Inspiration for this post is taken from happenings in the world of sport of late and especially a conversation i had with a friend last night. As the title probably suggests, I have often wondered what is it that drives sportsmen these days. Is it really their love and passion for the game or is it just the monetary benefits that are associated with it. Doing a small financial analysis, I would like to bring to your notice that they amount of money that has been involved in sports these days going up almost exponentially. There was a time in the 90's when a world record football signing would cost say 5 million pounds at the most. There was a time when a cricketer's salary was actually more than his commercial endorsements. There was a time when people had backup jobs whilst simultaneously representing their national team in any particular sport. Think of the situation today. A football signing for 5 million pounds is considered a steal. Commercial endorsements are the primary source of income for cricketers. Thus the motive for sportsmen has changed from playing for love to playing for money. Just the number of business tycoons that have entered the sporting business in the past few years is exhilarating. Most NBA teams are owned by Hollywood big shots, Football clubs are owned by oil tycoons and the likes. Owners of formula one teams are amongst the richest people in the planet. And now even the most patriotic of games, if you could say so, has been invaded by money in the form of the IPL. With the amount of money pouring in, it is expected that the sportsmen live up to it and take it up as something very serious. No longer does it seem possible to play just for the sheer joy of it. I'm beginning to wonder, is it not fair for sportsmen to say they do not play for love of the sport, but for the love of money.
5 comments:
point well made.
But many sports in India still have absolutely no money in them.Yet people pursue it albeit half-heartedly i guess.
Probably they do it out of love for the game.
hey mv,i'm reminded of the movie jerry maguire in which tom cruise starred.the black dude in the movie is trying to make it big in the nfl and he's obssesed with making money. tom cruise(playing his agent) goes ahead and gives him a pep talk. he tells him to play the game like he did when he was a kid and screw the money.in the end tommy's advice pays off and black dude gets rich!
the bottom line is if you are passionate and dedicated(and talented :P), money will come your way but not vice versa.
The movie your talking about, I'm assuming is based in the 90's where, as I said, money did not control the game like it does today. Im talking in present times. Of course money will come if your passionate. But once the money comes, is it the money they continue to try to achieve more or is it just because they want to.
look at ronaldinho who has just drifted off after a couple of brilliant seasons with barca. heard he's movin to man city.and rivaldo who was so brilliant in the 2002 wc.and ronaldo(who got caught with trasnvestite prostitutes), adriano...the list is endless.the reason i'm mentioning these guys because they're brilliant footballers who got their hour of glory and the fame,money and everything that accompanies it really got to their head.maybe there are other factors like injury etc but i guess the big money also had a part to play. did'nt michael owen commit career suicide by joining real?
the point is no matter how talented you are if you don't deliver, even if you have a multi-million dollar contract, you'll get dropped like a hot potato.
so yes, if theres no passion and will to perform,you're out. money does not motivate people as much as most of us think.really.
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