Sports are going global

Sports Fan #1: “Did you see that they traded Reggie Bush?”

Sports Fan #2: “No, where’d he go?”

Sports Fan #1: “The Madrid Conquistadors. Look for Madrid to become a scoring machine next year.”

If the thought of Reggie Bush playing for an NFL in Spain sounds completely unbelievable, give it a few years…Sports are going global.  No longer will the World Series just be based on teams from America.  The Super Bowl will be worldly. The NBA Finals will be held on the only neutral site left…the moon (well, maybe not quite yet).  The globalization of sports is coming…and it will be here sooner than you think.

So, why is it going to happen? lets take a look at the signs…

1. American sports are becoming increasingly popular in other countries.

On November 9th, the Houston Rockets played the Milwaukee Bucks.  The game was expected to draw more than 200 million viewers…in China.  Why? because it was the first game when the Rockets All-Star Center, Yao Ming, played against the Bucks upstart rookie Yi Jianlian.  What’s to be learned from that experience, and recent experiences with Chinese basketball players?  China is a market in which an NBA team could flourish.  Obviously, I’m not telling David Stern anything that he doesn’t already know, but, its something that the rest of America needs to recognize.  With all of the players being imported into the U.S. from countries all over the world, its only to be expected for some people in those countries to follow those players, and furthermore begin to follow and love that sport.

American football is also growing in popularity.   This year the NFL played their second regular season game over in London (on top of the numerous preseason games already played in various other countries), and while the weather was deplorable, and one of the teams (the Dolphins) was winless, there were still 40,000 tickets sold in 90 minutes.

Facts are facts; American sports are becoming increasingly popular in other countries.  The most popular sport in the world, soccer, is even gaining popularity here in America.  Of course we already have the MLS and our national teams which seem to have a pretty decent following as well.  Crazier than that? There are actually talks of the U.S.A. holding premier league soccer matches.

2. The players might not know it yet, but they want to play in places other than America.

Yeah, this one might seem like a hard sell on its face, but hear me out.  I know that many NFL players were complaining  about the conditions in London during the regular season game that was played there, but, you know what can beat out bad weather? Notoriety.  Regardless of what any athlete tells you, they live for the fame and the rush it brings.  And sure, its great to be popular here in the states, but how many athletes dream of the sort of fame of a Michael Jordan, or a Tiger Woods?  How many athletes want to be able to say that they’re the greatest player in the world, and know it for a fact to be true?  I would bet it would apply to many.  And the better point? Well…

3. Money.

Reports by Bud Selig had Major League Baseball taking in over $6 billion in revenue this year. In 2005, the NFL pulled in nearly $6 billion in revenue.  The Super Bowl itself brings in approximately 100 million viewers, with nearly 1 billion people being able to view the Super Bowl each year.  Pretty high numbers right?  Think of how much higher they would be if the rest of the world was involved?  You have to remember, that if nothing else, people in sports are always looking to make that extra buck.  Having some football expansion teams set up Italy? Selling a bunch of A-Rod jerseys to kids in Germany?  That will certainly bring in the extra revenue that is not needed, but certainly wanted.  As for the players?  I would certainly think that sports agents of the world would be able to “squeeze” a few more dollars out of the owners if they’re arguing the impact of their players on a global scale (think about Scott Boras talking about A-Rod on a global level, and not just his impact on New York and the YES Network).

4. On smaller scales, sports have already been globalized.

Need examples? Look at the popularity of the Olympics, or on a larger, longer time period, the sport of golf.  Golf is really the marketing plan on which the globalization of sports should be based.  Golfers play all over the world, and they’ve seemed to, at the very least, build a niche market for each country in which they play.  Now, if you take a sport like football, and you’re able to build that same sort of niche market?  The revenues would be astronomical  (Note: obviously, the schedules/events of a football season and a golf season are very different, but the concept of bringing your product to a global market and gaining a niche audience in each country are the concepts that can carry over to any sport).

The globalization of sports is coming, but we can’t rush into it (Super Bowl in London? It’s a long ways off, Mr. Goodell), nor can we provide anything less than a premium product (NFL Europe, I’m talking to you).  But know that it’s coming…as sure as Reggie Bush will be scoring touchdowns for the Conquistadors.

ESPN:  Yao vs. Yi likely to dwarf even Super Bowl ratings

ESPN:  London Super Bowl? Commish to consider idea

Footie Blog:  U.S. to host Premier League Soccer?

ESPN:  Selig: MLB took in $6.075 billion in revenue in ’07

WZZM13.com:  The NFL means (big) business

Related –

Sports Business Digest:  Super Bowl in London…revisited

Sports Business Digest:  How much money is A-Rod going to make?