LEADER 04637nam 22006614a 450 001 9910454922003321 005 20200520144314.0 010 $a0-8047-6977-X 024 7 $a10.1515/9780804769778 035 $a(CKB)1000000000793426 035 $a(EBL)912095 035 $a(OCoLC)471131129 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000279412 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11223266 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000279412 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10261308 035 $a(PQKB)10947295 035 $a(StDuBDS)EDZ0000127627 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC912095 035 $a(DE-B1597)564438 035 $a(DE-B1597)9780804769778 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL912095 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10313985 035 $a(OCoLC)1178769994 035 $a(EXLCZ)991000000000793426 100 $a20080204d2008 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aur|n|---||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 10$aFans of the world, unite!$b[electronic resource] $ea (capitalist) manifesto for sports consumers /$fStephen F. Ross, Stefan Szymanski 210 $aStanford, Calif. $cStanford Economics and Finance$d2008 215 $a1 online resource (313 p.) 300 $aDescription based upon print version of record. 311 $a0-8047-5668-6 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references and index. 327 $tFrontmatter -- $tContents -- $tAcknowledgments -- $t1. How Sports Fans Are Exploited -- $t2. Diagnosis and Suggested Cure -- $t3. Competitive Balance -- $t4. Borrowing from NASCAR: An Independent Competition Organizer -- $t5. Borrowing from Soccer: Entry by Merit -- $t6. How a Restructured Sports League Would Work -- $t7. Comparing This Proposal to Other Remedies for Monopoly Power -- $t8. Half-Loaf, Still-an-Improvement Compromise Suggestions -- $t9. Fans, What We Can Imagine! -- $tNotes -- $tIndex 330 $aFans of baseball, football, basketball, and hockey have long been exploited and oppressed by the monopolistic practices of team owners. The time has come for a revolution in the organization of major U.S. sports! Fans of the World, Unite! is a clarion call to sports fans. Appealing to anyone who is in despair due to the greed and incompetence of team owners, this book proposes a significant restructuring of sports leagues. It sets out a rational program for a revolution that will serve the best interests of the fans and of the sport itself. But Stephen F. Ross and Stefan Szymanski are no Marxists: they show how a revolution in the organization of sports might even benefit the owners. By harnessing the power of markets, sports leagues can be made both more responsive to the needs of the fans, and more efficient. Ross and Szymanski have spent many years evaluating the ways in which leagues work across the globe. Drawing on their extensive study of leagues, the authors boil down their plan to two major reforms. Borrowing from NASCAR, they propose that team owners should not own sports leagues as well. Rather, league ownership should be separate. Their second proposal is drawn from soccer: introduce competition through a promotion and relegation system. In this type of system, the worst teams in the league are kicked out at the end of the season and replaced by the best performing teams in the next division down. This gives poor performing teams incentive to step up their game, and allows fresh blood to enter the leagues if the poor performers fail to do so. The main goal of these reforms is to align the financial interest of those who own the league with the best interests of the fans and the sport. Having laid out the problem and the solution, the authors skillfully address practical implications of introducing their scheme, suggesting how leagues might at least make some changes, if not all of those suggested. The time for change has come! Armed with this book, and with fairness on their side, fans can set forth to begin a revolution. 606 $aProfessional sports$xEconomic aspects$zUnited States 606 $aSports team owners$zUnited States 606 $aMonopolies$zUnited States 606 $aCompetition$zUnited States 608 $aElectronic books. 615 0$aProfessional sports$xEconomic aspects 615 0$aSports team owners 615 0$aMonopolies 615 0$aCompetition 676 $a338.4/77960973 700 $aRoss$b Stephen F.$f1955-$01056005 701 $aSzymanski$b Stefan$f1960-$0285840 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910454922003321 996 $aFans of the world, unite$92490015 997 $aUNINA