No professional sports organization is asking how to make it better for the fans.

Which is not a new idea.

Unfortunately.

It’s been happening for a long time, and only accelerating so it seems, now that betting on everything degeneracy has become part of the fan experience.

Why are (insert professional sport of choice) tickets so expensive?

Because they can be.

There’s a scarcity and leverage game, and the more business and status have gotten involved, the more they’ve taken on debts and sold scarcity promise to whatever scheme is currently generating the most cash to transfer in.

Sports, at their best, are a community asset.

They’re the least important, most important thing - as the expression goes.

They’re the part you celebrate and kvetch about at the bus stop, the bar, the barbershop, on the radio, and in the group chat with your friends.

And when you price out tickets and access, you price out the experience that drives all the downstream value.

Yes, it’s only psychological value.

But come on - it’s psychological value you can’t earn anywhere else.

Music and arts and other areas capture pieces of it.

But rarely with the locality of an in real life event.

I know this makes me sound old.

At least I’m not as old as Roger Mitchell, who’s been saying this even longer, and has probably made me a touch more cynical, and yet also more impassioned in the periods since I encountered his work on this topic.

I know I’m bitter about the World Cup tickets and a little peeved at how much it costs (re: how hard it is for the average person) to support their local team these days.

FIFA made quite the ridiculous exercise for the World Cup. They’ll tell you it was more fair. For what is effectively an organized crime organization that we don’t need to anger, we’ll just say, “Sure!” and I guess I’ll find a bar or a living room to watch the tournament (because I can’t not watch, and I’m not proud of that, but - I can’t).

I know how much sports have meant as part of my identity, even when I drifted away from them as a focus (and my music and arts nerd friends, I see you, and this is part of me attempting to compel you that the jocks are on our side when it comes to IRL entertainment).

I don’t know how to get teams or leagues to ask, “But what about the fans?”

All I can say is look for community assets that are fan oriented and supported and don’t let a bunch of billionaires take it over in the name of status.

I’m looking for ways to do my part in this. I’m thinking extra hard about it because of a non-sports/music event I’m in the mix of plotting for 2027. I want to do my part. So does my wife.

We, along with several friends, believe there’s something to be done here and talking about the problem across domains helps get me motivated. I’m sharing this here in case it motivates you too.

Instead of World Cup tickets, I’ve got a better idea to spend some money on.

Get out there and do something.

If there’s no home team you can afford to root for, start your own.