March Madness
Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2009 4:58 pm
I enjoy watching college basketball in the US. Each year they have a big tournament at the end of the season, 64 teams compete, one team is crowned national champion. At the onset you can fill out a bracket and see if things turn out the way you predicted they would turn out – good fun…. Great if you get lucky and win a few hundred bucks.
As I think about it, college basketball is a good example of a market. Each school competes to acquire the best players. The players compete to establish themselves as superstars. Squads compete to prove their superiority. At the end the team with the highest merit claims superiority. I like that. No government bail outs; No pluralistic, multicultural mumbo jumbo – 64 teams enter - one team emerges as the best of the best. Make it, take it.
It is even more fun to think about all the market forces at work in US College basketball. College basketball has elements that we might see in any market.
As I think about it, college basketball is a good example of a market. Each school competes to acquire the best players. The players compete to establish themselves as superstars. Squads compete to prove their superiority. At the end the team with the highest merit claims superiority. I like that. No government bail outs; No pluralistic, multicultural mumbo jumbo – 64 teams enter - one team emerges as the best of the best. Make it, take it.
It is even more fun to think about all the market forces at work in US College basketball. College basketball has elements that we might see in any market.
- There are demand constraints (only so many seats available on the bench).
There are supply constraints (each athlete has a unique combination of physical and mental aptitude and the best are in short supply).
There are time constraints (the players mature and have a limited shelf life).
There is a value added component (I don’t care who you are… Bobby Knight is going to make you a better player. Well Knight might be too controversial how about John Wooden?)
There are market constraints (I hate that damn NCAA – there lies slavery in our modern times).
There is a HUGE opportunity for market risks - a panoply of good and bad things that could happen to effect the ultimate outcome (winning or loosing).
