Tragedy Of Managerialism
11th August 2023
Zman’s weekly podcast. Highly recommended.
The inspiration for the show this week is the ongoing collapse of college football due to the financialization of the sport. I do not consume much sportsball these days, but I will watch a college football game. It was always my favorite sport to watch on television and it is now the only sport I can watch at all. The rest are human flea circuses woven within hours of commercials and agit-prop.
The appeal of college football has always been the variety. Each regional conference has its own traditions, rivalries, history and style of play. All of it was organic, having evolved with the leagues and the teams over time. The schools themselves have weird customs and traditions that often exist for reasons no one remembers. What people know is those traditions are important.
The same people behind all of the other problems have been gnawing away at these traditions for the usual reasons. They look at our culture and wonder how they can turn it into a quick buck and then into something vulgar. That is what is happening to college football through the lure of television money. As a result, it is becoming the same degenerate circus as the rest of entertainment.