MoreWhat Matters: Local Sports
For a sports fan born and raised in northeast Wisconsin a special event took place this week. The University of Wisconsin - Green Bay Phoenix Men’s Basketball team (Horizon League) defeated their counterpart from the Big Ten, the Wisconsin Badgers. You can read the rest of the story at the link below.
Phoenix Drops Badgers, 88-84, in Overtime Thriller
It is interesting that in the past one had to attend a Phoenix game to watch one. It is reasonable to state former coach Dick Bennett put the Phoenix on the map. During those years it was difficult to acquire tickets as they sold out regularly. On the flip side, one could view the Badgers on public TV until the inception of the Big Ten network. Unless you are amenable to the purchase of cable TV or satellite offerings your viewing options in this regard are limited.
This week’s victory by the Phoenix over the Badgers presents something of a payback beyond the local loyalty involved. Am I a Badger fan, yes.. Am I a Phoenix fan, absolutely!! Has my loyalty to the Badgers suffered from the greed of top tier college sports, yes. Has my loyalty to the Phoenix been bolstered, yes. And is all this angst trivial? No!!! Why?
It is again reminiscent of a program from HBO in years past entitled ‘ When It Was a Game.’ The title suggests what is important. Similar to ‘Field of Dreams.’ the sentiment is the same. There is a fundamental attribute to the competition of sports that engages the best of human qualities. Participants in the game itself aspire to reach their highest potential. The sense of community is reinforced for spectators who naturally support the local favorite. Positive outcomes are promoted by this activity. To render it a mere entertainment commodity through commercial deals destroys its purity.
The point here is this. At one time the Badgers were minus the serious contender status for men’s college basketball. No one watched then. When they became a contender one could watch their games on broadcast television. After being a contender for a time along with the rest of the Big Ten the money boys moved them to what is essentially pay TV.
The Phoenix have followed a similar trend but the time line lags. Once unattractive, later elevated and for some time on local broadcast. Will the Horizon League at some time go the way of the Big Ten and others. Just like professional sports will everything move to pay-per-view? And does it somehow diminish the best of what sports has to offer?
Stanford Matthews
MoreWhat.com
update to the broader theme of this post….