Colleague David Levy sent along the Wall Street Journal article yesterday on the launch of an emerging niche that has been talked about in sports for years in places like hockey and minor league baseball and is finally seeing the light of day, a professional sports team run by shareholder fans. The idea was proposed in a Portfolio.com story in November, detailing the vision of Will Brooks, a former soccer writer who has launched a website myfootballclub.co.uk, designed to have fans buy in and run the team. The Journal article revealed more details on the club, small Ebbsfleet United, which will begin this month with the potential of over 26,000 owners deciding who plays and who doesn’t.American soccer was also reported in last week's New York Times, with that site, mysoccerclubusa.com, looking for a $50.00 fee but it is a little further away. That being said, the digital opportunities, the viral video, the blogs and the media coverage will get the idea and the club in the U.K. great traction, and if it works, will make for a very unique and somewhat inexpensive opportunity for lots of buzz.
For those who haven’t read the Washington Post's great series on “Why We Compete,” it is worth reading, bookmarking and sharing. The series broke down the reasons into seven categories, ranging from identity to community to ego and looks at each one through the eyes of a unique competitor, ranging from thrill seeker Steve Fossett to a Mexican football team. Eli Saslow's work on the pieces, as his all of his work in the Post, is fantastic.
Lastly, now that Barack Obama won the Iowa Caucus, will more candidates look to Scott Price for some coverageCould be the reverse of the SI cover jinx.
