Tickets for Sale: Who Will Bail Out Professional Sports?

Less than a month to go before the distinctive and undeniable roar of pure horsepower is heard from the asphalt we call Daytona.

The roar from the seats is what might be distinctively different this year. If in fact, there is any noise at all.

With almost 50,000 seats unsold for this years Daytona 500, its obvious the economic recession's ripple effects are not finished.

NASCAR isn't the only professional sport seeing more and more empty seats. What used to be a long waiting list for tickets, is now nothing more than scratch paper.

Sponsorship dollars are drying up. If Americans cannot afford to buy products, then sponsors have no dollars to spend.  

Year after year it has become increasingly expensive to attend a professional sporting event.

In those robust years where supply was low and demand was high, the greedy entities would continually raise their prices, squeezing out every dollar until the bridge between first class and steerage was finally closed.  

It is not the first time in history where greed defined if you were first class or steerage. That mighty entity eventually sank.

Times are tough right now, decisions today are not whether to sit in the front row or buying a souvenir, it's "Can I afford groceries or to make the house payment?"

Rolling back ticket prices are just a temporary band-aid.

Yes, it will allow those who have stepped away for a while, because of the expense or just to save some money, to return, but only for a brief engagement.

The macroeconomic side of professional sports has already separated the "haves" from the "have-nots."

The "have-nots" are out of the game. The severity of this economic crisis is now starting to remove the "haves" from the game also.

Very soon, who will be left?

It's gut check time, it's gut check time in every aspect of sports.

Are players really worth millions of dollars? Players who are guaranteed millions even if the stadiums and arenas are empty.

Do owners need private jets and yachts? Owners who will take their ball and go play somewhere else if they are not happy.

Should communities continue to bear the burden of new stadiums, stadiums that most of the community can no longer afford to patronize.

This coming year will be a reality check for all sports, not just NASCAR.

While most fans will choose to stay home and watch on TV, can sponsors justify advertising dollars in venues that are barley half full?

We don't know what lies ahead, but this economic iceberg may have already poked a few holes in those mighty entities.