Once again we have another whinge about corporate sponsors taking the best seats at sporting events at the expense of joe public, this time at the Australian Open tennis tournament that begins on Monday read here . But what is anyone really going to do about it?.....absolutely nothing, that's what! I've been going on for years with my disgust at the corporate world taking over sport, where it got to the point that I "retired" from watching (or caring) about competitive sport in the mid 90s.
But how many people actually have the courage to do what I did and abandon their beloved product when the administrators caved in once too often to corporate interests? None, that's how many....you all care way too much about your precious football team to ever give away the joy of seeing your team win. You'll sit on the sidelines and bitch and moan on talk back radio about how expensive it's become, and you can't get good seats anymore etc etc, but in the end you'll bend over and sing "moon river".
I personally have never felt so liberated as when I actually stopped caring about whether the team in the blue, or the red top actually won or lost the designated match. There's just way too many things to enjoy in life without worrying about the result of a manufactured game.
Organised sport really is a silly concept when you think about it, a concept essentially appealing to the raw human emotion of identifying with a particular tribe, which is superior to the neighbouring one. How absurd it is that soccer fans usually have to be separated at stadiums along their "tribal" colours, because human nature being what it is, they may kill each other if their paths cross. Yet these same human beings can chat about their differing team views over a beer at the pub the next night?
When I think about the silliness of organised sport, I immediately think about the Nika riots of Constantinople in 532. These riots almost brought down the greatest civilization the world has ever known - and over what? - rivalry between the blues and the greens chariot racing factions.
But getting back to the original point, if you're so enraged about corporate interests taking over your sport, then in the true corporate spirit, take your money and your interest elsewhere. If only a small percentage of people did that, the administrators would quickly be made to heel. Even a small blip on the chart can mean millions, so in the end, it's really up to you!