Brian Frederick sat in with Dave Zirin on the Edge of Sports recently and discussed some very interesting and pressing sports topics and gave his insights. For those who don’t know, Frederick is the Executive Chief Director of Sports Fans Coalition. The Sports Fans Coalition is a group that advocates professional and collegiate sports in the public policy arena in Washington, D.C. The group’s sole job is to give fans representation in Washington, and keep the fun, enjoyment and competition in sports rather than seeing it all as a business.
Frederick touches on a lot of big issues such as blackouts in the NFL. When a game doesn’t sell out in an NFL television market then the game is not broadcasted on TV in that very market. That is the textbook definition, but it is rather confusing. It is more easily understood when using a real world example and the issues that come with blackouts like Frederick discussed in his interview. In Buffalo, NY for example say a Bills game doesn’t sell out, this leads to the game not being broadcast in the Buffalo area so fans can’t watch the game at all. This hits home with me because I live in Buffalo, NY area and I realize how just how difficult it is to sell out a game in Buffalo. The misconception is that some teams don’t sellout because the city doesn’t show support for their team, and that is true in some cases. However that is not the situation in my home town.
Frederick uses Buffalo as his example of how poorly written and regulated NFL blackout rules can be and I fully agree. Frederick states that the city of Buffalo has a population of 279,000 people and Ralph Wilson Stadium seats over 73,000 people. That means more than 1 out of every 4 people in the city of Buffalo has to attend the game in order to sellout the stadium. In a city with a struggling economy and a struggling team is it really fair to the people of Buffalo who can’t afford a game ticket? Now issues like this don’t just happen in Buffalo and Frederick makes that clear and the Sports Fans Coalition is fighting to change the original blackout ruling that was initiated in 1973. Frederick has stated that the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) is close to reevaluating the blackout rules in the NFL, which he states “would be a huge win for sports fans and for the Sports fans coalition.”
Another big issue in the sports world is the playoff controversy looming over collegiate football in the United States. Frederick, the Sports Fans Coalition and the majority of fans around the country are in favor of a playoff system, but there still hasn’t been a change. Not only would it make a lot of fans happy but it would also bring in a lot of money that College Athletics could desperately use. Frederick states that a change to a playoff system from the current BCS system would bring in about $750 million to $1 billion in excess revenue a year. That money could help a lot of schools not just athletically but in all aspects of schooling. Frederick states some startling statistics, one of which was that only 12 out of 130 athletic departments are making money, meaning 93% of the Division One schools in the country lose money when regarding athletics. Now those are some pretty startling numbers but what Frederick said next really underscores the need for a change.
Occupy Wall Street is one of the hot topics in our country today and Frederick brings up that a lot of the young people protesting are doing so because of their college debts. A good chunk of those debts come from subsidized fees, some of which are more than a thousand dollars a year that directly go to college athletics. Over a span of 4 years that adds up greatly and is putting students in ever more debt than they would be without these athletic fees. When you think of a possible billion dollars going back into athletic programs around the country you think of all the fees that could be avoided. Now there is more to a change in the current BCS system than just someone deciding that a playoff system will be applied, but with the work of Sports Fans Coalition and Brian Frederick, change could come soon helping a lot of students wallets and providing a more exciting competitive system for fans to enjoy.
In today’s day and age, sports are much more than silly little games they are businesses and money is important. A lot of people in Washington seem to forget why these sports bring in so much money and it is because people love these games for what there competitive nature and excitement. With the help of Sports Fans Coalition and Brain Frederick fans can go back to enjoying sports for what originally drew them to the games they love rather than worrying about blackouts, lockouts and competitive balance and fairness. Happy Fans will lead to more money brought in and that will make everyone happy and Frederick and Sports Fans Coalition are doing their best to make fans happy which will in turn please everyone.
