Big Business

A debater from the Oxford University who toured this country recently sat through an American football game and came away with the impression that whereas the British treat war as a sport, the Americans treat sports as a war. Since the Englishman had only been in this country for a short time and had seen only the surface emotions generated by the gridiron game, it is not surprising that he never arrived at the obvious conclusions that American football is neither sport nor war, but a business.

For it is only a business matter that the present ruckus raised by the University of Pennsylvania can be seen. Football has already established equilibrium prices in the labor market, and has even developed a very primitive basing-point program to spread resources around the various sections of the country.

It has witnessed the introduction of a Schumpeterian innovation--television--and its vested interests have banded together against the innovator to the protect their invesment. Now several of the industry's moguls, led by entrepreneur extraordinary Harold E. Stassen, have decided that an oligopoly sustained by unlimited television broadcasting might be better than the present unprofitable and uneconomical free competition. It would certainly bring a better product to all the people at a lower price; it would avoid needless duplication of resources, and would stabilize the industry immeasurably.

From an economic point of view, the issue of free competition versus stabilization in football is as clear-cut (or as confused, if you will) as the nation wide price war. The play diagram has already been superseded by the break-even chart, the coach has given way to the business manager, and the trainer has been replaced by the accountant.

Perhaps when the gentlemen of the U. of P. and N.C.A.A. and the E.C.A.C. have succeeded in determining a price policy for the new gridiron industry, they will raise a glass to the memories of the days when football was a game, played for fun. If they are not shrewd and diligent, it will be a hollow gesture.