Next weekend the most exciting spectacle in all of sports begins. I love the NCAA Tourney and expect this year to be just as good as it usually is. The emotion of March Madness is what makes it so special. Every year there is at least one team that defies all odds and advances much further than anyone anticipated. The ‘lose once and you’re out’ adds to the sense of urgency that you can literally feel when you are watching one of the games. This year, Duke forward, Zion Williamson will dominate the headlines as one of the most prolific and popular players in tournament history. I remember when I was a kid and UCLA dominated the tournament every year, but I also remember when little Cal State Fullerton made it to the Elite Eight. This year, for the first time I have been watching the Division III tournament and it is equally as exciting. In the last half century, the sport of basketball has come from the shadows of football and baseball to become the most beloved sport in the country and perhaps the world, and I believe March Madness is part of the reason why. This year, I am pulling for Gonzaga to win it all.
On Friday evening, the LA Dodgers won game one of the 2024 World Series over the New York Yankees in glorious fashion, with Freddie Freeman hitting a walk-off grand slam home run in the bottom of the 10th inning. For Dodger fans, the game could not have been scripted better...
I once read that sports are a universal language. Regardless of ethnicity or what language you speak, almost everyone speaks sports. No place has that been more evident than the Olympics, where every four years, we are moved by images of athletic rivals from around the world shaking hands and embracing each other in moving displays of sportsmanship.
The NFL markets its brand as well as any enterprise in the world. I heard a comedian once say that the NFL is so popular, it has its own day. NFL football is huge. Each NFL franchise brings in approximately $400M a year in revenue; almost double the annual revenue of NBA teams and 2 ½ times as much as MLB clubs.