All Corporate for profit professional “sports” are non-competitive monopolies.
In the United States these rah-rah Bud promoting fun Corps have brainwashed their paying clients into the emotional “feeling” that by paying (a lot) for an outing at the "game" the attending “community” is demonstrating their loyalty-to–hometown. The “sports” monopolies are so successful in brainwashing the public that they often have their “TEAM” banners placed on public monuments, City Halls and Statehouses (around playoff time) and many states even issue “sports” vanity plates!
Many Cities, like Cleveland, Ohio, are so duped by the for profit monopoly "sports" Corporations that these Cities use public tax revenue to build and maintain (usually for close to free - including real estate tax free) multiple venues for the "hometown" non-compeditive for-profit monopolist and collusive corporations.
TEAM = COUNTRY!
For many of us, TEAM = RELIGION!
The NBA players union is also a monopoly – there is one union you have to join to play in the NBA.
Up ‘til now, the two monopolies got along with each other because both monopolies were able to annually milk the public cow of enough juice to keep both hungry monopolies with full tummies.
But as soon as one monopoly feels it is getting the drier teat, the entire national quid pro quo collusive arrangement between the 30 “squads” and 30 "squad" "owners" across the United States dries up. There is no alternative for either the players or the Corporations – they both have colluded together and monopolized themselves into a corner – right where they belong.
The present dispute and resulting “work stoppage” between the player’s monopoly and the corporation owner’s monopoly provides a perfect demonstration of why monopolies are an inefficient method to conduct commerce.
With that off my chest and my mind centered on this issue, I’m going to pop a cold BUD LITE before I call into Sports Talk Radio to offer my slam dunk ideas of how to get back to the hoop!