July 29, 2007
For us fans its getting harder to be loyal - The Seattle Times
Source: The Seattle Times
By: Jerry Brewer
In sports, hell hath no quandary like a fan scorned.
Fans recover, always. They remain more faithful than Greg Anderson to Barry Bonds. They seemingly can get over anything.
Chicago White Sox players tanking the 1919 World Series. Ben Johnson doping up the 100-meter dash. Pete Rose betting on baseball. Mike Tyson gnawing on Evander Holyfield's ears. O.J. Simpson destroying the notion of heroism in athletics. The East German government sponsoring Olympic cheating. Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa sullying the great home-run chase of 1998. NBA players punching their own customers.
"It's amazing," said David Carter, a USC sports business professor. "We consistently underestimate just how much fans will put up with. If it were any industry other than sports, it wouldn't be able to exist."
Our games take serious hits with each controversy, but they never endure mass abandonment. If baseball's steroids scandal can't crush the game, if the NBA survives referee Tim Donaghy's whistle-wagering, there likely is no death knell.
"The true die-hard fan's psyche is hard to match," said Stephen Ross, a sport management professor at the University of Minnesota. "It's like people who love politics and religion. You can't break their tie to it. Crazy? Perhaps. All sports fans are. It shows how incredibly loyal they are."
Robert Tuchman, the president of TSE Sports and Entertainment, says the NBA should be especially concerned about its referee dilemma.
"I think it's by far the worst scandal that could hit a league," said Tuchman, whose New York-based company helps those with NBA ties get endorsements. "Anytime you're talking about integrity, it's far more threatening than an individual taking steroids".
"Fans start to really get angry when they feel wronged or cheated. It's like buying a TV and Channel 7 doesn't work."
Still, if Donaghy proves to be a "rogue, isolated criminal," as NBA commissioner David Stern suggested last week, the league can make him the villain, change some policies and restore its might.
Sports business experts say some of these leagues could experience stunted growth because their problems might scare away new fans. But they are beasts.
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