The lights go down, the music begins, and an
announcer's booming voice introduces the star athletes amid
flashing lights and thunderous cheers.
Such fanfare is usually reserved for the likes of
Jordan, Gretzky or Montana.
But Bill Fairchild, Hal Fried and Jim Lambrinos got
to thinking: why not use the routine to introduce themselves to
a new class they're teaching this term: Sports Economics.
So, on Tuesday morning at 9:15 in Olin 206, the
class began like this:
Cue music
“Ladies and gentleman, welcome to Union College
and Sports Economics,” began the announcer, who
normally spends time editing this publication. “And now, the
faculty starting lineup …”
The three “coaches” jogged into class, arms raised, to
a smattering of applause from the somewhat bewildered
students. (The trio later conceded that a 9:15 a.m. class may
not generate the loud cheers that, say, an evening class might.)
After the introductions, the “coaches” – decked out in
golf attire and carrying clubs and rackets from their glory days
– talked about the sports they play and the famous athletes
they've met. Then they asked the “players” (students) to do
the same.
Sports metaphors notwithstanding, this is a
serious upper-level class, full of statistical analysis, Fried assured
the students. Sports, with all their statistics, are a “perfect
venue” for testing micro-economic theories, he said.
Lambrinos, acknowledging that Tuesday's fanfare
might have been the highlight of the 10-week class, later said, “I
told Bill and Hal that we should have passed out the course
evaluations on the first day.”