Fans are losers

Yesterday, Linda Cropp single handedly dealt the Washington Nationals a fatal blow as she ammended the stadium financing deal with MLB to require that half of the funding for the stadium be private. Local radio was abuzz all day with news that baseball's return to DC after a 33-year hiatus was now in jeopardy. MLB doesn't care about the fans whose hearts will be broken, it will seek retribution for a broken deal (whether right or wrong). The 15,000 Nationals season ticket holders have been kicked to the curb.

Meanwhile, today EA sports and the NFL announced an exclusive deal that give EA a monopoly on NFL video games. For the next five years (the length of the deal), you can expect each "new" game to be simply an updated roster with the same old graphics and features. While EA and the NFL will profit from the deal ultimately the fans who expect a better game every year will suffer because EA has crushed the competition and eliminated any incentive for creativity or innovation.

The last 24 hours has illustrated just how dumb we fans are. We ally ourselves to these teams and entities even though they don't care one lick about us. All they want is our money. New stadiums are built, players salaries skyrocket, team revenues grow exponentially and how do fans get rewarded? With higher ticket prices, more expensive merchandise, sports entities (teams and leagues) are continually trying to squeeze more money out of fans while giving them less in return.

It's not whether you win or lose, but how much money is made playing the game.