Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, there was an Academy Award nominated movie by the name of Wall Street.
It starred Michael Douglas, a young Charlie Sheen and a bevy of other established or rising stars in a film about a young stockbroker whose endeavor for riches leads him to cross both an ethical and legal line between right and wrong.
It’s a pretty good movie, and one in which Douglas — who won a Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Wall Street player Gordon Gekko — famously made the following speech to a room full of stockholders of a company he was attempting to buy via hostile takeover.
“Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed in all of its forms. Greed for life, money, love, knowledge, has marked the upward surge of mankind, and greed – you mark my words – will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the U.S.A.”
Interesting and highly interpretable take by the fictitious and unscrupulous mogul, and while I can’t speak to how things eventually worked out for Teldar Paper nor do I choose to regurgitate the conflicting views regarding our country’s current operating condition, I’m quite certain that greed isn’t going to do you or I any good when it comes to watching Big Ten Network football games involving Oregon, Washington, USC or UCLA.
If you’re a fan of those teams, or really one of college football, you’re now likely familiar with the dispute between Xfinity/Comcast and the Big Ten Network.
One wants more money to show you the games, the other doesn’t want to pay it.
The result? Fans got not what they paid for when they tuned in to watch their teams last Saturday, but rather excuses from the companies involved, and finger-pointing from each in the direction of the other regarding a situation from which both will ultimately benefit.
Let’s not act like there’s a good guy in all of this because it’s really just two greedy companies trying to squeeze every dollar, quarter, dime, nickel and penny out of each other, knowing full well that you and I will eventually fit the bill.
In the meantime, however, Duck, Husky, Trojan and Bruin fans will get the shaft, while rival fans relish in their plight.
There’s no love lost between the members of what kind of sort of is, and what was the Pac-12 Conference. Beavers and Cougars — right or wrong — blame the Ducks and Huskies for what was ultimately the demise of the league, and as a result find pleasure in what’s now the two fanbase’s pain.
After all, Oregon State’s game with Idaho State, along with Washington State’s game with Portland State were seamlessly televised on The CW Network, while fans of the former Pac-12 teams that left for greener pastures scrambled to find alternative methods to see their teams in action.
Irony? Maybe, depending on your perspective. But simply ridiculous if you step back and see it for what it is — greed, and in my mind breach of contract.
If you’re an Xfinity subscriber who paid for the Big Ten Network via their More Sports & Entertainment Package and under the premise you’d have access to your desired games, only to have those games arbitrarily removed from service, how is that not a breach at worst? And at best poor business practice?
That would be like HBO advertising their service for X, promoting such with Y, then removing Y from the service upon purchase.
Huh?
If I were an Xfinity customer who two weeks ago purchased the More Sports & Entertainment Package for an additional $9.99 per month, I’d be anxiously awaiting the return of that legal tender as the days, weeks and — most importantly — games pass by.
It won’t happen, after all I’m sure there’s a legal loophole that protects the network and cable provider from what appears to be a fairly clear form of bait and switch.
But what will happen is that customers will continue to pay, games will or won’t be blacked out, and in the end the two perpetrators of what can only be described as a disservice to those customers will win, while you, I and anyone else interested in watching the games in question will lose.
It’s greed. And while it may work according to Gordon Gekko, it’s not working for fans of the four former members of the Pac-12.
Fair? Of course not, but I don’t think you’re going to get Beavers and Cougar fans to get behind that argument.
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