Name:
Jon Corley

Position:
Writer

About The Author
Jon Corley is a long tenured Team 3D writer who currently heads 3D.NY's Website Staff

The latest topic for discourse on nearly every sports news outlet is that of loyalty in sports, or the lack thereof. Having been argued for and against on programs such as Around The Horn and Mike & Mike, every side of this argument has been examined both thoughtfully and precisely. Ultimately, there exists no definitive answer and it is merely a situation occurrence. As organized sports reach unequaled levels of success and prosperity, there is something to be said for loyalty. As the current generation of athletes mature and near the end of their careers, more often than not they are looking for one final run at a championship. This is not a new phenomenon by any means but we are surely seeing a resurgence of this trend and it has hit home a few too many times for many loyal sports fans.

I hold no grudge against a player when he is offered more money and jumps ship to another team. If I were to put myself in their shoes, I think I'd have a hard time turning down millions of dollars, and any other sane person would as probably as well. Guaranteed money has become a must in nearly every sports contract in the modern world and it has its benefits as well as its drawbacks. However, this is a topic for another day and as I right my ship I implore you to forgo my mentioning of this and keep an eye out for something to this effect in the near future.

Statements such as "Back in the day" do little for the sake of argument on this subject. Sure players like Mickey Mantle and Bill Bradley were tenured with one team for their entire career and both enjoyed tremendous success while players such as Babe Ruth and Wilt Chamberlain played for multiple teams. Whether by choice or a victim of their own success, many players find themselves bouncing around their respective league in their final couple years of their career as they hope for one more go at it. CGS and E-Sports is no different.

Although only two seasons deep in what will surely be a long-tenured league, we have already seen the effects of loyalty, both the good and the bad. Complexity is a perfect example of when loyalty backfires. Returning 8 of 10 players from a mediocre franchise last year, I'm not sure what LA was thinking. Surely Warden could have been passed on in favor of a better DOA4 Female player or Forza Driver. However, LA is not alone in this dilemma as nearly every franchise returned players from last year who didn't perform as well as expected or hopes for. A victim of their own success, last year's World Champion Franchise the Chicago Chimera looks very much the same this year but the results were dramatically different this go-around. Whether loyalty is a necessary evil due to a lack of talent or simply a matter of preference is very much up in the air.

We have yet to see trades within the CGS and with 90% of players receiving equal sized paychecks; I doubt we will see very much swapping in the near future. CGS should look into putting in place a performance based pay scale where wins are rewarded with cash and losses are rewarded with a kick in the pants and a dent in the bank account. Imagine if Kobe was paid the same as Luke Walton or LT the same as Phillip Rivers. Would these truly exceptional players play their best or would they just do enough to skate by? A flat pay scale has its advantages but also has disadvantages and is again, another topic for another day.

At the end of the day, loyalty in sports is just as much a spectator sport as watching the game itself. It is easy to judge players who demand to be traded and also revere those who play their careers with one franchise. I often find myself being an armchair GM but usually snap out of that position sooner rather than later. Loyalty is sports usually boils down to nothing more than selfishness whether it is by fans or players, it often revolves around winning and nothing more.