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Title: Note to Sports Execs: Read this book.
Review: I couldn't help thinking while enjoying this book that it should be part of a sports management curriculum. The people who run big teams, like the NY Yankees, or big companies, like Nike, need to understand the way fans think. I've seen how the prepackaging of sports here in the United States has sucked out much of the joy this book celebrates. In the end, sports aren't merely entertainment, they are tribal rituals and religous ceremonies. I especially liked Hornby's description of promotion and relegation in soccer. This is a system that should be employed in all professional sports. I am passing this book around to my friends now, so that they can begin to understand why it does matter that Chelsea not only win the ultimate Cup Winners Cup, the League this year, and as of this writing possibly the Double.
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