STADIUM TEAM SPORTS Immoral Earnings? What in the world is happening to professional sport? When I was a kid, it cost $5 to get a decent seat at the stadium, and my dad would buy me a hot dog and himself a beer which would bring the total cost to about $10. Last Saturday I took my little boy to see the Giants play. After the parking, tickets, refreshments and souvenirs, I walked out of there with $75 less in my pocket. Just ask me how soon I´ll be going back! But it got me thinking: why am I paying so much to watch a group of men throw a ball around? And then I realised: I was paying Billy Slater´s salary: $350,000 a year. Oh, and how could I forget Sal Ibarra´s new contract - $3 million over the next three years. Where is the perspective here? What are our priorities as a society? There are 35,000 homeless in this city who don´t have a roof over their heads, clothes to keep them warm or food to fill their stomachs. And we are paying these men 6- and 7-figure salaries to keep ourselves entertained! Something´s gone wrong. Look back at the article and answer these questions: 1. Which sport is the man talking about? 2. What things did he have to pay for at the game? 3. Why does he say “Just ask me how soon I´ll be going back?” 4. What does he mean when he says that he´s paying the players´salaries? Do you agree? 5. Why does he start talking about homeless people? 6. Do you basically agree with the man or does he have an old-fashioned, nostalgic view of sport? A UK Football Match Going to see my football team is not cheap – the cheapest seat is ₤20 – but I think it´s worth it. Usually you get your money´s worth – especially with our new centre forward, Rivaldo. Apparently, he´s on ₤4 million a year, but he´s such a brilliant player, I think he´s worth every penny. Recently, I took my whole family to see a game. There are some guys who sell the tickets illegally outside the stadium – they are called ticket touts – and you can get into trouble if you buy from them. Normally, I would have said, that it´s more trouble than it´s worth, but since I´d brought my whole family, which was going to be very expensive, I thought it was worth a try. So, I went up to one of these guys and negotiated four fantastic seats for ₤80 – quite a bargain for such an important game and such great seats. They were actually worth around ₤120. When we tried to get into the stadium, we were told that our tickets were forgeries! ₤80 down the drain! You can imagine how we felt! So, we went back home to watch the game on TV. My advice is never buy from a ticket tout. It´s not worth the risk. Complete the expressions with one word: 1. I_______it´s worth it. 2. You get your __________worth. 3. He´s worth every________. 4. It´s more_________than it´s worth. 5. I thought it was worth a ________. 6. They were actually worth________₤120. 7. It´s not worth the__________. How do you say these in Czech? What do you think “₤80 down the drain” means? Have you ever bought tickets from a tout? Is it worth a try? Discussion The average professional footballer in the Premier League in England earns ₤400,000 a year – around ₤7,600 a week. He trains, on average, for three hours a day and plays one or two games a week for 10 months of a year. This means he earns around ₤520 per hour. So, after one training session, he is ₤1,500 richer. For the very top players, multiply all these figures by 6 or 7. People argue that the following reasons justify the salaries. Which do you think are good reasons? Can you think of any other reasons? 1. It´s a short career – 18 years maximum – then you are finished as far as playing is concerned. 2. Top players can´t go out partying and eating and drinking whatever they want. They have to look after themselves and be highly disciplined. They have a severely restricted social life for maybe 20 years. 3. Your career could end at any time through injury. 4. It requires a very high level of skill, which only a few people have. They should be rewarded for that. 5. Julia Roberts gets $4 million to make a film, so why shouldn´t top footballers get similar pay? They are just like film stars. 6. Top players are high profile superstars who can´t leave home without the media following them. The money they get is compensation for having no private life.