By Eric Margolin
One of favorite months of the year is March. The NBA season is in full swing, there’s baseball, hockey, and off-season football craziness. There is never a dull moment in the sports world. But the best part, by far, is NCAA March Madness. 48 basketball games in 4 days, each team fighting for their lives to keep playing. Buzzer beaters, hard fouls, tears of both joy and sorrow. Young men working as hard as they can towards one common goal: a championship. I’ll probably pull my phone out in class, ignore all social responsibility, and not study for my two exams next week to watch all the games. I love college basketball and now I have a team that I actually support (with out of state tuition). It’ll be a great weekend of basketball.
But then the game cuts to a commercial break. Ads that cost thousands to produce and much more to air fly across the screen. AT&T, Capital One, Coke, and more give up massive amounts of money to show their ads to millions of people. Then the game is back, where thousands of screaming fans have paid good money tickets to see these amateur athletes play for their college in massive arenas that sometimes cost close to a billion dollars to build. These palaces are littered with ads of their own, not to mention concession stand and merchandise stores that sell your favorite player’s jersey without a name on it.
In the center of all of this, a reflective blue circle with 4 massive letters on it. It’s the name of the company that takes in all the money, yet doesn’t have to pay those who do the work for it. It’s the name of the company that says it pays its employees in scholarships, but only for majors that fit around their practice schedule. It’s the name of the company that can take away that, “payment” if one of their employees gets hurt on the job and can no longer work. It’s the name of a nationwide cartel that exploits its employees, doesn’t protect them, and calls them, “student athletes” to get around their constitutional protections. NCAA.
Now I’m not saying don’t watch March Madness. I’m not saying don’t fill out a bracket. I’m not saying don’t support your favorite team. All I’m saying is next time you see the bright blue logo in the center of the court, think about the “student-athletes” who are risking their livelihoods for entertainment and no money.
Image from The Post-Gazzete
But then the game cuts to a commercial break. Ads that cost thousands to produce and much more to air fly across the screen. AT&T, Capital One, Coke, and more give up massive amounts of money to show their ads to millions of people. Then the game is back, where thousands of screaming fans have paid good money tickets to see these amateur athletes play for their college in massive arenas that sometimes cost close to a billion dollars to build. These palaces are littered with ads of their own, not to mention concession stand and merchandise stores that sell your favorite player’s jersey without a name on it.
In the center of all of this, a reflective blue circle with 4 massive letters on it. It’s the name of the company that takes in all the money, yet doesn’t have to pay those who do the work for it. It’s the name of the company that says it pays its employees in scholarships, but only for majors that fit around their practice schedule. It’s the name of the company that can take away that, “payment” if one of their employees gets hurt on the job and can no longer work. It’s the name of a nationwide cartel that exploits its employees, doesn’t protect them, and calls them, “student athletes” to get around their constitutional protections. NCAA.
Now I’m not saying don’t watch March Madness. I’m not saying don’t fill out a bracket. I’m not saying don’t support your favorite team. All I’m saying is next time you see the bright blue logo in the center of the court, think about the “student-athletes” who are risking their livelihoods for entertainment and no money.
Image from The Post-Gazzete
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