Traditional sports ranking of community strength:

Teams > Players > League

but esports/socialmedia/fantasy/tradingcard-boom/tech-unbundles-everything has shifted things

Players > Teams > League

Players are realizing it. Teams will be wise to adapt fast.

We're doing our best at @weareangelcity to build a world class pro sports club with the new reality in mind.

e.g., For a century, there was tremendous brand + community value in 'putting on the pinstripes' of the NY Yankees bc a player was imbued with the community + brand love from being associated with the club... just like a journalist getting a job with the NY Times...

But now, fans -- the community -- have a direct relationship with the individuals (the players/journalists) who are doing the real work every day. That is a huge power shift... and it's a very good thing for those men + women.

Very different industries, obviously, but Substack-ification of media in 2020 was a preview for a lot of other sectors. Going to be interesting to watch in sports, bc it's the most meritocratic industry, yet still very problematic history between owners + players.

e.g., In 5 years, a club as famous as the Yankees will be running the numbers before signing someone not JUST to decide if he'll help the team ON the field, but if his personal community will drive merch sales, ticket sales, views, etc OFF the field.

e.g., Why is a @Giannis_An34 rookie card worth $1.8M (slightly more than @KingJames' Lakers magic) ? BC the sports community believes he will + they're investing in his present greatness + future potential. The Milwaukee Bucks Brand ain't driving that.

e.g., @MarcusRashford is out here basically feeding all the kids of Britain in *addition* to being a super-talented young footballer, but it's his community that's a "stock" I'm buying all day long.

If either one of those two young men goes somewhere else (I know Giannis just signed a 4yr deal) -- their base is still cheering for them, maybe even more bc they're getting exposed to new markets...