[Business Day One] Times That Are, In Fact, A’Changin’

No Comments

Well well well. The internet’s still here. I swore this whole thing would’ve flamed out by now, but here it still is. Looks like the ol’ site is here too. Hello readers! I’m Serpico! And I write about sports, the business of sports, and fan reaction to sports. At least, I did, way back when. And I suppose I ought to do it again.

So let’s jump right in, shall we?

The big news this weekend is Tiger Woods-related, and I’m so happy to be able to write that. When I took a hiatus from NoS back in 2009, Tiger was still happily winning tournament after tournament. Due to personal problems brought on by,(I’m certain) my hiatus from writing, he went into a 30 month long funk.  It seems like a lifetime ago, but Tiger was absolutely the best golfer on Earth for over ten years. ??????? ?????? And it wasn’t close. Not since Michael Jordan has a player in a sport been so univerally seen as “absolutely the best person alive at doing this thing.” And for two and a half years, the man who was “absolutely the best person alive at winning golf tournaments” wasn’t winning golf tournaments. As a fan of both golf and Items of Historical Significance, I was devastated. When people live in the era of a dominant player, the sport benefits tremendously. Especially when that sport is golf. ???? ??????? ?? ???????? Because it doesn’t have such universal appeal, the casual fan’s interest level isn’t any higher than “Did Tiger win?” So, since 2009, the answer to those fans’ questions has been a resounding and oft-repeated “nope, still slumping.” I cannot emphasize how important it is to golf that the answer has finally changed.

In other Dominant Player News, Peyton Manning is now the quarterback of the Denver Broncos. We’ve seen this happen with Johnny Unitas and Joe Montana, so it’s not like the nation will revolt at the sight of a future Hall of Famer in a strange uniform. ????? ???? ??? ???? We’ll survive, and so will Manning… assuming no one hits him in the neck for the next few seasons. The most striking thing about the whole situation, for me, was the original press conference a few weeks back announcing the release. Give it a watch. You will never, in your life, see a better way to handle a situation as delicate as an injury superstar getting cut from a team for money reasons. Manning and owner Jim Irsay both handled it like absolute champs – mixing real emotions with clear and reasonable explanations. Just as we won’t see a quarterback of Manning’s like again (well, except for Andrew Luck), we probably won’t see so perfect a divorce again.

In March Madness news, my brackets got screwed up bad, so I don’t give a damn. If you’ve got scratch in the game and have a lead, good luck. Buy me a soda with the winnings.

That’s it for this week, team. It’s nice to be home.