Football of the Future.
A 1949 Prediction.
This exerpt from The Marked Field predicted
a future of college football governed by televison and advertisers.
Considering the year, this vision was not far from the mark, pun intended.
Carl L. Biemiller's The Marked Field
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"Shaw pondered a trend. Radio broadcasting had begun it, and now with television moving into the picture and with the major chains sewing up the nation’s leading universities, there might conceivably be a day when Central would play to only a handful of spectators in the big stadium; millions more would watch the game at home, getting it free through the courtesy of some national advertiser. Then what would be the difference between college football and a variety act? Show would separate the commercial value of a fine running back and a crooner? The game would belong to the advertisers. The big man smiled ruefully. He had a vision of some huckster offering a package deal, which included three big games as a unit. There would be money in it for the board of regents and the university board, big money…but the game would go, and its traditions would die. The kids however could be pros frankly and openly. Education itself would be an honest extra instead of a pseudo-prime purpose. He shuddered. What would stop some of the top commercial agencies in the talent field from representing a likely tackle?
He could hear a sample sales talk. “H’yare, Coach, one backfield unit, guaranteed eligible and all A-grade students for only $2500 a game…that includes a right and left-handed passer, and two guys good for five yards per average carry.” He grinned as he let his fancy run." |
"On Treason" is another excerpt from The Marked Field
and can be found at The Harvest of Memories link
in the table below.
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