Many people are sports fans and are passionate about their teams which is great. The long term success of any team is to be consistently in the top of the standings of the league they are in and every once in a while making a run for the cup. Those of us who sit in the seats more often, than participate, are the reason why the teams continue to stay in the urban area where we live. Although the money the TV contracts allows the teams to pay very competitive salaries for the “best” players, the atmosphere is better in the stadium than watching from home. In all sports, the key is to have a wide base of support particularly among kids who are the next generation of fans ( a recent article called How Kansas City makes soccer sell by Sam Borden of the New York Times is a great place to start). As the fan base gets older, teams have to figure out how to attract a younger generation to make the decision to come to the arena. If it does it well, as you move around the hometown of the sports team you should see people wearing the merchandise and you know the team is doing well.

Linking to dividend producing stocks, the same principle applies to companies, if they are consistently profitable and pay a dividend they will be long term winners. Every year the stock price will move up and down, but over the long term the value of a profitable business is greater than a company which might be the next and best thing to come along. In sports teams, there generally is a good reason why teams perform in the bottom half of the standings, although in every sport there is a possibility of a breakout year. If you are a fan of one of those teams, it is a great feeling when those teams outperform. However for the best long term results stick to the dividend paying quality companies.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.