A recent issue of The New Yorker looked at the economic rise and collapse of Iceland — which soared on much of the same financial maneuvering and hubris that led to our own recession, then crashed and burned when credit tightened worldwide.
One Icelander compared the nation’s heady days to the “dream season” on the TV show Dallas, adding, “People were thinking, ‘Wow, we’re one of the richest countries in the world.’ Then they woke up.”
The waking up has been hard on the tiny country but is not without a plus side. As one writer puts it: “The people who couldn’t understand how money could be created this way are relieved that it wasn’t reality. It was true what your grandmother said: Don’t owe too much, don’t take risks, use things well.”
In the sports world, too, verities sometimes prove eternal.
Take the New York Yankees and Alex Rodriguez.
In December 2007, the Steinbrenners — known for unapologetically trying to corner the market on talent — decided it prudent to throw $275 million at A-Rod.
This even though the Yankees had won zero World Series since Rodriguez had moved to the Big Apple, and even though he would be 42 when his nine-year contract ended.
Since that time, Rodriguez has been outed as a steroid user and a liar — just the sort of bloke you want as the face of your franchise for most of a decade. Now an injury has made his future even more uncertain.
Verity confirmed: You can’t just go out and buy a title.
Take the Dallas Cowboys and Terrell Owens.
In March 2006, Jerry Jones decided that Owens’ talent and star power were more important than the wide receiver’s track record as a clubhouse cancer.
Since that time, there have been plenty of touchdowns, but also plenty of backbiting — and not a single playoff win. So now, Owens has been cut loose, free to ply his trade — and his mouth — in Buffalo.
Verity confirmed: Character matters.
Take Manny Ramirez and Scott Boras.
In the summer of 2008, Ramirez began acting out more than usual — including benching himself with phantom injuries — in order to get out of the last two years of his Boston contract. Word is, his agent Boras promised he’d get him A-Rod money in a bidding war.
Well, Ramirez got out of his Boston deal. But this winter, the Dodgers were the only team interested in him, and they signed the outfielder for roughly what he would have made in Boston.
Verity confirmed: Bad behavior — especially quitting on teammates — can be bad for business.
If none of these individuals or teams have crashed and burned like Iceland — or the Dow Jones industrial average — they’ve still experienced downturns, what Wall Street types call corrections, and in today’s moral climate all corrections are welcome.
Contact Jim Gordon at gjames43@msn.com.
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