Sports is truly big in America. People get a great deal of fun and excitement out of it. Sports is a great distraction from real life with its statistics and never-ending discussions. Unfortunately, owners of teams know the love affair people have with their teams and look to take advantage of it. Public financing for stadiums is one way to do that. The Florida Marlins have been a pretty successful baseball team winning two World Series within ten years. Such success was alleged to be a lynchpin in looking for funding for a stadium. They were slapped for such assumptions. The Florida legislature said they would not back a financing plan for the Marlins. They have talked to other cities as well regarding public funding with little luck. The New York Yankees have done similar things looking to build a stadium on Manhattan away from the Bronx which is their current location. They were shot down as well.

Recent studies have confirmed a fatigue with public financing for stadiums. It just is not worth it. The economic advantages for the host city are less and less. The internet and cable television have made everything far closer; you can see a game anywhere in any city through such creations. Do you really need a stadium?

Also, the greed is simply out-in-the-open now. People making $50,000 a year paying costs for billionaire owners to house millionaire players is a sham. The players have proven they don't care which city they play in, just the one paying the most. Why should a fan go out of his way and take more dough out of his pocket for this sort of thing? He should not. At the very least, there should be some sort of reward for public funding. How about the team making sure ticket prices remain in the bottom ten? That would be both rewarding and gracious. Instead, we often get owners who raise ticket prices almost immediately. Gee, thanks for the support, Mr. Billionaire.

Sports is a business, often a sleazy one. The stupidity of saying, "This is my team" is beyond childlike. They are not your team and don't really care about you, either. If an owner wants to come to your town or expand in your town, let him build it himself. If public financing is sought, seek out your own advantages. Otherwise you are just another sucker spending into oblivion.

Robert Carberry is a freelance writer from New York.