Seats in stands giving way to laptops, computer desks
In a time of great discontent, sports fans have found solace in their keyboards.
They can surf for their scores, lay their bets and manage their fantasy teams. They can share their opinions and vent their frustrations as fast as their typing skills allow.
In some ways, the clicking of a computer mouse has replaced the clicking of stadium turnstiles, creating a strange dynamic for the modern-day sports fan:
The bleachers of the 21st century can be found online.
"I guarantee that every time we play, fans will be watching the Diamondbacks on television while sitting in front of their computers typing messages to one another," Diamondbacks General Manager Joe Garagiola Jr. said. "Before, these guys would be sitting next to each other at the game, talking over a beer and a hot dog."
Welcome to the changing habits of sports fans, an evolution triggered by necessity and convenience.
***
The Sports Business Journal reports there are 90 million sports consumers in our country, and this much is certain:
Sports matter as much as they ever have, but today, fans are much more likely to take control of their games.
According to a survey commissioned by the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, 15.2 million adult Americans participate in fantasy sports leagues, a number that has quadrupled over the past 10 years. Currently, 93 percent of those play fantasy football.
Fantasy sports have exploded from a niche endeavor into a billion-dollar industry, and the staggering growth is largely due to the Internet access enjoyed by 85 percent of all players.
But it goes even deeper. Fantasy games serve as one of many coping mechanisms for fans who can no longer afford the traditional sporting experiences.
"Sports has changed significantly in the last 20 years," said Greg Ambrosius, president of the St. Louis-based FSTA. "Free agency has changed the way we perceive our players, and they used to be our players. But now they play until their contracts are done and then they sell themselves to the highest bidder, and loyalty goes out the window. Fantasy sports allow you to manage your team the exact same way.
"It has mirrored the way professional sports has gone, but don't consider this a negative. People now follow more teams and more leagues because of fantasy sports. It has actually expanded our awareness of sports."
The proliferation of these leagues has grown so intense that a national fantasy baseball tournament is now under way in which teams are competing for a grand prize of $100,000. The entry fee for each team was $1,250, and former rock star Meat Loaf leads one contingent.
A national fantasy football championship is in the works for this fall, and teams soon will be drafted at convention centers in Las Vegas, Chicago and New York.
"Everyone believes they can run a team better than the coach on the field, the general manager in the press box or the damn owner up in the luxury suite," Ambrosius said. "This gives you a chance to put your money where your mouth is."
Want to bet?
Since 1997, U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., has been fighting to ban Internet gambling. Opponents claim the Internet is a worldwide venture, and the United States has no business setting international trade policy.
At stake is a huge sum of money currently wagered on sporting events through over 500 offshore casinos.
Christiansen Capital Advisors, a gambling industry consultancy headquartered in New York, estimates that $62.5 billion will be wagered on sporting events this year through online betting. It projects the number will soar to $77.3 billion in 2005.
This has been controversial and dangerous territory in a sports fan's new frontier.
"The Internet has been an enabler," the firm's Sebastian Sinclair said. "One is the availability of statistics and information that bettors are always looking for. But it's also grown the market because it's allowed people to move away from the illegal corner bookie to offshore casinos. It has opened the doors for people that normally wouldn't have had access, and now the horse is out of the barn. I've even heard rumors of bookies selling their customer lists to offshore casinos."
A communal experience
Not that long ago, there was a college student who loved Indiana basketball.
He remembers being riveted to IU games on his car radio. At the time, he was so broke the floorboards of his car were damaged, and he still remembers seeing the lines of the road pass under his vehicle while listening to games.
That fan founded a company designed to bring game broadcasts to homesick fans via the Internet. The company was a hit, and a few transactions later, that man had enough juice to buy the Dallas Mavericks.
Now Mark Cuban is fervently pursing Shaquille O'Neal and an NBA championship, all because he was a die-hard sports fan who knew how to make the Internet his ticket to great wealth.
"I love sports because I love to compete myself, and when I can't play, watching the games is the next best thing," Cuban said via e-mail. "People use sports to have a communal experience. You want to have something to talk about at school, home and work."
The fan's voice
When Pat Tillman was killed in Afghanistan, the news in Arizona first appeared on cactusranch.com, a message board devoted to Sun Devils fans.
Such is the raw power behind the latest Internet phenomenon.
Along with its twin brother (Web logging), the advent of message boards has given sports fans something they have been missing: a voice.
Fans create their own topics, engage in fierce debates and provide links to germane articles that can be found in the mainstream media.
"They've just exploded in terms of popularity," said Jim Skane, founder of Arizonasportsfans.com.
Skane's site has 1,500 registered members and attracted 29,000 unique visitors in the month of February. While it is open to fans of all sports, Skane's site is dominated by a mass of Cardinals fans.
By the numbers, alternative sites like these are just slivers in the Internet pie, and the mainstream sites still dominate the marketplace. For instance, a recent azcentral.com story on Kobe Bryant attracted 71,000 page views.
Yet message board fans are making a difference. They're in the news, and in some cases, they're even breaking news.
"All I can tell you is if you're a fan of the local teams, you are welcome," Skane said. "And I insist that you be a fan or I throw you out. If you want to come on and say, 'Bill Bidwill sucks,' that's fine. As long as you care."
Scores and more
The most basic form of online interaction remains the simple pursuit of results.
According to Nielsen/Netratings, more than 21 percent of the U.S. population consumes sports via the Internet at least once a month.
According to comScore's Week on the Web, more than 51 million people - more than one-third of all Internet users - visited sports-related Web sites in January 2004. The numbers tend to fluctuate with the calendar, but at their peak, they illustrate how important the computer has become to garden-variety sports fans.
"One thing it means is that rumors now spread at the speed of the Internet," Garagiola Jr. said. "These fans are all over the place, reading things in other team's Web sites and chat rooms, picking up things and putting in a comment here and there.
"Suddenly, a rumor starts, someone picks it up, my phone is ringing and now it's on the radio. And none of this existed a generation ago."
It all pales to where the Internet will eventually take sports fans, when catalogues of great games and historic sporting events may be perused at leisure, when live contests anywhere in the world can be seen with just a click of a mouse.
"What happens when what you see on your computer screen is better than what you see on your television set? Imagine that," Suns President Rick Welts said. "To be a kid in Beijing and be able to watch every game Yao Ming plays live is such a mind-boggling thing."
The growing reliance on Internet access is so much part of the equation now that many franchises are installing Wi-Fi technology in their stadiums. This allows a wireless connection to the Internet anywhere inside stadium grounds, and it's already under way at SBC Park in San Francisco, where Giants fans can tote their laptops to the game, thus filling in electronic lineup cards, accessing statistics and receiving updates from other events in other cities.
Eventually, stadiums that install Wi-Fi will allow patrons to order concessions from their laptops, although bathroom breaks still will require getting out of one's seat.
The Diamondbacks will have Wi-Fi operating within the press box later this month and could have it available to fans by next season.
Hence, the ironic twist. The Internet has successfully reeled in millions of sports fans, including a large number that can no longer afford frequent stadium visits. In the process, a country has become wedded to their laptops, so much that they will soon be welcome at stadiums near you.
Remember, when the beer vendor arrives, it is wise to stow the laptops under the seats.
web page
In a time of great discontent, sports fans have found solace in their keyboards.
They can surf for their scores, lay their bets and manage their fantasy teams. They can share their opinions and vent their frustrations as fast as their typing skills allow.
In some ways, the clicking of a computer mouse has replaced the clicking of stadium turnstiles, creating a strange dynamic for the modern-day sports fan:
The bleachers of the 21st century can be found online.
"I guarantee that every time we play, fans will be watching the Diamondbacks on television while sitting in front of their computers typing messages to one another," Diamondbacks General Manager Joe Garagiola Jr. said. "Before, these guys would be sitting next to each other at the game, talking over a beer and a hot dog."
Welcome to the changing habits of sports fans, an evolution triggered by necessity and convenience.
***
The Sports Business Journal reports there are 90 million sports consumers in our country, and this much is certain:
Sports matter as much as they ever have, but today, fans are much more likely to take control of their games.
According to a survey commissioned by the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, 15.2 million adult Americans participate in fantasy sports leagues, a number that has quadrupled over the past 10 years. Currently, 93 percent of those play fantasy football.
Fantasy sports have exploded from a niche endeavor into a billion-dollar industry, and the staggering growth is largely due to the Internet access enjoyed by 85 percent of all players.
But it goes even deeper. Fantasy games serve as one of many coping mechanisms for fans who can no longer afford the traditional sporting experiences.
"Sports has changed significantly in the last 20 years," said Greg Ambrosius, president of the St. Louis-based FSTA. "Free agency has changed the way we perceive our players, and they used to be our players. But now they play until their contracts are done and then they sell themselves to the highest bidder, and loyalty goes out the window. Fantasy sports allow you to manage your team the exact same way.
"It has mirrored the way professional sports has gone, but don't consider this a negative. People now follow more teams and more leagues because of fantasy sports. It has actually expanded our awareness of sports."
The proliferation of these leagues has grown so intense that a national fantasy baseball tournament is now under way in which teams are competing for a grand prize of $100,000. The entry fee for each team was $1,250, and former rock star Meat Loaf leads one contingent.
A national fantasy football championship is in the works for this fall, and teams soon will be drafted at convention centers in Las Vegas, Chicago and New York.
"Everyone believes they can run a team better than the coach on the field, the general manager in the press box or the damn owner up in the luxury suite," Ambrosius said. "This gives you a chance to put your money where your mouth is."
Want to bet?
Since 1997, U.S. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., has been fighting to ban Internet gambling. Opponents claim the Internet is a worldwide venture, and the United States has no business setting international trade policy.
At stake is a huge sum of money currently wagered on sporting events through over 500 offshore casinos.
Christiansen Capital Advisors, a gambling industry consultancy headquartered in New York, estimates that $62.5 billion will be wagered on sporting events this year through online betting. It projects the number will soar to $77.3 billion in 2005.
This has been controversial and dangerous territory in a sports fan's new frontier.
"The Internet has been an enabler," the firm's Sebastian Sinclair said. "One is the availability of statistics and information that bettors are always looking for. But it's also grown the market because it's allowed people to move away from the illegal corner bookie to offshore casinos. It has opened the doors for people that normally wouldn't have had access, and now the horse is out of the barn. I've even heard rumors of bookies selling their customer lists to offshore casinos."
A communal experience
Not that long ago, there was a college student who loved Indiana basketball.
He remembers being riveted to IU games on his car radio. At the time, he was so broke the floorboards of his car were damaged, and he still remembers seeing the lines of the road pass under his vehicle while listening to games.
That fan founded a company designed to bring game broadcasts to homesick fans via the Internet. The company was a hit, and a few transactions later, that man had enough juice to buy the Dallas Mavericks.
Now Mark Cuban is fervently pursing Shaquille O'Neal and an NBA championship, all because he was a die-hard sports fan who knew how to make the Internet his ticket to great wealth.
"I love sports because I love to compete myself, and when I can't play, watching the games is the next best thing," Cuban said via e-mail. "People use sports to have a communal experience. You want to have something to talk about at school, home and work."
The fan's voice
When Pat Tillman was killed in Afghanistan, the news in Arizona first appeared on cactusranch.com, a message board devoted to Sun Devils fans.
Such is the raw power behind the latest Internet phenomenon.
Along with its twin brother (Web logging), the advent of message boards has given sports fans something they have been missing: a voice.
Fans create their own topics, engage in fierce debates and provide links to germane articles that can be found in the mainstream media.
"They've just exploded in terms of popularity," said Jim Skane, founder of Arizonasportsfans.com.
Skane's site has 1,500 registered members and attracted 29,000 unique visitors in the month of February. While it is open to fans of all sports, Skane's site is dominated by a mass of Cardinals fans.
By the numbers, alternative sites like these are just slivers in the Internet pie, and the mainstream sites still dominate the marketplace. For instance, a recent azcentral.com story on Kobe Bryant attracted 71,000 page views.
Yet message board fans are making a difference. They're in the news, and in some cases, they're even breaking news.
"All I can tell you is if you're a fan of the local teams, you are welcome," Skane said. "And I insist that you be a fan or I throw you out. If you want to come on and say, 'Bill Bidwill sucks,' that's fine. As long as you care."
Scores and more
The most basic form of online interaction remains the simple pursuit of results.
According to Nielsen/Netratings, more than 21 percent of the U.S. population consumes sports via the Internet at least once a month.
According to comScore's Week on the Web, more than 51 million people - more than one-third of all Internet users - visited sports-related Web sites in January 2004. The numbers tend to fluctuate with the calendar, but at their peak, they illustrate how important the computer has become to garden-variety sports fans.
"One thing it means is that rumors now spread at the speed of the Internet," Garagiola Jr. said. "These fans are all over the place, reading things in other team's Web sites and chat rooms, picking up things and putting in a comment here and there.
"Suddenly, a rumor starts, someone picks it up, my phone is ringing and now it's on the radio. And none of this existed a generation ago."
It all pales to where the Internet will eventually take sports fans, when catalogues of great games and historic sporting events may be perused at leisure, when live contests anywhere in the world can be seen with just a click of a mouse.
"What happens when what you see on your computer screen is better than what you see on your television set? Imagine that," Suns President Rick Welts said. "To be a kid in Beijing and be able to watch every game Yao Ming plays live is such a mind-boggling thing."
The growing reliance on Internet access is so much part of the equation now that many franchises are installing Wi-Fi technology in their stadiums. This allows a wireless connection to the Internet anywhere inside stadium grounds, and it's already under way at SBC Park in San Francisco, where Giants fans can tote their laptops to the game, thus filling in electronic lineup cards, accessing statistics and receiving updates from other events in other cities.
Eventually, stadiums that install Wi-Fi will allow patrons to order concessions from their laptops, although bathroom breaks still will require getting out of one's seat.
The Diamondbacks will have Wi-Fi operating within the press box later this month and could have it available to fans by next season.
Hence, the ironic twist. The Internet has successfully reeled in millions of sports fans, including a large number that can no longer afford frequent stadium visits. In the process, a country has become wedded to their laptops, so much that they will soon be welcome at stadiums near you.
Remember, when the beer vendor arrives, it is wise to stow the laptops under the seats.
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