2022 Sports: Money and power, power and money

2022 Sports: Money and power, power and money

Phil Mickelson does not exactly meet the standard for revolutionaries. He is in his early 50s, insanely wealthy, and plays golf, the most traditional and conservative sport he can imagine. However, Mickelson took his first swings at what could become a sports revolution on June 9 at a golf course outside of England.

At the first LIV Golf event, a breakaway tour that split the golf world in two, Mickelson and 47 other players teed it up in front of a sparse crowd of on-site fans and a YouTube audience of about 100,000. LIV Golf isn't significant for its opposition — the golf isn't terrific, absolutely not to the level of the Bosses or U.S. Open — yet for what it addresses: a fundamental shift in sports' financial foundation.

LIV is a product of the Saudi government's Public Investment Fund, a vast, oil-backed cash reserve created to simply flood long-standing traditions with cash in torrents that are too great to resist. Cash has consistently energized sports, yet 2022 cleared away any last misrepresentation that sports were anything over a for-benefit undertaking.

In pursuit of eight- and nine-figure paydays, LIV golfers willingly abandoned the PGA Tour's longstanding traditions. In an effort to increase their stakes in a billion-dollar market, universities abandoned rivalries and affiliations with conferences that had existed for decades. Only authoritarian governments were willing to pay beyond-exorbitant costs to put on global spectacles, regardless of the effects on their own populations, so international events were aligned with them.

This does not mean that sports were boring. The competition on the field was as outstanding as ever. In a dramatic Super Bowl victory in their own stadium, the Los Angeles Rams saw their all-in wager pay off. Many individuals, including Dusty Baker of baseball, Matthew Stafford of the NFL, Lionel Messi of Argentina, Team USA snowboarder Lindsay Jacobellis, and the University of Georgia, ended decades or even entire careers of frustration by winning deserved championships.

We also saw the legendary sunsets. Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Mike Krzyzewski, Albert Pujols, Shaun White, and Sue Bird all reached the end of their illustrious careers. Tiger Woods finally admitted that his time in the game was coming to an end, and Tom Brady even dabbled in the idea of retiring.

The year saw races, games, and matches that will go down as some of the greatest ever. Tension and long-awaited celebration ruled the World Cup final between Argentina and France. The NFL divisional round was possibly the best playoff weekend ever, with all four games, including an instant classic between the Bills and Chiefs, ending in walkoffs. Rich Strike won the Kentucky Derby as an 80-1 long shot. Both Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani brought baseball a much-needed boost back. After Tennessee beat Alabama, it took 16 years of unresolved anger out on its own team. Also, Ross Chastain made it to the NASCAR playoffs with the most daring athletic move of the year: he drove his car along a wall like he was playing a video game, which is exactly where he got the idea.

However, despite the thrilling moments, sports excitement now comes with a visible financial or spiritual cost. Every game, whether they are aware of it or not, every sports fan weighs conflicts, consequences, and compromises. The glittering new stadium squanders tax dollars that could be used in other ways. The star athlete who breaks the law or violates basic human decency quickly returns to the field. A contract for the reasonably competent shortstop to play ball could feed a thousand families. The league you adore puts more and more of its games behind paywalls and streaming services, requiring you to repeatedly demonstrate your devotion with hard cash.