years Celtics vs. Lakers Finals match up drew big numbers. Look how easy it was for the Celtics to get Garnett. The Celtics virtually gave up nothing to get him. I think the league had their hand in making that trade so easy.

Scenario 3: Last night, the officiating was totally scrutinized in favor of the Penguins because NHL, and NBC wanted to see a game seven to get their ratings up and become a popular sport again. It’s working because I am not a hockey fan and I am more interested then I have ever been.

Have you also noticed as well that NASCAR drivers are actually starting to develop more personalities and that fights and aggressive racing isn’t having as many consequences as it use to. They are struggling and so they are being allowed more freedom so they can draw interest from people.

I am not saying that sports are always rigged all the time but if a sport is struggling they will do what it takes to make it so their sport excels. People might think I am crazy, ignorant, and naive. I observe stuff very closely and notice trends that make sports successful. I hope people realize that it’s not all about competition. Most of it is about money and who can make the most.