The Nations Economics
Al Davis of the Oakland Raiders created the most successful brand in football by plying maverick methods. The same has held true in his executive role with the NFL he's always been known for fighting his fellow NFL owners on many issues, in return setting the tread for the leagues windfall in it's financial abundance, along with being known as the master of working the salary cap to his advantage. It's being a good strewed of his opportunities and applying those benefits back to the community, along with blessing the many Raider greats that have struggled in life, by giving when there's need. Unfortunately several losing seasons have made the Raiders one of the worst draws in the NFL. While most NFL teams sell out every game, the Raiders had only several sell-out crowds over the last several seasons thanks to the 30,000 season ticket holders. The Silver and Black has finished in the bottom for several seasons in league attendance.
As the Raider Nation mourns under the adversity of losing, the return has been evident of being a cheerful giver the Raiders recently took control of ticket sales for the first time since returning from Los Angeles in 1995. Previously, sales had been handled by a county and city run organization. Another plus under the Raiders a new agreement with Alameda County is that the team collects some advertising revenue within Mcfee Coliseum. The teams major corporate sponsors are Motorola, Pepsi Co, Gatorade, MasterCard, Molson Coors, Comcast the list goes on... It's the results of good stewardship and the practice of giving.
The National Football League over the years has put it's corporation in good financial standing the common wisdom has always been that sports would be immune from the downfalls of the American economy. Unless there was a depression on the order of the Great Depression, the impact of a recession would be fairly minimal. After all, Americans will want their entertainment and watching televised sports in reality is cheap. Sure, attendance at the stadium in the cheaper seats might be a little less, but businesses would still need to entertain customers and besides the choice to watch games at home would still bring money to stimulate the economy from television anyway.
Well, welcome to the recession of the 2008-09, The NFL has responded to this crisis in a way that demonstrates once again just how much different it is from other corporations and sports leagues. The League is about to close on almost $2 billion in financing to ensure that the 32 clubs can survive the storm without difficulty. This at a time when most major corporations in this great country and around the world are having trouble with major financial problems with credit lines to enhance their ongoing operations. While the NFL is an obviously good credit risk, since the borrowings are backed up by nearly $3.5 billion in annual television revenue, creditworthiness does not seem to count for too much in this market.
The bottom line, the league has prepared itself by the rule of giving back to local communities throughout the world it's the foundation of good stewardship. Regardless of what many think of Al Davis he's been part of the most successful corporation this world has witnessed. As fans, we support a team that gives to it's community of followers. The similarities of the church and the National Football League are remarkable in God's divine promise. It's what stimulates the economy. It's the cycle of giving and receiving, it always comes back in good measure. The rest of the Nation should take note of the economics of this great game of football...
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed. (2Corinthians 9:8)
Pastor Mando
"keep the faith"
