Sport... It aint what it used to be

I grew up with the impression that the whole objective of sport was to win things, to perform to the best of your ability, Medals and glory were what you worked towards, whether it was a pre-season game, or a world cup final, fans still wanted their teams to win, to be the best, to be honoured.

Quite possibly the only sport in the world where success is punished, through a multitude of ways, and failure is rewarded, is Speedway.
Firstly teams that do well are usually torn apart at the end of the season due to the average system. The averages system is designed to ensure all teams have an equal chance at the start of the season, rather than the richest teams having all the best riders, and the poorest teams having the worst. All good in theory... Except the richest teams are still usually fighting it out for success.

The problem is speedway is that continued the points average limit for team building has consistently lowered, therefore weakening not only the successful teams, but the product as a whole. 

By building to the lowest common denominator every year it has driven fans away who aren't prepared to be spending the same amount of money, or more, on a weaker product. I understand that promoters are trying to cut costs in order to keep the clubs afloat, but have gone about it in the wrong way. Reducing the number of meetings or heats in a meeting would cut costs.

But it's not just on a team level where success is punished. Riders that have a bad season are more attractive next season, due to their lower averages, than riders who performed above their ability.  These riders, because of being more in demand can then push their wage demands up, and ride for the highest bidder, invariably the richer clubs, who then get riders who everyone knows can perform better than last season, and therefore the richer clubs go on to be successful again.

In every sport there are going to be winners and losers, clubs should be doing all they can to become winners, not drag the losers down. Look at the NBA for example.

Last week it was the trade deadline, and my team, the New York Knicks, traded away players who had played a key role in the season so far, and 2 others who hadnt performed much, in order to get one superstar, a former all star heading towards the end of his career, 3 players who aren't expected to feature much and one who has already been released.

They did this in the hope that the superstar, and his aging buddy can become key piece's in a team that will challenge for the title.

Not to be outdone, local rivals New Jersey Nets (who are incidentally playing in London tomorrow and Saturday), the team with the worst record in the league traded away 2 players, one of which was the number 3 pick in this years draft, for one of the best players in their division, as a way to improve and challenge for the play-offs, if they reach the play-offs then they can build further as they will be more enticing to free agents.

By making a play for top caliber players it has built up excitement around both teams, brought fans back to the arenas, meaning tickets can be sold at a higher price, meaning more income for the teams.

Maybe, just maybe it would be worth British speedway teams trying to improve their product in a similar way in order to get the fans back, create a buzz about the sport, and then go from strength to strength