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| This is what Russell Westbrook looks like when he's "pouting." |
I love ESPN. I really do.
Like any proper sports fan, I lean heavily on the Worldwide Leader to satiate my seemingly never-ending need for up-to-the-minute stats, highlights and analysis — all on a vast array of media platforms. No one does sports better than ESPN — in fact, no other entity on Earth even comes close to touching the sheer volume and breadth of coverage constantly churning out of Bristol, Conn.
And therein lies the problem.
We don't do monopolies in America. Healthy competition is the lifeblood of capitalism and, as the story goes, a dynamic, competitive market provides the best possible product to the consumer. Since the days of Teddy Roosevelt, we've taken it upon ourselves — through our government — to prevent large corporations from seizing too much power in any particular industry and, by so doing, ensuring that new competitors can safely enter the market and help keep the big boys honest. Big win all-around for us consumers.
This type of competition doesn't really exist in the world of sports journalism. ESPN is most definitely the big dog on the top of the heap, and no one else really has a shot of knocking them off at this point. I'm not saying that ESPN is a literal monopoly — they're not, which is why you don't see the U.S. government trying to disassemble it piece by piece like, say, Microsoft a few years back. But they are effectively a monopoly when it comes to national sports coverage.
