Will Manziel be the tipping point of the amateur sham?

[skyvue]

I just noticed that OU will allow me to watch their amateur football game vs ULM this Saturday by streaming online for $44.95. Ha. They are worse than bookies.

That price also gets you three months of Soonersports.tv service, a $30 value.

 

[DenverSooner]

That price also gets you three months of Soonersports.tv service, a $30 value.

Of course, most people don't want that $30 value but my take is that it is a donation or contribution to OU.

The odd thing about OU fans is they want the best but don't want to pay for the best.

 

[WTSooner]

I just noticed that OU will allow me to watch their amateur football game vs ULM this Saturday by streaming online for $44.95. Ha. They are worse than bookies.

That is a terrible point you are trying to make.

I guess little leaguers should get a salary too? Because it used to cost a few bucks to get into the park to watch 3rd graders play baseball back in the day (sure it's still the same).

smh

 

[skyvue]

Of course, most people don't want that $30 value but my take is that it is a donation or contribution to OU.

The odd thing about OU fans is they want the best but don't want to pay for the best.

Yeah, it'd be nice to have a choice, but I think lots of fans will be joining that service. It's the only way to watch replays of the games online, no?

 

[bocabull]

That is a terrible point you are trying to make.

HBO is $9.50/month. The point is that $44.95 to stream that pitiful game plus their sooner.tv subscription with more substandard content is a terrible value. It's an exploitation of fans and another example of their hypocrisy. Every rule they make is intended to further their financial gain and has nothing to do with the amateur charade.

I'm all for capitalism. But hoarding all the gains from a product while outlawing your producers from participating in the upside is not capitalism. It's a dictatorship monopoly.

 

[DenverSooner]

HBO is $9.50/month. The point is that $44.95 to stream that pitiful game plus their sooner.tv subscription with more substandard content is a terrible value. It's an exploitation of fans and another example of their hypocrisy. Every rule they make is intended to further their financial gain and has nothing to do with the amateur charade.

I'm all for capitalism. But hoarding all the gains from a product while outlawing your producers from participating in the upside is not capitalism. It's a dictatorship monopoly.

you are only looking at the issue from your perspective as an OU fan. OU makes lots of money but OU is an exception. How many AD across the country make money? (Don't just look at football, the Universities choose to promote football to fund everything else)

What about schools like UML or FCS schools?

Also even with all the money OU football makes, how much of it is due to the fact that fans donate money for infrastructure? I don't know the answer to this but it has a material impact.

Also how much of those profits are due to the fact that the fans went to OU and have fond memories of that time in their life. If I did not go to OU, I probably wouldn't care about OU football. I would probably be an NFL fan.

 

[bocabull]

I'm looking at it from the perspective that if the Universities are going to continue with college football as an amateur sport they have an obligation to act appropriately.

When they push the monetization envelop too far they will cross the line, They have probably crossed the line by entering the broadcast business with their conference/team networks.

Living in the Los Angeles area on Verizon Fios here is what I encountered on week 1. The USC game Thursday was broadcast on CBSSPorts network which is not included with ESPN/Fox/NFL/NBA/ or even the Big 10 sports network. It's a separate package bundled with the Longhorn network and other worthless undesirable channels. The OU game was on a ridiculously priced PPV package even for a streaming option. The UCLA game was on the Pac12 Network which is not available yet on Verizon or Direct TV because their asking price is too high.

So when Johnny FB or any other player who thumbs his nose at the system and legally accepts value for their talent I'm on their side because what's good for the goose is good for the gander.

 

[SoonerBounce13]

Lol at boca

 

[bocabull]

Time magazine cover story: It's time to pay college athletes. Manziel on the cover, more quotes from Adrian Peterson. The article basically repeats my points. There is now way too much money involved for the sport to be considered amateur. Manziel being investigated and suspended for signing his autograph is too ridiculous to ignore. Sumlin got over a $million raise, A&M media/merchandise revenue jumped $37 million, etc and it was due to Johnny FB.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

The amateur sham

Here is a link to a current article directly related to this topic. It is a good read in my opinion.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/ncaaf-...ain-reveal-folly-of-ncaa-rules-210822795.html

Excerpt:

Amateurism is a bankrupt concept. It was invented by British aristocrats in the mid-1800s as a way to keep working-class athletes from succeeding at their elitist pursuits. Basically, as long as guys who had to labor in factories six days a week were worn out from the work and lacked time to practice, the rich guys who never dealt with such concerns would continue to be superior at sailing or dressage or cricket or whatever. So the bourgeoisie who didn't need the money declared it noble to play for no pay. How nice of them. Their true reasoning, of course, was to assure the continuation of their favored status on an uneven playing field of competition.

This detestable idea was later co-opted by the NCAA and the modern Olympic Games (the ancient Greek athletes were actually paid). The public was then repeatedly sold the idea of the innocence of amateurism and sold it well. This conveniently allowed the powerful administrators to control all the revenue produced.

Amateurism is a sham in practice, too, one that simply isn't being followed or respected, as story after story after story proves. So many of the athletes, players and administrators don't believe in it. That's the value of the coverage. It's made denying the extent of the violations laughable.

Enforcing amateurism became so impossible and ridiculous that even the International Olympic Committee – still in favor of kickbacks and bribes, mind you – gave up on it … nearly three decades ago. The Olympics didn't collapse because Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps can appear in TV commercials. It actually got more popular. It'd be no different in the college game.

Besides, it's not like college administrators – commissioners, athletic directors, coaches and so on – have any use for the spirit of amateurism.

They long ago ditched any semblance of austerity that might come if you were truly operating just an extracurricular activity or true non-profit sports enterprise. Instead, they drape themselves in huge salaries, private planes, comp cars and country club course memberships. They snatch every last freebie at Nike retreats and lounge on Caribbean cruises funded by bowl executives. They hold their meetings at palm-lined luxury hotels.