Sports Are Back But Americans Aren’t Happy

 by Ray Keating

The Keating Files – September 10, 2020

 

Many of us were waiting anxiously for the return of sports during this pandemic. And now that the NHL and NBA are in their postseasons, MLB is playing a dramatically shortened season, and the NFL kicks off tonight, well, it seems like a lot of Americans are pissed off with pro sports.

 

Just how bad has it gotten for the business of pro sports? Well, in a new Gallup pollmeasuring Americans’ views on 25 business or industry sectors, the sports industry ties for dead last – with the federal government. Yikes.

 

The sports industry is viewed positively (either very or somewhat positive) by only 30 percent of Americans. Again, that puts pro sports at the very bottom of the list with the federal government. However, at least the sports industry’s negatives aren’t as big as government’s, with the sports industry earning a 40 percent negative take (again, either very or somewhat) versus the federal government’s 50 percent (worst among the 25 sectors). (By the way, amidst all of the current and recent political insanity, it’s good to see that a notable chunk of Americans still holds a skeptical view of government.)

 

The sports industry also holds an edge over the federal government in terms of people holding a neutral view – 29 percent for sports compared to 20 percent for the feds.

 

But as Gallup makes clear, the big story in this year’s polling is the change for sports. It was noted, “The biggest slide … has been for the sports industry, with its positive score falling 15 points – from 45% to 30%. The sports industry now has a negative image, on balance, among Americans as a whole, with 30% viewing it positively and 40% negatively, for a -10 net-positive score. This contrasts with the +20 net positive image it enjoyed in 2019, when 45% viewed it positively and 25% negatively.”

 

And it’s gotten worse for sports across the board in terms of assorted breakdowns. From the 2019 poll to this 2020 poll, the net positives for sports moved in the wrong direction in category by category, such as going from +17 net positive to -7 among men; from +21 to -13 among women; from +36 among 18-34 year olds to +21; from +25 to -19 among 35-54 year olds; from +6 to -23 among 55+; from +4 to -22 among white Americans; from +51 to +16 among non-white Americans; from +11 among Republicans to -35; from +26 to -10 among independents; and from +16 to +11 among Democrats.

 

Parsing out the specific percentage-point contributions to this negative movement isn’t easy, but identifying the causes seem pretty straight forward. Some people are upset that sports leagues have become too political. Others believe that sports leagues haven’t done enough to address assorted societal ills, such as racism. And then there are simply sports fans who are displeased with how certain or all of the sports leagues have handled the challenges of this pandemic. 

 

We wanted sports, and far fewer are happy with sports. Go figure. I actually have a bit of sympathy for the people running the NFL, MLB, NHL and the NBA. Currently, they are in a no-win scenario. No matter what they do, significant parts of their fan base are going to be disgruntled. 

 

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See related...

 

“Should We Take Our Ball and Go Home When Pro Athletes Disagree with Us?”

 

“New Name for Redskins is Obvious: Washington Americans”

 

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Ray Keating is a columnist, novelist, economist, podcaster and entrepreneur.  You can order his new book Behind Enemy Lines: Conservative Communiques from Left-Wing New York  from Amazon or signed books  at RayKeatingOnline.com. His other recent nonfiction book is Free Trade Rocks! 10 Points on International Trade Everyone Should Know. The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?

 

Keating’s latest novel is  The Traitor: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel, which is the 12thbook in the series. The best way to fully enjoy Ray Keating’s Pastor Stephen Grant thrillers and mysteries is to join the Pastor Stephen Grant Fellowship! For the BEST VALUE, consider the Book of the Month Club.  Check it all out at

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Also, tune in to Ray Keating’s podcasts – the PRESS CLUB C Podcast  and the Free Enterprise in Three Minutes Podcast  

 

Check out Ray Keating’s Disney news and entertainment site at www.DisneyBizJournal.com.

 

Doubts About the U.S. Still Being a Right-of-Center Country

by Ray Keating

The Keating Files – January 11, 2020

The United States has long been identified as a right-of-center country when it comes to politics. But is that still the case? A new Gallup poll proclaims that it is, but I have reasons for doubt.

In a January 9, 2020, release, Gallup declared, “The U.S. Remained Center-Right, Ideologically, in 2019.” Let’s consider the pollster’s findings.

Gallup reported that 37% of American adults described their political views as “conservative,” while 35% said “moderate” and 24% “liberal.” Well, conservatives should be pleased, so far.

But Americans also leaned more Democrat than Republican in terms of party preference or leaning – with 47% aligning themselves with the Democrats and 42% with Republicans. Gallup noted, “Americans' political leanings have been quite stable since 2016, the year Donald Trump was elected president. The Democratic figure has not changed in the past four years, and the Republican figure has been 41% or 42% each year since 2012.”

Interestingly, none of this is terribly new. Looking at Gallup’s polling back to the early 1990s, more people identify as “conservative” and “moderate” than “liberal,” but at the same time, party preference (including how independents leaned) generally has been Democrat over Republican.

Meanwhile, the breakdown of how Republicans and Democrats identify their political views has skewed in directions one might expect. For example, in 1994, Republicans broke down at 58% “conservative,” 33% “moderate,” and 8% “liberal. That compared to the 2019 breakdown among Republicans as 73% “conservative,” 21% “moderate,” and 4% “liberal.”

The trend, unsurprisingly, has been in the opposite direction among Democrats – but more drastic. In 1994, 48% identified as “moderate,” 25% “liberal,” and 25% “conservative.” That compared to a 2109 breakdown among Democrats of 49% “liberal,” 36% “moderate,” and 14% “conservative.”

This trend among Democrats lines up with a clear shift to the Left among Democratic Members of Congress and Democrats running for president. When Joe Biden is considered a “moderate” among Democrats, you know the party has taken a sharp left turn.

But what about Republicans as “conservatives”? The problem is that the term “conservative” has lost its meaning among many in the Republican Party, particularly during the era of Trump. After all, President Trump has identified himself as a “nationalist.” And his main policy positions and political rhetoric rank as “populist.” And populism is not conservatism.

While a slippery term, populism has some common threads over the decades, namely, fear of something or some groups, opposition to a vague group of “elites,” and claims of being victims. So, populists often rail against bankers and big business. Today, key populist targets are free trade, immigration, and once more, sometimes vague “elites.” Like leftist Progressives, populists seek to engage government on their behalf, for their own causes, while vehemently opposing government action for issues they oppose.

The populist outlook stands in stark contrast to what traditional conservatism has stood for and encompassed. A traditional conservative generally understands and subscribes to Judeo-Christian values, free enterprise, free markets, and a strong national defense, with key policy positions being low taxes, smaller government, a light regulatory touch, strength in foreign policy and national security, free trade, and a social policy agenda led by being pro-life and pro-traditional marriage. Conservatism embraces freedom and personal responsibility, as well as compassion and charity. Conservatism views government in Madisonian terms, that is government more or less is a necessary evil that must be limited to basic duties, such as protecting life, limb and property. Conservatism certainly doesn’t accept the populist/Progressive idea that “We’re all victims now,” and government needs to do something about it, whether that be imposing protectionist trade policies, or breaking up large technology companies that populists fear or with which they disagree.

In the end, populism has more in common with Progressivism than conservatism, and yet, most populists today identify as conservatives. 

Therefore, that 37% of Americans identifying as “conservative” turns out to be rather meaningless. How many in this group are actually populists rather than conservatives? No one knows, but it’s clear that it’s a far bigger chunk than perhaps many of us suspected just a few years ago. And that casts serious doubt on the notion that America is still a center-right country.

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Ray Keating is a columnist, a novelist (his latest novel is The Traitor: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel, which is the 12^thbook in the series), an economist, a nonfiction author (among his recent works is Free Trade Rocks! 10 Points on International Trade Everyone Should Know), a podcaster, and an entrepreneur. The views expressed here are his own.