PLAYBOOKS AND CHECK BOOKS; The introduction to the economic of sports by Stefan Szymanski

Title; Playbook and Check books; Introduction to the economics of Sports

Author; Stephan Szymanski

Publisher; Pinceton University Press

Year of publication; 2009

ISBN; 978-0-691-12750-7

Pagination; 225

Language; English

Review By; Iroabuchi Onwuka


Theme

There is no evident 'thematic' continuity in this book, no specialist feature nor the presence of great Schools of Thought in matters regarding curacy of Sports marketing and of leading econometrics of Sports.

But from the opening pages we are forced at once to confront the neglected 'this' and 'that' of sports history, enabled to life from its earliest probable years to the inevitable fact of sports as a constant feature in the lives of all peoples of the very world.

But the book is not about the history of sports, the book is seriously about money and about the very management of money, as such the author attempted to provide a broad probable outline for the rise of the games humble beginning to its attractive appendages and then on to daily business of sports.

In other language, this book is an introductory missive on the economics of sports as demonstrated through its History and also a way to embrace embrace a Macualay view on the whole culture of receipt and coupon distribution, both of which are part of resource continuum in the very rotation of money and the attempt on its indepedence of funded enterprises.

Matters arising from Commercials and Advertisement are a constant part of the Book and are well treated, so is in the impart of English society and its Empire in generating the organization sweep for modern sports, enduring as with the case for Cricket and then to other Sports and sponsorship in that order.

Body

The Author Stephan Szymanski begins Chapter one with Al Spalding and Alcock featuring in a london Cricket game, the game was sponsored by English genteel and thier royalty personages. The game was played to a stand still with Alock and company stealing the show. Al Spalding however was the one who begin to see the need to creat identity in the Sports and in Merchandise, the very need to provide each team with a superb selection of cloths and materials leading in and out of the game.

Thus, his buiness to put his name against his team and in creating the supply side of market, Spalding, the grand Patron of the brand name and Alcock the tiket master became richer and went the whole lenght of sponsoring the Crickets games and the officianados without much support of the Royalty.

Szymanski indicated that the rules of game did not come as a matter of rights and wrongs but a constant necessity born out of the issue of merchandising and of players welfare in matters of competition and organisation. When the rewarding side of the whole business began to interfere with the game in itself, rules had to be mandated but from this whole setup, the theory of who gets what, why and when took a whole new face; human face especially.

That issue of the 'facebook' so to speak of the game added another dimension to Sports as a form of rewarding endeavor camotose by ancient and modern popularity. From the book 'Playbooks and Check Books' we can understand the transistion in sports through the years, we can understand that nature of sponsorship as a mocking jest at the psychology of surviving and of the fitter, and how care must be taken to avoid such exorcism of the human passion as ploy for the laboriously rich.

But in reality the book goes beyong that since money promotes the newer curves of competition, so does facility and therefore spur the direct attraction of spectators who sometimes bait agianst the stronger team fulfilling the speculators thrift and the 'Ruminator'.

The main even in deciding what team or teams of interest to support in competitive environment is the Popularity's lasting impression which increasingly changed the game of Cricket and from then, the rest of the story was how modern sports gave life to itself through Sponsorship and how Chartels of ambitions forced other rules of participation negating such as threats as 'invariance priciple'.

On Chartels, the author argues against the efficacy of some of the rules since NCAA in very late times and even the NBA is nothing else than Chartel. So there is the issue of popularity and the suppor of Godfathers, most of whom use a dyke of advisers represented in organsing committee, some of whom chairs in the Chartel. But the impact of Chartel as it spells Sherman's Act in modern day sports.

Stephan Szymanski talked about Monopoly, about the political gambit of siding the running chartel of sports franshises and for political reasons at best, the author tried to play down the tension between passions for teams of ambitions and matters of Chartels who also want a piece of the winning action. For this, the author tend to argue that "critics believe that such arguments mask the true motives of the clubs, which is to maintain a cartel for the purpose of generating larger profits than...in the face of economic competition". Popularity of the winning team was a good omen for larger profit so to speak.

Stephan Symanski highlighted the issue of popularity in changing the face of sports as much as money, changing rules, is not the first time in the history of sports. In the book, the author cited instances of such occassion going back to the time of the Greeks. In Greek repertoire and Olympics, the author began to show how the necessity to perform at such a stage as in Olympic and at the highest point is normally a receipe for bait and for celebrity status.

For instance the author cited Exaenetor of Apgrigentum "winner of the Olympic footrace is in 412 BCE, was driven through the City in a four horse chariot followed by the city's three hundred most prominent citizens". Such attention is not without financial merit and the idea of studying the merit of popularity in terms of sports is not sports marketing but salesmanship altogether.

The Olympiad and the era of coupon, collective bargaining and the modern era of deals, deal break and sponsorship, are matters very necessary to complete the faith in the business. Then licensing and merchanising, Radio and television and stadium receipt occupy the rest of the story about modern sport which some eagerly believe as root for the emergence of super groups of the business of sports and probably its future decline in profit.

Symanski also maintained that reach through broadcast reach or what we call audience reach may be a lasting playing card as problems of spectorship of smaller sports disappear. Then the issue about right competition and of sports, forces a new dimension of gametime as children suffocated on main event are reduced to no event as they take it out on thier laptops and computers. The Book indicated howver that the bidding of airtime and television is seriously out of reach of useful businesses.

'Playbooks and Check books' also spoke of Sports organisations like FIFA, FIBA, English FA, the Italian Seria A, PGA, the NFL, the Cricket Club, MLB, NBA and other sports franchises are proving the market year on year and does away with serious demand for audience in many sports. As such broadcast of games bridges that gap but is the same manner creat its own challenges.

The book attempts to open the floodgate of issues and possibility within the sports industry and why it remains a lucrative industry for young upstarts. How the such sports earn itself through the discipline of economics, through the Media, through the license of players and product, through entitlement and even subsidy and through demographics of number is also maintained in the discourses.

Stephan Szymanski alluded to the impact of statistic within the game, this is the way we can understand the impact of each player and rate their performance. He brought to bear the initial discussion of the formation of football and how the rules of baseball is derive from Knickerbocker club of New York hed by Alexander Cartwright.

Only few games has as many rules World Football, American Football and baseball, much more indicative is the baseball RBI introduced by Gerald Scully in 1970, which has helped to inprove the pay check of individual performance. Baseball also began the rights of players and enhancement of money for players, a process that will overtake players of World soccer/football and help to promote business in the
sports and revolutions of playbook and checkbooks.

The world however is far from flat and that world is full of abbreviation and full of curces. If the world is flat or curved is seriously of no consequence in sports since deeper problems of monetarisation still occur. The book compels us to see the possible, the improbability of such revolt is entirely a reverse case of the book and its common sense since Olympic bidding alone cost millions, if not billions. The issue will take time but econometrics of Sports are now a constant discipline of everyday business and the book, merely a drop in the bucket.

Conclusion.