I know at least some people who think playing sports, particularly the organized variety, is good time wasted. When it comes to watching such sports, it is doubly so. I am not one of them. I am not going to trot out some cringe-worthy statements praising sports – creates team spirit, gives a controlled outlet for aggression, fosters competition (as though it is indisputably a normative good) and on and on.
Why
are the above cringe-worthy? They skirt the main, indeed the only issue that
can justify any organized sports. It is economics, you …
I
want to talk about sports only in terms of its impact on economics, of a
nation, of a region, of a state, of a district and so on.
Take
this year’s case of Indian Premier League matches scheduled to be played in the
Middle East.
The
players, coaches and the support staff are going to be paid as per the contract
each one of them has signed. There is no loss of money transactions on this
ground. But, get to the playground. IPL, and every team, have insured themselves,
just from their takings from TV rights. What about the others who make IPL what
it is?
First,
getting to the playground. Airline industry across the world is in a funk. Now,
IPL offers only a sop – one-time round trip for every member of the team, who
cannot work from home (!). That is it. No jetting repeatedly between Dharmshala
and Bengaluru, or between Mohali and Chennai, in one season. Those air trips
cause, besides contributing to global heating, a lot of on-ground activities
contributing to the local economy. That is one major loss on the economic
front.
What
about the security detail, provided by the police force and additional private
security firms? These are locally sourced. So, Kolkata, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai,
Hyderabad, Chennai, Vishakapatnam, and other centres of play lose the
contribution to local economy.
What
about franchise merchandise? Teams will lose heavily, but as mentioned earlier,
the teams are insured. Their profits may take a small hit, but the rate of
return on their investments will be high enough. Not many people are going to
be wearing team colours and waving its pennants in front of their TVs! I
definitely will not be doing these (as though I did when IPL was played in
India! Let that slide).
The
concession stands. Yes, that is truly local, at least the labour (the vendors) part
of it (profits from all packed foods, the only kind that is available at IPL
avenues, go straight to the coffers of big companies head quartered abroad, say
Pepsico, Nestle …I would not be surprised if profits from the humble popcorn
trace the same path).
The
oil industry licks its chops in anticipation of an IPL season – traffic jams
while the stands are emptying might be a nightmare for road users and avoidable
environmental catastrophe for the “Greens”, but it is a God-send for the OMCs
(Oil Marketing Companies). Where else can they sell their product designed to
take you along a road for being stranded on a road, discounting the regular
choked roads in the big cities? Traffic jams engendered by IPL. If IPL were
played on foreign soil, the OMCs lose heavily.
I am
sure I missed out on a lot of small things in which IPL played in India promote
economic activity. But what I have given are enough reasons not to be enamoured
of the on-coming season, whatever edition of IPL it may be.
Bring
IPL back to India, after saying bye-bye to COVID-19. If this edition needed to
be postponed, it must have been. But, this like crying over spilt milk. I do not
know why I did not post this earlier. I have to search deep down within myself
for the hidden self-interest in it.
Raghuram
Ekambaram
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