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WINNING GAMES VERSUS WINNING CHAMPIONSHIPS: THE ECONOMICS OF FAN INTEREST AND TEAM PERFORMANCE
Author(s) -
Whitney James D.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
economic inquiry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.823
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1465-7295
pISSN - 0095-2583
DOI - 10.1111/j.1465-7295.1988.tb01524.x
Subject(s) - championship , league , ticket , attendance , perspective (graphical) , sports economics , economics , advertising , football , marketing , business , political science , computer science , economic growth , physics , computer security , astronomy , artificial intelligence , law
Championship prospects, as distinct from game‐winning prospects, may contribute to a fan's interest in a particular sports team. If so, then both season length and the structure of championship playoffs help determine the equilibrium allocation of playing skills across the teams of a league. Evidence from a regression analysis of team attendance in baseball indicates that ticket demand depends in part on perceived flag‐winning prospects. Several patterns in the winning percentages of league leaders in the major U.S. team sports are consistent with the perspective that championship considerations influence the allocation of playing skills.