ABSTRACT
Whatever measure you use—the number of all-sports channels, television and radio ratings, advertising revenues, ticket or merchandising sales, frequency of tax referenda for new stadium construction, free-agent salaries, the variety of products endorsed by sports superstars—it is hard to deny the status of sports in our world today. Surely a key to this success is the pleasure that we experience from watching Tiger Woods effortlessly carve through the most difficult course, or from seeing the Los Angeles Lakers quickly dispose of all would-be challengers to their NBA crown, or from watching the U.S. women’s soccer and softball teams conquer the world’s best.
