Last week, the New England Patriots reminded Charger fans (all 500 of them) that a winning culture can still beat all the talent in the world. Coming off of road wins against Baltimore, Pittsburg, and Kansas City, the LA Chargers flew into Foxborough with the misguided feeling that this was finally their year. The Chargers, who have a HOF quarterback, a balanced run/pass attack, and some of the best young talent in the league, especially on the defensive end, were no match for Brady and Belichick. The Patriots embarrassed the Chargers in the first half, scoring touchdowns on every possession. It validated once again that a winning culture in sports and business will beat almost anything. A few years ago, Amazon listed the top 10 books on building company culture. You can find them here.
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.