Joshua Kovacs: The Pro That The Pros Would Pay To See

This was a very interesting article and subject that SI researched. In the first part of the article they came up with the idea that $1,000 dollars would be the payment to get a ticket to see they athlete of choice. I find this a bit ridiculous due to the fact that the NFL average pay is 1.9 Million, NBA is 5.15 Million, and MLB is 3.31 Million. If added together the average pay of an athlete participating in "Big Three" is 3.45 Million. Paying $1,000 is 1/3450 of their average yearly salaries. For a person that makes $34,000 a year, that would be like paying $10 dollars to see an athlete of choice for an average person when compared to an athletes average salary. I think the $1,000 dollar number should have been higher so there is more risk involved that way the choice is more vigorous because when us fans attend an event, even for $100 dollars it is a major part of our income and we have to usually be highly selective even for minor events that doesn't involve our one choice athlete. The fact that Carmelo Anthony said he wouldn't pay that much money to see anyone is kind of insulting to the NBA fan base because that is most likely what people pay to sit on the floor and in suits for his games that happen 2-4 times every week.  

I thought that it was interesting that the NBA players listed the NFL players and vis versa. From media and reports I have seen or read in the past, a lot these athletes played both sports in high school and were in most cases very good at them. Lebron James was an All-State wide receiver, Allen Iverson was an All-State Safety and holds state records, Joe Thomas of the Cleveland Browns was a great basketball player and played in the same leagues at Lebron James, and Donovan Mcnabb played both basketball and football at Syracuse in college. When NBA and NFL had lockouts this past 2 years, athletes were reportedly considering trying out for the other sport leagues; Chad Johnson even made an MLS soccer team.

A lot of athletes were quoted as saying words like, Intensity, competitor, and Body. Athletes seem to be drawn to other athletes because of how hard they compete and train. Sex appeal was mentioned a few times and i'm not sure that is a good thing. If an athlete just wants to see another one because they want to gawk at their body and not appreciate what they do for their sport and how hard they compete, I find that kind of degrading whether is be female or male who said it.

Serena Williams had at least 6 votes based solely on her looks or outfit she was wearing. Michael Vick was completely different and received votes based on athleticism and excitement. Shaq won over the NFL athletes due to his size and toughness that was unmatched in the NBA. Barry Bonds won over his own league and the MLB players seemed to just admire how he dominated the game with hitting, this was prior to finding out he was on steroids though. Tiger woods received the most votes and had support from every major association. Athletes even said that they would pay more that $1,000 to see him play and even pay money to carry his golf bag or be around him.

I would personally chose to see Michael Vick (before dog fighting incident) and also Adrian Peterson. I do not have many reasons besides the fact that it would be exciting to witness some of the best athletes on the planet do what they do best, dominate!