[OT-Football] Why doesn't chaos like this ever happen in American sports!

[Black Omega]

http://www.soccernet.com/scotland/news/2002/0417/20020417splitlead.html

The Scottish Premier League is 12 teams, ten smaller clubs and the Old Firm (Bitter rivals Glasgow Celtic and Glasgow Rangers, the two biggest clubs in Scotland by a wide margin). Now..through a bizarre turn of events involving a new revenue deal with TV, the Gang of Ten are leaving the Old Firm high and dry. A move reoughly equivilent to the rest of the NBA kicking out the LA Lakers and Sacramento Kings. I well recall watching Dons v. Celtic when I was younger, so Ihave very mixed feelings on this.

 

[MonkeyBoy]

... that's NOTHING

Scotland has it easy, in the "soccer" stakes...

There's a nice TV company here called ITV Digital, which bought the rights to transmit live football games (its a slightly odd deal, i think they bought the exclusive rights to broadcast live, all English games - or some such; someone who likes football could probably correct me here)

Anyway, the point is, they bought these rights for (wait for it!) £315 million (3 years contract). That money essentially pays for English football to continue for the next 3 years; at least, it relies on that cash.

ITV Digital have now gone broke (they relied on HUGE numbers subscribing to get these matches live, hardly anybody did...) and so cannot pay (there's £175 million owed on the deal, ITV Digital have been put into administration and have working funds for, well, until MONDAY!)

This potentially means that LOTS of smaller English football lubs could go broke and close, all because ITV Digital paid over the odds for rights...

If the previous was akin to the NFL kicking out a couple of teams, this is akin to (mid season) all TV channels suddemly deciding they no longer needed to pay for broadcast rights...

So to answer your question;
In the US "Professional Sports" means its a sport run like a business.

In the UK "Professional Sports" just means the players get a wage packet... (Except F1, but thats a one-man empire!)

edit:

*COUGH*
forgot url - http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/business/newsid_1896000/1896732.stm
*COUGH*

 

[MonkeyBoy]

you forgot to mention...

That Celtic and Rangers also TOTALLY DESTROY all the other Scot teams whenever they play... (7-0 happens regularly when Celtic play any other team that Rangers... and vice versa)

There is probably at least a small amount of "If those 2 weren't in our league, WE might be one of the top clubs. Then WE could get all the publicity, play in the Champion's League, etc, etc"

'sall politics I tell ya

(I just realised I really didn't want to know all this about a game I don't like watching - get out of my head vile trivia!)

 

[arcseed]

Heh. Okay, I'll bite.

The Rangers GOT THE SHAFT!!!!

 

[Someguy]

lol, the Rangers REALLY got a shaft.


It's too bad that it ahd to happen like that too, via politics if you are right. or is that just a conspircay tehory...

 

[Upper_Krust]

Many would be against it but they should probably integrate Celtic and Rangers into the FA Carling Premiership.

The Scottish 'League' has been something of a misnomer for sometime now. The lack of competition is almost a joke. Which is no offense to the other Scottish teams they just don't have the massive fundage that the 'big two' can call upon.

 

[Mark]

My buddy Ross, who's originally from the Orkney Islands, hasn't had much to cheer about (or good to say) the last couple of years regarding Scot's sports. He works at the pub around the corner where they get the feed for every Rugby and Soccer game worldwide/year round.

Just to throw a little RPG related note into this thread (not that it needs it), he's also told me many stories about where he was born and the Standing Stones of Orkney Islands that might interest ENBers.

 

[LostSoul]

There's an interesting World Cup "preview" playing out right now on the FHM site.

(This is for the blokes)

World Cup

 

[Westwind]

Ouch

Growing up in the household I did, it was impossible not to be a Gers fan. Still, the SPL needs to do something (aside from banning Erik Larrson). There have been various ideas floated over the last few years (merging with the English Premire League, a "Super" league with teams like Ajax and Porto who suffer from the same problem, etc.) Maybe this will force their hand into one of those solutions.

 

[trancejeremy]

Well, stuff like this did happen in the relatively early days of US sports.


But nowdays, the economics are much much more. I mean, teams are worth half a billion dollars (or more). I think one soccer team is worth that much...

OTOH, I don't understand the NHL. Players make millions, yet the TV ratings suck, and attendence is relatively low. I don't know how it stays in business. I would not be shocked to see it collapse, or have some sort of similar catastrophre.