Image credit: Tim Tebow image from the photostream of dep6954 on Flickr via Creative Commons.

Everyone wants a piece of 24-year-old Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow. Most people settle for a high-five or an autograph. Others ask him to surrender his values, like the young women who beg him for fan photos and then start stripping off their shirts—sending Tebow darting away.

Tebow has All-American character. He espouses capitalistic values that are foundational to America: Competitiveness, ownership, responsibility, hard work, optimism, faith and persistence.

As a football celebrity, Tebow effectively glamorizes a rational lifestyle. Sure, he celebrates after touchdowns by pointing to heaven and shouting: “Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! … Victory!” But he is not expressive in an irrational way.

Tebow once told ESPN: “When people ask, I let ‘em know that I am a follower of Jesus Christ and I’m not ashamed of that and I never will be.” The three key words in that sentence are: “When people ask.”

Tebow’s faith is public without becoming irrational or aggressive. Case in point: When asked by the press whether he’s “saving himself for marriage,” he confidently answers: “Yes, I am.” There is neither hesitation nor conceit in his face when he answers; there is merely self-assurance.

Even “Tebowing,” Tebow’s trademark pose, is pensive. Unlike President Obama’s perpetual “I’ve-got-my-nose-in-the-air-and-I-don’t-care” stance which conveys prideful philistinism—Tebowing is purposeful and humble. In fact, TIME Magazine compares it to the philosophic pose of Auguste Rodin’s Thinker sculpture.

Tebow’s mere existence sets irrational people on edge. Just as Occupy Wall Streeters claim that entrepreneurial risk-takers like Steve Jobs got rich through “luck,” Tebow’s critics claim that he wins football games through luck—not hard work and raw talent. Dolphins linebacker Kevin Burnett told Sports Illustrated that Tebow is “a football player who just happens to be a quarterback.”

Luck plays little role in Tebow’s career. Tebow has worked hard, developing his natural abilities to become a pro and outwit his opponents.

Tim Tebow wears the #15 Gators jersey. Image credit: bjsmith on Flickr via Creative Commons.

Tebow is fast for his size. His on-field intuition is accurate. His touchdown-to-interception ratio in college was an incredible 88-16. He helped bring the Florida Gators the 2006 NCAA National Championship trophy as a 19-year-old freshman, scored the Heisman Trophy as a sophomore (becoming the first underclassman to win the award), won a second national championship as a junior and missed winning a third national championship as a senior by a single game.

Tebow’s ultimate strength is his character. The year after Tebow won the Heisman, the Gators came short of having an undefeated season because they lost to Ole Miss midway through the season. He gave an immortalizing press conference where he put the blame on himself for missing his personal goal of achieving an undefeated season:

“I’m sorry, extremely sorry … I promise you one thing: A lot of good will come out of this. You have never seen any player in the entire country play as hard as I will play the rest of this season and you’ll never see someone push the rest of the team as hard as I will push everybody the rest of this season and you’ll never see a team play harder than we will the rest of this season. God bless.”

Tebow fulfilled his promise to his fans; the Gators won 22 games in a row after Tebow gave this press conference and they ended the season by winning the national title.

In a capitalist society, leaders—whether they are the President of the United States, the CEO of a corporation or the quarterback for a football team—take responsibility. They don’t blame Congress, their shareholders or their fans. They focus on improving themselves and working harder to compete for a winning result.

On the other hand, leaders who embrace socialism shun responsibility. This month, President Obama blamed capitalism—the foundation of this country—for our poor economy. He said capitalism: “doesn’t work. It has never worked.” The President’s statement is akin to Tebow blaming the football turf for his losses.

Also this month, WVEC-TV asked President Obama: “… do you take any personal responsibility for your administration creating that condition [a poor economy]?” The President replied: “Well, we didn’t create the condition. We haven’t, uh, we haven’t solved it fully yet.”

Unlike Tebow, President Obama refuses to accept responsibility for the economic destruction he has unleashed via socialist policies like ObamaCare, bailouts, net neutrality regulations and by blocking oil production.

Football is competitive. There are winners and losers. Talent and hard work win; incompetence and laziness lose. Football rewards innovative risk-takers and analytical thinkers, not sentimental whiners. By instilling capitalistic principles, football builds leaders. In contrast, by discouraging competition, socialist principles encourage people to do the bare minimum, shirk responsibility and reject leadership.

Tebow lives his life in a way that embraces capitalistic principles and he is a leader because of his strong character.

After Tebow crushed the Chicago Bears in overtime this month, Charlotte Bobcats guard Kemba Walker tweeted: “Man do I respect Tim Tebow. True Leader. Not a bad person to model yourself after.”

Tim Tebow golfing with Jack Nicklaus. Image credit: mrnoy9n on Flickr via Creative Commons.

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Mark Cuban. Image credit: "Mark Cuban Keynotes TechCrunch50 Day 2" by Frank Gruber on Flickr via Creative Commons.

This week, capitalism takes on Dallas Mavericks owner, billionaire Mark Cuban.

What’s Cool

Capitalism shoots a slam dunk by proving that rich people improve life and technology for everyone by spending money in the private sector on their own self-interest, not by paying more taxes:

What’s Not

Cuban wants the rich to pay more taxes. (I’ve already shown that taxing the rich hurts everyone.) Cuban also suggests that the U.S. should emulate communist countries that create 5-year plans:

"Soldier Field, Home of the Chicago Bears" by Joshua Mellin on Flickr via Creative Commons.

When arch rivals like the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers go head-to-head, anything is fair game. Except cheating. Winning is the end-goal, but neither team will knowingly jeopardize its NFL standing.

There’s not a lot of love between the Bears and the Packs. This January, when the teams played each other in the NFC championship for the first time since 1941, we witnessed overblown name-calling and pompous chest-pounding.

Football fans live for match-ups that grant them the opportunity to Photoshop a bear eating a cheese wedge or a green-and-gold Pac-Man chasing down a bear to antagonize friends and coworkers rooting for the opposing side. Good-natured teasing and competition make these games fun. Sometimes it seems like anything goes, but, at the end of the day, cheating is off-limits.

What if—unbeknownst to Lovie Smith—one of the Bears’ sports doctors had accepted a bribe from someone deep within the Bears association to give the entire team performance-enhancing drugs (without the players’ knowledge) before the big game?

If this were leaked before the NFC Championship game, the NFL would have jumped in. Probes would have been ordered. Smith would have looked like a cheater at worst and incompetent at best. To make matters worse, what if the Packers took advantage of the Bears’ public relations predicament and went to the press with claims that the Bears won the 1985 Super Bowl by doping up? The Packers would instantly hurt the Bears’ reputation by casting doubt on their ethical standards.

Clearly, this never happened. No Bears sports doctor accepted doping bribes and the Packers didn’t slander the Bears. However, something very similar to my “what-if” scenario is happening right now to one of the most successful entrepreneurs and job-creators in the world, namely Rupert Murdoch.

Rupert Murdoch. Image credit: FoxAllAccess.

Murdoch’s competitors are playing dirty. Instead of upping their game and trying to improve their journalistic standards, they are lowering themselves to the level of slanderous cheaters in a brazen attempt to knock Murdoch and his company News Corp. down.

Murdoch owns media companies all over the world and employs 53,000 people. His now inoperative British tabloid News of the World comprised less than one percent of his company’s holdings.

Allegedly, at least one employee within News of the World betrayed Murdoch and Murdoch’s key executives, including one employee who allegedly hacked into a missing 13-year-old girl’s cell phone and erased messages, thereby leading her parents to believe she was still alive.

Murdoch apologized profusely to the girl’s family and the public. He shut down News of the World. He refused to allow his other companies, such as Fox News, to downplay the scandal. His top tabloid executives stepped down. He dropped his $12 billion bid for British Sky Broadcasting. He submitted himself to questioning before Britain’s Parliament.

Cover page of the News of the World's final edition. Image credit: NevilleHobson on Flickr via Creative Commons.

For this honorable behavior, his rivals in the media and politics have slandered his good name and chipped away at his job-creating ability.

Most people don’t have time to watch Murdoch and his key executives defend News Corp. in three-hour-long parliamentary committee meetings. Most busy people simply scan headlines and leading paragraphs of stories written by Murdoch’s competitors like the Guardian, the Washington Post, the New York Times, TIME Magazine and the Huffington Post. Sadly, these competitors paint Murdoch as a corporate cheater without sufficient evidence. Here are some key examples:

FBI Probe: U.S. politicians impulsively lent credibility to media allegations that Murdoch’s British outlets hacked phones of 9/11 victims. Their panic sparked an FBI probe. No substantive evidence backs up these horrendous allegations. If legitimate, these claims are oddly a decade late.

Source Inflation: TIME Magazine’s July 25 issue plasters Murdoch’s face on the cover under the headline “SCANDAL!” TIME cites several “anonymous” (and therefore non-credible) “public figures” with juicy examples of News of the World’s allegedly unethical behavior.

Besides anonymous celebrities, TIME cites Hugh Grant for this feature cover story. Yes, that pretty boy who needs a 20^th Century Fox film script (think Nine Months) to sound witty.

TIME reports how Grant secretly records one former News of the World journalist stating that 20 percent of Scotland Yard takes bribes from tabloids. TIME implies that Grant caught an omniscient ex-Murdoch journalist on tape who somehow knows the exact percentage of underhanded dealings between journalists and law enforcement officials (impossible) and that Murdoch controls all British tabloid journalists (false).

Murdoch invests in high-quality journalism. Before acquiring The Wall Street Journal, he stated: “This is the greatest newspaper in America, one of the greatest in the world. It has great journalists which deserve, I think, a much wider audience.”

The evidence shows Murdoch plays to win the ethical way. His competitors in the media should follow the NFL’s lead: Teasing is fine, but slander and defamation are forms of classless cheating.

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2010 BCS Championship. Image credit: "The BCS National Championship" by 50%ChanceofRain on Flickr via Creative Commons.

It’s college football championship season and time for the annual debate on whether to keep the current Bowl Championship Series (BCS) or switch out to a playoff system. Last fall, I blogged about this topic here and here to show why politicians should leave football alone. I still think politicians should stay out of sports and focus on bigger issues like national security and job creation.

The problem is, pro-playoff politicians like Sen. Orin Hatch (R-Utah) are trying to throw mud on the BCS’ face and financial heavyweights like billionaire Mark Cuban are lobbying politicians for a playoff system. Since outspoken politicians and lobbyists on the left and the right favor a playoff, the debate is not going away any time soon.

Regardless of whether you favor a playoff system or the BCS, most of us can agree that the NCAA can figure out the best way to crown a champion without politicians and lobbyists getting involved. I reviewed some of the strongest arguments in favor of switching to a playoff system. While the BCS is complicated and imperfect, it still makes the most sense:

BCS Execs are different from Wall Street Fat-Cats

The playoff system crowd is now painting the college bowl CEOS as greedy and corrupt execs similar to the Bernie Madoffs and Kenneth Lays of the world. TIME Magazine recently blasted the executives who run the bowls for their high salaries (about 24 execs earn over $300,000 annually according to 2007 federal tax filings). TIME Magazine implied that the bowl executives do not work hard enough to justify such salaries.

Image credit: "Big 12 Championship 2006 184" by jc-pics on Flickr via Creative Commons.

While it’s true that the average executive salary for nonprofits with comparable operating budgets to the bowls is $185,270, it does not follow that it’s immoral for college football bowl executives to earn about twice the average. Some nonprofits require large staffs and cannot afford to pay their chief executives as much as nonprofits with smaller staffing needs. The CEO of the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, Gary Cavalli, has just two full-time staff members, for example.

Furthermore, a six-figure position as an executive of a college football bowl is certainly an enviable position, but, it is not an illegal position. Corporate sponsors like GODADDY, AT&T, Allstate and Discover see the bowls as exceptional marketing opportunities. They give enough money to the non-profit bowls so that they can hire executives who will work hard to host successful bowls that draw maximum attention to their brands.

Student athletes prefer the BCS

Some argue that a playoff system would provide more students opportunities to showcase their skills in front of a national audience of potential recruiters, fans and sponsors. They think that a playoff system would be more equitable and give more schools the opportunity to participate in top-tier championship games.

2006 Insight Bowl, Tempe, AZ - Texas Tech at Minnesota Golden Gophers. Image credit: "Smash" by MPR529 on Flickr via Creative Commons.

In fact, an August 2010 ESPN poll of student athletes revealed that students prefer the bowls to a playoff system 77 to 23. Students have more to gain from a bowl system including:

• More time to study for December finals.
• Ample recovery time – crucial for a high-impact sport like football, particularly at the Division I-A level where players are larger than players in lower divisions where playoff systems reign.
• A rewarding, week-long experience of memorable football, family and friendship instead of four weeks of high-pressure games across the country.

BCS gives fans a better experience

The day after the college football season ends in late November, you know what bowl your team is going to. Fans have an entire month to plan to attend their team’s bowl appearance. Bowl games are a big draw for cold weather team fans, who get a chance to watch their team play in a warm bowl host state. For example, in the Rose Bowl matchup of TCU vs. Wisconsin, the Badgers brought close to 60,000 fans to the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena, CA.

Wisconsin Badger fans. Image credit: "Sea of Red" by Wisconsin Historical Images on Flickr via Creative Commons.

The BCS is financially viable

Perhaps the biggest reason to keep the BCS system is that it is financially sound. A playoff system is already in place for Divisions I-AA, I, II and III, and all of these playoffs lose money.

Orange Bowl. Image credit: "Dec05 036" by Ya-Bing on Flickr via Creative Commons.

In contrast, a bowl system motivates players and their family and friends to make a trip out of the single game that matters. It is typical for players and fans to spend five to seven days in the bowl host city – providing a boost to the local economies. For example, “the 2010 Sugar Bowl generated $137 million for New Orleans via spectators’ meals, hotel rooms and shopping,” reports TIME Magazine.

A bowl system generates more attendance than a playoff system. Former Division I Athletics Director, Butch Henry, states:

“The Sugar Bowl provides each team 17,500 tickets to sell to fans and students. How many teams would sell 17,500 tickets on a Monday after a victory for a game the following Saturday 10 hours away? You say it works in college basketball. Well, teams in the regional round only receive 750 tickets and often struggle to sell those. Teams receive 3,500 tickets for a Final Four, and just four years ago, LSU, Florida and George Mason failed to sell their respective allotments. No, attendance would be a major problem in a football playoff system.”

If college football converted to a playoff system, TV ratings would be a challenge. No one wants to watch a game on TV with empty stands. Football stadiums are significantly larger than basketball arenas. If the Final Four scrambles to sell playoff tickets in arenas that seat under 25,000, how could the NCAA fill college football stadiums that seat 70,000-plus attendees? A bowl system allows enough time for fans to juggle schedules, purchase tickets and find flights.

The BCS is fair

You might think that the BCS is unfair because there can be scenarios like this year’s where an undefeated team, namely TCU, didn’t advance after winning the Rose Bowl.

Image credit: "rose bowl" by stolenbyme on Flickr via Creative Commons.

But there were two other undefeated teams – Oregon and Auburn – which belong to better conferences. The BCS polls determined Auburn and Oregon to be the two best teams, and rightly so. For one thing, it is much harder to go undefeated in the SEC conference or the Pac-10 conference than in the Mountain West conference. College football fans can rest assured that the two best teams will play each other in the national championship.

Ryan Thurman of the Herald points out:

“…playoffs work in basketball and in professional sports, but college football has a unique system that lends its race for the top a bit of intrigue. Yes, the best team of the year may not always be crowned in an appropriate and definitive fashion, but it’s different enough that the allure of the very unique game of college football doesn’t get lost. Throw in a bunch of playoff games that dilute the regular season, which is what actually makes college football entertaining, and you take away the thrill of knowing that every Saturday is like a playoff game.”

No better proposal available

A playoff proposal from billionaire Mark Cuban is gaining press and traction. Cuban is a basketball guy: He owns the Dallas Mavericks. Filling out a bracket and watching a playoff are second nature to him. Cuban plans to pitch his proposal by lucratively rewarding college administrators who promise to accept offers to enter a playoff system.

Cuban owns the Dallas Mavericks basketball team. Image credit: "The arena" by nivek2002 on Flickr via Creative Commons.

Ultimately, my main issue with his proposal is not that it’s pro-playoff but the way he’s going about it. Cuban will pressure schools to accept a playoff system by offering them financial incentives that they can’t resist. He’s also going to start lobbying politicians to buy into his proposal. So, it seems like it requires bribes and political lobbying to work. ESPN reports:

“Put $500 million in the bank and go to all the schools and pay them money as an option,” Cuban said. “Say, ‘Look, I’m going to give you X amount every five years. In exchange, you say if you’re picked for the playoff system, you’ll go.’”

College football needs a system that suits its unique needs. Lobbyists like Cuban and politicians like the President and Sen. Hatch should stay out of college football and let the players and fans decide how to crown their champion.

Royalty doesn’t sit well with Americans. Our ancestors sailed across the pond to free themselves from pompous aristocrats. Americans believe that all men are equal before God, not that certain men should be treated as gods.

If you’re a pro athlete and you want to win fans in America, you need to respect American ideals. These include gratitude and humility, of which basketball star Lebron James has proved deficient throughout his process of moving from the Cleveland Cavaliers to the Miami Heat as a free agent.

Lebron James celebrates his move to the Miami Heat. Image credit: FOX Sports.

Americans want choice. We want to choose our celebrities and we expect our celebrities to at least appreciate where they came from. We don’t mind if they drink Champagne for breakfast and get chauffeured to their private jets. We don’t even hold it against them if they’re a celebrity for no apparent reason (i.e. Paris Hilton).

But, if you’re Lebron James and you dub yourself ‘King,’ believing your fans will eternally grovel at your feet – regardless if you leave them for another city, use an hour of prime-time TV to announce your decision to move and then celebrate with a wild fanfare – you’ll turn American sports fans away from your alter.

You’ll cause your sport’s commissioner to label your “Decision” as “ill-conceived.” You will incite your hurt and angry hometown fans to tear down your mural, set fire to your No. 23 jersey and throw rocks at your billboard.

Here are three tips from our own hometown hero, Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer, rated the most “fan-friendly” athlete in all of sports by “Joe Phan” of ESPN The Magazine.

Look yourself in the mirror everyday.

Joe Mauer faced a similar decision to Lebron about a year before he would have become a free agent. Mauer decided to sign an eight year contract extension, essentially guaranteeing that he would retire with the same fans that brought him to life. Mauer chose his hometown team and says he’s never looked back.

According to Joe Phan, Mauer answers and signs all his fan mail with a personal touch. Mauer told ESPN, “I remember getting that first fan letter. It still feels cool. It’s not work when you read this stuff from people. So I decided a while back that this is important.” Here’s a video of Mauer responding to fan mail with his mother:

Mauer is not one to preach from the pulpit and tell other athletes how to act. His one piece of advice for Lebron reveals his genuine desire for the basketball star to succeed:

Joe Mauer enters a news conference at the Twins' training facility in Fort Myers, Fla., on March 22, 2010 during which he signed a new $184 million contract extension, flanked by Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, right, and Justin Morneau, second from right. Image credit: AP Photo/Steven Senne.

Mauer told MLB.com, “He [LeBron] has to live with what he decides and I hope that he’s happy with it. It’s kind of tough. I’m not sure with how the NBA works with all the salary caps but he’s probably going to sign a pretty lengthy deal so he’s going to be there for awhile. So I just hope for him that he’s happy with his decision.”

LeBron said he has “no doubts,” about his decision. But, so far, many sports fans and former LeBron fans are expressing emotions ranging from disgust to outrage at his decision and the manner in which he announced his decision.

Look outside yourself.

Joe Mauer took home the jackpot when this year’s All-Star Game votes were counted. Mauer received the most fan votes to the 81st All-Star Game and the third-highest number of votes in all-star history. 5,372,606 to be exact. At the end of the day, LeBron openly admitted that his primary motivation in choosing the Heat was his personal obsession with winning. He may discover that this self-centered motivator will backfire on him in the years ahead.

Although faced with shoulder, hip and back pain and a grueling schedule, Mauer still chooses to get up early and meet with fans, hold press conferences, and help multiple charities. Due to his pain, he considered sitting out of the All-Star Game, but ultimately said, “I kind of went back and forth a little bit, but this is a great event. It’s a great honor to be the top vote getter.”

Joe Mauer preps for game against Oakland A's on July 22, 2009. Image credit: Brad Mangin.

Mauer is loyal to his fans and his hometown team, and they are loyal right back.

Get in touch with your human side.

While Lebron James refers to himself in the third person and appears to consider himself royalty, Joe Mauer’s humble talent leads his opponents to treat him with respect, even when his performance is down. Perhaps Mauer’s talent is more believable because it’s more human.

As Blue Jays catcher John Buck told Kelsie Smith with the St. Paul Pioneer Press,

“When you talk about him in the meetings, it’s the same things,” said Buck, who called pitches against Mauer in Toronto last week. “I think if you go to any pitcher, any pregame pitchers’ meeting, there is not one pitcher for one second thinking, ‘Oh, Joe Mauer is struggling.’ He’s still Joe Mauer; if you make that mistake, he’s still going to hit you.”

“If you’re going to throw him balls off the plate, he’s still not going to bite. He’s going to stay disciplined. I think that’s obviously what makes him so tough to pitch against, even now while he’s so-called struggling or not being Joe Mauer. I think people are realizing he might be superhuman rather than super-nonhuman or robotic. He’s actually just superhuman now.”

Lebron would stop hemorrhaging fans if he followed Mauer’s lead and expressed genuine gratitude to his hometown, made peace with Cleveland fans and began de-emphasizing his royal ‘Kingdom.’  After all, royalty is so overrated.

By Katie Kieffer

USA's Clint Dempsey of USA celebrates his goal against Brazil with his team during the FIFA Confederations Cup Final on June 28, 2009 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Image credit: Alex Livesey/Getty Images via soccer.teamusa.org.

Pass U.S. the ball. ‘Cause she’s a winner, winner, winner.

Team USA did not hoist the World Cup trophy on its shoulders in South Africa. But, what the sports world, even in the U.S., has overlooked, is that Team USA and the U.S. have made soccer the popular and profitable sport that it is today.

Today, the U.S. influences and contributes to the growth and development of soccer more than any other country in the world. Here’s how:

ROLE MODELS

• Safe and fun atmosphere: In America, we are passionate about soccer without becoming obsessed. Players do not need to fear for their lives if they make a mistake like the late Colombian soccer player, Andrés Escobar Saldarriaga. As sports columnist Christine Brennan of USA Today points out, “By not being single-mindedly devoted to soccer, aren’t U.S. fans exhibiting a laudable sense of perspective? They respect the World Cup, mostly — bad calls, bad acting, bad leadership and all — but they don’t live and die with it. One could make a case that this is a very good thing.”
• Sportsmanship: Our team played honorably and stood out from the Ghana players faking injuries and the French handballs that robbed Ireland of a chance at the 2010 World Cup.
• Responsibility: The U.S. soccer team takes their celebrity seriously. As Ronald Bum of the Associated Press reported, U.S. coach Bob Bradley said, “You want to have a team that the people who care about … and follow that team and root for that team and can feel part of. A team that people believe in and a team that people are proud of. And so, that’s part of our responsibility, and we’re excited in the moment that there’s that kind of feeling.”

Team USA head coach Bob Bradley during the FIFA World Cup Qualifying soccer match between the USA and Mexico at Azteco Stadium in Mexico City, Mexico on August, 2009. Image credit: Donald Miralle/Getty Images North America.

$OCCER’$ GREEN MACHINE

• Economic boon for other countries: If it weren’t for U.S. investors, soccer would be a whole different ballgame – one with less glamor, fun and profitability.The U.S. hires foreign-born stars such as David Beckham and Fredrik Ljungberg to play on her teams and recruits British pros like Martin Tyler to analyze her game on ABC/ESPN. Thanks to American sponsors such as McDonalds, Coca-Cola and Visa, and live TV coverage of the World Cup on American networks, there are suddenly millions of Americans are familiar with players from the Republic of Cameroon. Millions of Americans watched Spain’s historic soccer glory yesterday on ABC. No doubt this will prove a boon for Spain’s floundering economy.
  

  David Beckham plays for the LA Galaxy.

• Television coverage & Sponsors: A primary reason TIME Magazine can report that, “Africa was the world’s third largest TV audience for soccer in 2006″ is because of U.S. investment in soccer.FIFA president, Joseph S. Blatter, was able to bring soccer to Africa and Asia because of the U.S.’ success in soccer and investments made based off of that success.Television is “central” to the World Cup and allowed Blatter to make “the game truly global, taking it to Asia and Africa,” says TIME Magazine.Television coverage and financial sponsors for the game came from the U.S.According to TIME Magazine, “The still unsurpassed success of the U.S. tourney allowed Blatter to float TV packages for the 2002 and 2006 tournaments to the highest bidder on a country-by-country basis. Under Blatter, FIFA began soliciting only the biggest brands and corporations, and all rights packages and sponsorship deals were sold for two World Cups at a time, guaranteeing fees against volatility in the global economy. The packages don’t come cheaply: in 2006, Blatter enticed more than $875 million from FIFA’s top sponsors.”

GROWING THE GAME

The U.S. is popularizing soccer at an unmatched pace.

• Fan base: “More tickets to the World Cup were purchased in the U.S. than in any other country except the host nation,” reports Bill Saporito.
• Participants: TIME Magazine reports that, in the U.S., “Soccer trails only basketball in the number of participants.”
• Media: American media giants have helped give credence to soccer as an American and worldly pastime. Vanity Fair has featured foreign stars such as Christiano Ronaldo and Didier Drogba on it’s cover – while the Fox network chose live coverage of an Inter Milan vs. Bayern Munich soccer game over live coverage of a New York Yankees vs. New York Mets baseball game, reports TIME Magazine.

Soccer is thriving in America, and it is alive and well in the world. Much of soccer’s growth is attributable to the passion of American soccer fans and participants – as well as the investments of American capitalists.

This video showing the reactions of from Team USA fans across the U.S. and around the world to Landon Donovan‘s last-minute winning goal against Algeria. It will shred any doubts of America’s passion for soccer:

World Reacts To Landon Donovan’s Goal – Watch more Funny Videos

Tim Tebow. Image credit: http://espn.go.com/video/

As the NFL draft draws near, football fans are paying close attention to Tim Tebow. The Heisman Trophy-winning Florida Gators quarterback is considered one of the “fastest risers” in Thursday’s NFL first-round draft.

Vikings coach Brad Childress took a look at Tebow in practice this month. If another team doesn’t fall in love with Tebow before the Vikes can nab him with the 30th pick overall, Childress could take Tebow, with these potential consequences:

Tebow in the locker room, ‘Pants on the ground!’

Tim Tebow has an attitude that would take the Vikings locker room to the next level. As ESPN Monday Night Football commentator, Jon Gruden says, “What I’m really impressed with is the way he sits on the edge of his chair and his work ethic and relentlessness to become great is really second to nobody. I think his commitment to what he believes in is real. It doesn’t waver.”

A young player with a positive, can-do attitude like Tebow’s would raise the Vikings team up, and Brett Favre could be back to singing ‘Pants on the ground!’

Tebow in, Favre out?

As much as I’d like to see Tebow on the team, I have to acknowledge that it could ruffle Favre’s feathers. Some argue the Packers-Favre divorce started when the Packers drafted a first-round quarterback in 2005 when Favre wanted immediate help at another position. If we gave Favre a reason to go sour, it would probably be a quicker and cleaner divorce.

To keep Favre happy, the Vikings would need to justify adding a fourth quarterback to the roster over another position. The Vikings could justify it if Tebow were willing to play H-back for them, but he likely wants an opportunity to play the quarterback position.

Feminists graffiti Metrodome

Remember NOW President Terry O’Neil’s fuss over Tebow’s pro-life Super Bowl commercial? If Tebow joins the Vikings, don’t be surprised if NOW members spray paint pro-abortion statements all over the Metrodome. No worries, though. If Tebow is tough enough to handle a little controversy, Minnesotans are too.

More realistically, the Vikings will draft a different position, such as cornerback, offensive lineman, defensive tackle or safety, that fills a gap in the roster. It’s unlikely that the Vikings will get Tebow this year, but I think his attitude, moral courage and work ethic could add tremendous value to the team. Skol, Tebow, let’s go!

Image credit: Ben Woloszyn Photography/www.benwphoto.com

If you can’t buy a bucket, you have no business in the NCAA Basketball Tournament. I blogged here about how the NFL is corrupting itself with perverse “equalizers” like the Rooney Rule. I wrote here and here about Congressional plans to force college football to switch from the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) system to a playoff system.

Although Big East Commissioner John Marinatto is getting chatty court-side with former president Bill Clinton and ESPN did an extensive story and video stepping us through President Obama’s bracket, the NCAA doesn’t need politicians to break its players’ ankles and short-sell its fans – it’s doing it on its own.

The NCAA is currently considering expanding its tournament from 65 to 96 teams. The 96 expansion option is a good analogy for what can happen when bureaucracy, greed and politically ambitious snobs multiply, whether in business, politics or entertainment.

Scrambling for pennies

The NCAA generates 90 percent of its income through the NCAA tournament. Now, some sports analysts and coaches are accusing the NCAA of trying to boost profits by expanding March Madness to include more teams at the expense of the sport, players and fans.

“Jim Isch, the N.C.A.A.’s interim president, and the 18 university presidents and chancellors on the Division I board decide” whether to change the tournament’s format to the 96 team system, The New York Times reports. If they do, it will likely have the following repercussions:

• Hurt students. ESPN analyst, Dick Vitale, says it best, baby!

ESPN sportscaster, Dick Vitale. Image credit: Associated Press

“To mess with something that is so good is absurd. What they should be doing is concentrating on the integrity of the game and doing something about the current student-athlete. For example it is an absolute disgrace to the term ‘student athlete’ in the manual of the NCAA guide when we look at the one-and-done scenario.

The one-and-done is simply a situation of players playing to put their skills in front of NBA people and hoping to go to the next level and could care less about academics, could care less about the value of an education. They should be concentrating on that.

They should be concentrating on violations and things happening within our system that have led to the embarrassment and humiliation at Southern Cal, what happened in the Memphis situation. All of that should be in consideration not spending time trying to ramrod 96 teams and to blow up something that has been so fantastic to so many people. It is the greatest three weeks in all of sports. Why don’t we just go to all 300 and let everybody in?”

Furthermore, Davidson Coach Bob McKillop told The New York Times:

Davidson Wildcats head coach Bob McKillop. Image credit: REUTERS/John Gress.

“Isn’t this whole thing a window into society? We’ve diminished so many other things. We’ve diminished test scores. We’ve diminished admission policies. We diminish so much for reasons that are not accentuating excellence and performance. It’s almost too inclusive.”

• Water down the tournament.The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that ESPN’s resident bracketologist, St. Joseph’s Joe Lunardi: “…recently put together a mock 96-team bracket for this season. Carolina was one of the last teams in, and 13 of the 16 Big East teams made it.”
  

  ESPN bracketologist, Joe Lunardi. Image credit: AP.

“I think that’s silly,” Lunardi said. “I really don’t know how else to say it, and that’s no disrespect to the 13th team. . . . From a basketball standpoint, [expansion] is absolutely not necessary. No team that has a legitimate chance of being a national champion is excluded now. It’s not like we need a bigger field to make the champion more legitimate.

“I hope they give it considerable thought. How great is it when a late regular-season game has so much meaning or a conference tournament game has so much meaning? To a large degree, that will be diluted if the most dramatic expansion plan goes into place.”

• Let down fans. As Michael Hiestand of USA Today puts it:

“Diminishing the Big Dance and popping debates about who’s on the bubble would inevitably devalue college basketball’s regular-season, conference tournaments and its NCAA selection show.

And other than gratitude from coaches hanging onto their jobs because grade inflation got them into the tournament, what would the NCAA get in return? Probably lots of new games of little interest to casual fans nationally — thus lots of low ratings.

Consider that CBS’ first-round NCAA time slots last year, which combined regionalized audiences from overlapping games, averaged 4.2% of U.S. TV households. Showing teams that wouldn’t make the tournament in its present format likely would produce smaller ratings.”

A better strategy

Hard work, sacrifice, perseverance and a positive attitude are traits of leaders. Minnesota Gopher basketball coach, Tubby Smith, motivated his players to ignore the naysayers and overcome team challenges to achieve a berth in the NCAA tournament.

Image credit: www.gophersportsproperties.com

Smith pushed his players to come together as a team and demand respect from the college basketball community. He set the bar high, and his players responded. High, yet realistic expectations are the best motivators in life.

In our government, as in sports, there is a tendency to lower expectations so that “everyone is a winner.” Some people and some teams are losers and they don’t deserve a trophy, get over it. They won’t work hard, they have negative attitudes and they are unwilling to make sacrifices to achieve goals.

Likewise, the NCAA needs to trust that the money will come if it does right by its players and fans and sets high levels of performance expectations. This will improve the game and bring long-term money to college basketball. Otherwise, its unchallenged ballers will be running to Kobe Bryant for ankle insurance that covers their weak, unchallenged ankle tendons.

Image credit: Red Bull

Wouldn’t it be fun to shred the U.S. recession into oblivion the way a skier shreds the Jackson Hole gnar gnar? It would be as exhilarating as finding a cure to cancer – on an economic level.  Well, the U.S. does have a nearly fail-proof template to follow for ending the recession and creating jobs: Lindsey Vonn.

Vonn is often hyped for her amicable personality and good looks. Lost in this hype is the bigger story: the tale of sheer American grit, rugged persistence, sacrifice and goal-focus. Vonn’s story shows that America can shrug off her recession if she acts like a champion.

Many athletes at one point appeared to be all-around champions, and then disappointed, such as Tiger Woods, Mark McGwire and Marion Jones. But, Vonn is the template we’re looking for. Below is her recipe for bouncing out of recession. Let’s rip.

Champions race when it hurts.

There is a disease in America called apathy. Symptoms include a lack concern for anything deeply meaningful. Apathy is different from liberalism. It is disengagement from the entire civic arena. When you hear someone say something like,”I don’t get into politics. It stresses me out. Besides, Jersey Shore makes me happy,” they’re probably apathetic. We cannot bounce out of recession if we sit and widen our bums while China’s economy grows. We need to get up and take action. A fall, even as big as our economy has taken, is no excuse to disengage.

When Vonn crashed in the 2006 Torino Olympics and was helicoptered away, she was visited by her life-long idol, three-time Olympian, Picabo Street, in the hospital.  Street bluntly told Vonn, “A real champion would get up and race.” Vonn proved her metal by racing two days later in excruciating pain and still finishing eighth overall.

When Vonn fell again in the Feb. 2, 2010 pre-Vancouver Olympics practice run in Austria and badly bruised her shin, she didn’t have a bailout. As loved as she is, there was no sponsor, no coach, no friend who could do it for her. Last week in Vancouver, she was not even able to take an injection to fully dull her pain, but has had to suffer through with ordinary painkillers to avoid violating Olympic antidoping guidelines. Still, she plans to grit her teeth, and race.

Likewise, the U.S. can stand up and race her way back to the top if she is able to handle some pain and stops trying to mask it with government stimulus packages, proven to fail.

Champions are coachable

“Don’t hunch over,” Street recalls telling the young Vonn. “Stand up straight. Stand tall. Be proud.” Vonn has made a concerted effort throughout her career to reach out to other champion skiers, like Street, and model her game after their success. Once-respected champions like Tiger Woods fell from favor with fans and sponsors partly because they became so self-absorbed that they forgot to listen to reason and wisdom.

Vonn is almost always accompanied by her husband, coach and spokesman, Thomas Vonn. Rather than imitating Woods and filling her mobile phone with the contacts of hot ski-patrols, Vonn works hand-in-hand with Thomas Vonn to achieve success. Vonn also has a deep respect for other members of her “team,” including her ski technician and communicates frequently and openly with them.

Lindsey and Thomas Vonn. Image: Clive Rose/Getty Images North America.

Similarly, the U.S. could recover from economic wipe-out if our elected officials would start listening to their best coaches, constituents. Americans are tired of government spending, bribery and growth. We want the government to start listening to us, and to our small businesses.

Champions work hard

Lindsey Vonn celebrates her World Cup victories with her ski technician, Heinz Haemmerle. Image: Doug Haney/NYDailyNews.com

Lindsey Vonn does a lot of behind-the-scenes hard work for her big wins. Vonn’s professionalism and work ethic are extraordinary. Her “ski man,” Heinz Haemmerle says, “She’s very focused on where she wants to get. She wants to win every race,” he says. “I get so many informations from her about skis.”

Unlike many super-star skiers, Vonn goes the extra mile and provides her ski trainer with detailed notes every day. Vonn has made notes after skiing in different weather conditions and she tried between 20 and 25 different skis in 2009. In skiing, even a fraction of a second can make a difference, and she puts in the work necessary to conquer time. “I never had anybody else do this,” says Haemmerle. “After each run on the chair or whatever, she writes it down. It’s very professional. Every day she makes her notes.” And, Haemmerle is no newcomer to the sport. He is the “best available” ski technician.

Washington could take a lesson from Lindsey’s work ethic. Instead of blowing up the budget, Washington needs to do its homework, treat the American people like a team, as Vonn treats Haemmerle, and be transparent about new legislation instead of bribing Senators to clandestinely pass unfavorable health care “reforms” on Christmas Eve.

The U.S. can take inspiration from Vonn’s willingness to put in the extra effort to come up from behind to become the strongest female skier in the world:

Some argue that Julia Mancuso, another member of the U.S. Ski Team, who won gold in the giant slalom in Turin, was the “naturally gifted junior, a fine all-round skier who occasionally took her talent for granted.“ Today, “Lindsey Vonn” is practically a household name and Mancuso has faded to oblivion. I think this is because Vonn spent the past four years working hard in a challenging Austrian-based training program, mastering men’s skis, and focusing on developing as a skier, while Moncuso proclaimed that, “I think underwear is my calling” and channeled part of her time away from the slopes to develop a lingerie line called Kiss My Tiara.

Image: Getty Images/AFP-Fabrice Coffrini.

Unsurprisingly, rugged grit and persistent hard work proved a better strategy than living like a ski princess since Vonn, not Mancuso, emerged to become the most decorated American female skier in World Cup history, winning back-to-back overall World Cup championships in 2008 and 2009.

Likewise, the U.S. can no longer flaunt herself as the “biggest and the best” – she has to go out there and prove herself again on the world stage. But, in order for this to happen, big government needs to step out of the way and give individuals, banks and small businesses breathing room.

Champions make sacrifices for their goal

Luck is not a strategy to win. Having fun is not a strategy for success. Blood, sweat and tears are.

Think of how much sacrifice goes into being an Olympic skier. You never have an off-season. For four years you are working towards a few minutes on the slopes. Vonn often sacrifices leisure to achieve her goals. According to Parade, ‘Between practicing, competing, eating, and sleeping, it’s tough to work it (watching other Olympic events) in. “I highly doubt that I’ll have time to watch any other events, but if I get a chance, I would really like to watch figure skating. Or maybe speedskating. We have a lot of pressure, a lot of obligations.”‘

Like Vonn, the U.S. can use setbacks to grow stronger. “It is important to note that Vonn always comes through. She has skied with an injured hand taped to one of her ski poles and still won. Her back was a mess after the fall in Turin and still she competed. If she can stand up, she’ll attempt to make it down the hill,” the Pioneer Press reports.

Americans have something special. We have a unique Constitution that provides opportunity, independence and freedom for all. As long as we uphold the Constitution and respect the proven success of capitalism and the free markets, our economy will flourish. But, if the U.S. continues to increase its dependence on unnatural governmental supplements, such as bailouts and stimulus packages, it will perpetuate its floundering economy.

Similarly, Vonn’s sacrifice and focus has made her so strong that Street says of Vonn’s Olympic odds, “As embarrassing as it is for the rest of ‘em, I’m sorry but, yes, she can spank you on 80 percent.“

Even now, with a severely bruised shin, Vonn “spanked” the rest of the competitors on the slopes this week. She tore up the gnar gnar and brought in the fastest time in the women’s training run.

Similarly, America is bruised and her economy is in a sling, but she need to grit her teeth and deal with some of the pain of this recession in order to move forward. As Glenn Beck implies nearly daily on his radio show, it will hurt Americans a lot more if we allow government to grow bigger and rely on Washington to patch up our oozing economic wounds with freshly printed junk dollar bills.

Ultimately, whether Vonn, who is still experiencing “throbbing” pain when she skis, but plans to “grit my teeth and fight through it on Wednesday,” wins five, one or zero gold medals in Vancouver, she has proven herself on the world stage. Vonn is a champion.

Take on the recession like a Vonn, America.

Additional articles cited for this piece:

St. Paul Pioneer Press: “Vonn will try to ski today,” by Frank Fitzpatrick on Feb. 2, 2010. “NOT AGAIN!,” by Tom Powers on Feb. 11, 2010, “Shin injury and all” by Tom Powers and “Street: Vonn can still win” from the Associated Press on Feb. 12, 2010.

Image credit: The Green Blazer blog

Want to embarrass yourself on the golf course? Whiff, whiff and whiff away. Fail to make contact with the ball and you’ll tee yourself up for a tense round of ridicule from your golfing partners.

Golf may have just whiffed itself into a potentially embarrassing situation during the 2016 Olympics – by participating in the Olympics. Rio de Janeiro is not a great golf town (Chicago is, no thanks to the First Couple), and Rio de Janeiro is where golf will debut as an Olympic sport. Here’s the story of golf’s unhealthy relationship with the Olympics:

Thanks to pressure from Tiger Woods, on Oct. 9, 2009, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted to include golf and rugby in the 2016 Olympic Games.

Sound exciting? It’s only exciting if you like to keep your game in the sand bunkers and water hazards.

There are more than a few things to question about golf’s push for inclusion in the Olympic Games. They all stem from the fact that the success of golf as an Olympic sport depended on the integrity of one man who fell hard, Tiger Woods. Tiger Woods pushed the IOC to include golf in the Games, arguing that the Olympics is “the grandest of stages,” and golf is a “global” and “honorable game.”

Throughout the history of the Games, the IOC has never had a vested interest in golf.  Logically so: “sports in which the gold medal is not the ultimate prize are never quite as riveting as the other competitions. And there isn’t a tennis player alive who wouldn’t rather win the Wimbledon silver cup and plate, or a golfer the Masters green jacket,” Mark Starr with GlobalPost points out.

Meanwhile, the selection process for the new game of Olympic golf is sketchy at best, but Tiger-approved.

Gold medals image: Getty Images.

So what explains the IOC’s sudden interest and acceptance of golf? The IOC was betting on Tiger’s celebrity status to extraordinarily boost Olympic sponsors and TV rights-holders during a time when sports sponsors are increasingly hard to attain.

Woods’ motivation appeared to be a new platform to garner sponsorships and international acclaim. Tiger would turn 40 in 2016, and a gold medal in the Olympics would be a perfect crown to retire his laurels on. Pre-affair leak, Tiger committed to playing in the Olympics if he doesn’t retire first.

While fans might still enjoy watching Tiger take on the Olympic gold at age forty, Tiger does not draw a crowd like he used to. Including golf in the Olympics appears to be a short-sighted vision of the sport of golf and golf fans.

Baseball’s lack of celebrity player participation motivated the IOC to drop baseball from the Olympics after the 2008 Beijing Games and now the MLB plays continuously through the Olympic Games. Currently, hockey is in a similar situation. Frustrated with the suspension of regular season play for the Vancouver Olympic Games, NHL Commissioner, Gary Bettman, has indicated this may not continue going forward. So who’s Tiger to say that golf won’t suffer the same predicament now that his dirty laundry is out to dry?

Who could benefit from golf’s inclusion in the Olympics? Certainly not fans, sponsors or players. They have already tuned out from watching golf and in six years they will be far less likely to tune in. In the wake of Tiger’s admitted affairs, the PGA Tour has seen a noticeable dip in America’s interest in playing and sponsoring golf as well as a continued dip in viewership. The IOC stands to benefit the most.

Tiger had an impeccable image of a devoted husband, father, philanthropist and athlete. He was the badge of honor in golf. As former vice president of programing for CBS Sports, Jay Rosenstein put it, “Tiger Woods is golf. The concern is that for a sport whose identity is so closely tied to the idea of honor, what he’s gone through has to be incredibly damaging.”

The IOC essentially based the sport of golf’s inclusion on the honor, integrity and talent of one athlete, Tiger Woods. This is called throwing all your eggs in one basket. It’s a foolish risk to take, especially if you don’t have insurance on the basket if it breaks. The Olympics will lose their appeal if the IOC continues to make political moves to garner sponsorships and base the inclusion of an entire sport on one celebrity athlete within that sport.