It's a whole new ball game, folks

Maxine Shanks [17] of Queens High School, Erin Batchelor [18] of Queens High School and Michael...
Maxine Shanks [17] of Queens High School, Erin Batchelor [18] of Queens High School and Michael Baker [16] of Otago Boys High School.
Woot - the whistle ricochets off the stadium walls. Penalty kick to us.

Murmurs circulate. Easy three points, he'll get this, he's money tonight.

He's money tonight.

Such a common sporting cliche to describe an athlete's form.

Money has crept its way into the spotlight surrounding sport and nowadays is the key indication of how successful an athlete is.

Athletes are no longer competing for the pure love of it, and money is acting as the carrot dangling in front of their noses.

Athletes' alliances with certain areas, teams or provinces are waning.

Instead, their home ground changes each season, following the big pay packet.

This is happening to the extent of athletes selling themselves and their talent to other nations for personal benefits.

A cheer erupts throughout the stadium; the home team have just crossed the line, thanks to the pure strength of a forward.

As he celebrates with the team, I am left wondering how many protein shakes he regularly has for breakfast.

It seems nowadays following every Olympic Games there is an athlete confessing to taking drugs.

With the main focus around money, there is a lot more to play for - and a lot more to lose.

The use of drugs can build mass and strength, mask pain and increase oxygen delivery to the working tissue.

The methods to both take drugs and hide the evidence are ever increasing and some athletes go to the extent of blood transfusions to ensure they win without getting caught. Win what - the race, or the money?

As the siren sounds for half time, the players haul themselves off the ground and trudge to the changing rooms.

Corporate logos are everywhere. As sport becomes an increasing entertainment medium, companies seize the opportunity to expose and promote their business.

As professional sport becomes driven by money, sponsors play a big part in providing the cash needed to keep the sport running.

This then creates a battle between the media and the sponsors.

Sporting events cannot be covered without the audience being subjected to key sponsors and marketing campaigns.

Companies only want to associate themselves with well known and well covered teams, and if they happen to be a world champion, that's even better!So, cast out are those sports which are not mainstream, those which are not "traditional", and those which do not have billions of followers.

Therefore, sports with little media coverage have little hope of major sponsorship, leaving athletes to fend for themselves.

Woot - full time whistle. We lost.

A disappointed sigh circulates the stadium as the fans meander out. The post-match interview with the captain resembles Didn't get our heads in the game and strayed from the game plan.

This is what sport needs to be about. Rather than an extreme focus on money, media coverage and sponsorship, we need to focus on skills and development.

I'm not saying there needs to be drastic changes as this is the way sport is.

The sports environment is like a web, everything is connected.

Take away sponsorship and media, you have no money.

Without money, you have no professional sport.

However, I do believe we need to accept and cover a wider range of sports.

We need to go back to the drawing board and look at people's motives behind what they're doing.

Coaches, athletes, corporations; do they always have the most beneficial outcome in mind, for all parties?

We need to regain some raw passion and drive towards sport, not the contract that comes with it.

 

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