Book’s futuristic view of sport applies already

Every once in a while you read something that just causes you to tilt your head, stare at the words and say, “Of course.”

There is a new book out called “Making the Majors – The Transformation of Team Sports in America,” written by Eric Leifer, a former sociology professor at Columbia University and now an independent scholar and businessman. As a reference book reviewing the history of the growth of the major team sports in this country, it is exceptional.

However, there is a section at the end that really is worth a few raised eyebrows by those who follow sports.

The future presented takes place in a village connected to others in the countryside by high speed rail. The cities have been abandoned as work places as people work out of their homes on a subcontracting basis for the multinational corporations who are the sponsors of the teams that play the major sports.

Leifer writes a concluding chapter from the perspective of one living in this future and discussing the sports of the times.

“Today we celebrate winning teams and star players that are recognized throughout the world. … Players travel the whole world, and receive adulation wherever they go. So when they come to the entertainment village it is a major event, and we turn out to welcome them just as the rest of the world has.

“… Past major leagues isolated viewers from each other. Although the best teams were presented as something the world celebrated, nobody actually got to see anyone in remote places doing any celebrating.

“We have no immutable loyalties to particular teams. Players and teams constantly have to prove themselves to gain our attention and praise. We have our favorites, but there are no teams or players who cannot fall from grace as far as we are concerned. The multinational corporations that teams represent encourage this insistence on excellence.

“Before teams were attached to multinationals they were attached to cities. This evidently helped arouse local fan loyalty, and got public officials to build stadiums for teams. … Great teams can command attention regardless of the entity they are attached to, but the attachment to cities only seemed to discourage the attention of those outside the city. … Today we would rather be involved in the pursuit of excellence wherever it appears than be loyal to some team that happens to be based nearby and is not doing well.

“Believe it or not, large cities used to build stadiums to house a single team, and people called fans would go see the same team play over and over. Now there are some teams we would like to see at the village more often, but there are some teams we would definitely not want to see play again and again. It is hard to imagine how fans could be persuaded to support such teams on such a regular basis, or why cities would make such large investments in the belief that they would. … Frankly, we would be offended if the arena management expected us to come see the same losing team play over and over.”

Teams in the major sports playing a worldwide schedule, with players from throughout the world, without a “home field” and sponsored by the multinational corporations. Lest you think the scenario is far-fetched, it is already under way.

The Disney corporation is a multinational. It is buying a team in all the major U.S. sports and will house them in the Disney complex in California. They have begun the same effort in Florida, having lured the Atlanta Braves for spring training from their longtime home in West Palm Beach to a new stadium at Walt Disney World.

Disney is leading a push in the NHL to have regular-season games played in Japan and Europe. The NHL would like to use this as a springboard to European divisions.

Some cities are finally getting fed up with building multimillion dollar buildings for supposedly free market owners of teams (see the fights in San Francisco and Tampa).

The marketing of the major sports is no longer by the team, but by the stars (see the NBA and Michael Jordan, Major League Baseball and Cal Ripken, the NFL and Troy Aikman, the NHL and Wayne Gretzky). Television pushes this concept to the hilt.

As always, the future is now for those who wish to think about it. Leifer has thought about it and his book is worth a read and some reflection.