Christmas is over, 2011 is here, and now we have a new year.  It is one that is already being dominated by headlines such as “Russian President to visit Taranaki for World Cup” (lucky him!) and “Why We Can’t Win the Rugby World Cup”.
The stories that have grabbed my attention most, however, have to do with money.  ITM Cup rugby teams – already in a deep dark financial hole – are facing a truncated season in which they have to carry bigger squads.  Tennis Auckland sold out the ASB Classic, but won’t make money because of the huge appearance fee paid to Maria Sharapova.
It seems that with even some pretty successful business brains behind a lot of sport in this country, sport does not get treated like a business.
The losses being faced by rugby unions such as Southland and Taranaki would be cause for receivership at the very least in the business world.  
Sharapova may have helped sell out the ASB Classic, but her fee offset any gain.
There’s a general rule in business.  You have to make more money than you spend, or you starve.  I know that for many sports, it is difficult to make money from a product that might not have TV coverage, sponsor opportunities, or other commercial benefits.
Nevertheless, many manage to live within their means, progress their development programmes and deliver realistic expectations to their followers.
Therein lies the kernel of the issue.  Rugby is full of unrealistic expectations.  I talked to a young player, not long out of school last year, who had signed a contract with an ITM Cup province.
He believed he was now a ‘professional’ rugby player and so could give up his job to focus on rugby.  He was, at best, a tackle bag for the more established players.  He should not have been on contract – he should have been willing to train (and maybe play) for a match payment.  
But the union involved was worried he would be snapped up somewhere else, and so signed him to a cash contract.  I did a quick ring round of a few player agents, who all confirmed they had never heard of this player and had little interest in him.
This signing was a bit like employing someone to wander around doing very little – it is not good business sense.
In another example, basketball, players still work on the basis that they are paid for their worth.  If you are good enough, you can play NBL here, maybe Australian NBL, or go to Europe in the off-season and eke out what passes for a living.
You don’t get paid a living wage to be a bag carrier.
At New Years, I saw a 1987 World Cup match on the Rugby Channel which reminded me that great All Black fullback John Gallagher won the World Cup in Auckland on a Saturday, and was back at work as a Wellington policeman on the Monday.
Priorities are way out of whack today.  
In any sport I have been involved with, when it comes to money, I always apply a principle I learnt from a very prescient chief executive.  We were looking at budget line items and he said to me “ look at each of these and think about whether you would spend this money if you were funding it yourself.”
The “other people’s money” principle blinds some of our sports.  2011’s early bleak headlines should be a wake-up call.