The Top Sports Myths People Believe

As is the case with most industries, there are many myths in the world of sports. These beliefs can be described as things that we all consider to be true even when the available evidence suggests the direct opposite. Here are some of the most commonly believed.

False Belief No. 1: Athletes Are Overpaid

Are you in the top 0.01% in the world at your occupation, in a manner that can be proven with statistics? Do people make the choice to spend their money to watch you do your job? Are you likely to retain employment in your chosen profession past the age of around 35? If you are a capitalist, then you must accept that sports men and women make exactly what they should, and may even deserve to get more than they currently do when you take into consideration the perils of their day-to-day jobs and the money being generated by their performances.

False Belief No. 2: Fans Want New Arenas

Or tracks, pitches, or racecourses. This is simply not true, and remains so for punters dedicated to Horse Racing betting and those who never miss an NRL game. What fans and bettors are looking for is wins. The media, players, corporate tools, and tourists are looking for new yards, the rest of us want championships, and will gladly go to absolute dumps in order to get them!

False Belief No. 3: Steroids Are On Our Minds

While this may be true for parents who are concerned about their kids’ health, the rest of the population only cares in so far as they can use a claim of steroid abuse to insult an opposing player with. No fans of Baseball teams who managed to win championships in the Steroid Era, thought to have begun in the late 1980s and continued through until the late 2000s, is willing to sacrifice their good feelings about that win.

False Belief No. 4: Economic Parity for Women’s Sports

A quick look at the facts will reveal an unpleasant truth: the WNBA is the same specialised money-loser that it has always been, even after the subsidy began. The sad fact is that there is nothing inevitable about the gap closing when it comes to men and women’s sports and we need to work hard. Figure Skating is a lot more about the celebrity than it is about athletics. Women’s Tennis enjoys a lot more popularity when hot women are skilled players, and we are no closer to gaining widespread mainstream acceptance for Women’s Soccer than we were before.

False Belief No. 5: There’s a Home Field Advantage

This is especially false in this era, with stadiums that don’t have loud fans anywhere near the field, games are being played all over the place, and even the home crowd is frequently compromised thanks to fantasy league action.

While the simple case of holding tightly on to a false belief shouldn’t be too dangerous, it can cause issues for parents with kids entering this industry, see you placing mistaken bets and losing money as a result, and can simply lessen the enjoyment of a great game! Throw out the myths and have a look at statistics and facts instead.