Reading is Cool!

I recently finished up reading two different books about sports marketing genius and pioneer Bill Veeck, Veeck as in Wreck and The Hustler’s Handbook both written in autobiography form by sportswriter Ed Linn.  If you are looking to break in to sports marketing and you haven’t heard of Bill Veeck (let alone you haven’t read these book), then it would be safe to assume that you are behind in the game. 

Veeck as in Wreck has Veeck pretty much breakdown his promotions, what failed and what succeeded, which is inherently interesting given the man’s personality.  Aside from sports marketing and promotions, you get a good look into his life, on and off the field, along with what it is like to be a team president/owner.  The Hustler’s Handbook is written more in a short story form with each chapter being its own.  This gives valuable insight into what it takes to purchase a team, the financial breakdowns of everything that goes into a purchase, and the trials and tribulations of being a man in power in Major League Baseball. 

The lessons that I picked up by reading these books probably do exist in sport management textbooks somewhere, but why wait until class to learn them?  One thing that gets to me about sport management students is that when asked why they picked sport management, they almost always answer, “Because I’m passionate about sports.”  It becomes clear pretty quickly whether or not that person is simply a passionate fan or that person is passionate about the business of sport.  Most of the time, I would venture to say that they are just a sports fan. 

The difference between a sport fan’s passion and a passion for the business of sport is something that I learned very quickly upon coming to Drexel.  Many people drop quickly because they realize that there is more to sport management than meeting their favorite player.  Some hang around for a little while but then decide that they don’t care about loving their job and they only care about making money.  The people who stick around for the duration and realize that the sports industry really is their calling are the ones who get it.  Naturally they may complain about the low entry wages and salaries, but they love getting up in the morning to do what they do.  That is a quality that is not found in a lot of jobs. 

Maybe that was a roundabout way to get to what I’m trying to get at, but here is the point.  If you really love what you do, then you cannot get enough of it.  I know for myself personally, my lines between what are sports industry education and what is hobby are pretty close to each other.  There is a lot of crossover.  I love reading about sports; it’s something that I would do even if I wasn’t a sport management major.  But now I’ve realized that I do have a passion for sports business.  I’ve realized because I read about it all the time. 

Reading, for some reason, gets a bad reputation.  Only the nerds read.  If you follow me on Twitter, you know I read all of the time (yes, I do read every article that I tweet).  I’ll admit it, I may be a nerd, but that’s fine.  I don’t like reading the textbooks for class, I’ll admit.  They just aren’t interesting and sport is not an industry that you can learn everything through textbooks.  Sports are always changing and it takes a dedication, a passion if you will, to stay on top of that. 

I’m not saying that you have to read to be passionate about sport business.  That just happens to be my way of learning about it.  There are plenty of things that you can do to be passionate about the industry, any industry for that matter.  However, simply saying that you are passionate about sports doesn’t cut it.  Simply saying you are passionate about sport business doesn’t even cut it either.  You have to live it.  Nothing is going to just come to you. 

I will take reading recommendations from almost anybody in the industry, but I love to get them from my peers.  If you are interested in a book exchange-type system to share sports business/general sports business books (or even articles), please contact me.  I would love to share what I recommend and I would love to get some recommendations myself.  Reading is not the end-all-be-all, but if you don’t like to read, then you don’t like to learn, plain and simple.

My Recommendations From This Spring/Summer:

Veeck as in Wreck by Ed Linn

The Hustler’s Handbook by Ed Linn

How Lucky You Can Be by Buster Olney

Death to the BCS by Dan Wetzel, Josh Peter, and Jeff Passan

 

Next Up On My Reading List:

May the Best Team Win by Andrew Zimbalist

In the Best Interests of Baseball? The Revolutionary Reign of Bud Selig by Andrew Zimbalist

The Big Miss by Hank Haney

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell