Business of Sport: Ever wonder why this column is obsessed with American sport? Why the constant references and stories about the most commercially-exploited sports industry in the world? The reason is simply this: watch out what happens in America because it is coming our way.
And no, it's not to say the SuperBowl will be played in fandangled new Lansdowne Road stadium in 2020 when it finally gets finished; it's not to say dodgeball will become a national pastime; or even that our favourite wrestlers will become high-powered politicians.
No, if you want to peer into a crystal ball and view the landscape of sports in Ireland for the next 10-20 years, just take a glimpse at what occurred in the US since the late 1970s and early '80s. Because what has happened over there is making its way across the Atlantic to be taken up and introduced in the UK, and then in Ireland.
First there was Sky Sports. And while we ridiculed the cheerleaders and fireworks, the six-hour previews and Richard Keys, it still stuck with UK and Irish sports fans and has now become embedded firmly in our sporting culture.
And now there is Setanta Sports. Ireland's first dedicated sports channel.
Some may question how 24 hours' worth of sports coverage on an Irish platform can sustain itself over seven days, 365 days a year, and others may wonder about the demand and market for such a station.
But, it's worth taking yourself back to 1979, when 25 years ago this week (September 7th) ESPN, the ubiquitous, multi-billion dollar, all-encompassing behemoth that is a sports channel, first broadcast to the US cable market. It was the start of things to come and revolutionised the way we think of sports, watch sports and spend on sports.
From humble beginnings, ESPN broadcasts 65 different sports and has more than 5,100 live sports programming with the nightly SportsCenter, the firm favourite, attracting some 88 million viewers each month.
As Setanta Sports grows from humble pickings such as the Celtic League and Eircom League Cup, it's worth revisiting ESPN's birth 25 years ago. Its founder was Bill Rasmussen, who was 46 years of age and had just been fired from his job as sports information officer for the ice hockey team, New England Whalers.
Lying around in unemployed idleness, Rasmussen had the idea to try to establish a regional network to show local college basketball games.
In discussions with friends, someone mentioned satellite reception was about to open up (thanks to the ongoing space programmes) and could be an area for cheap broadcasting. Further inquiries revealed there were two options open to him: for normal cable use, it would cost $1,250 per day or there was the less popular alternative of 24-hour cable use costing $34, 167 per month. Quick calculations costed the 24-hour option at $1,139 per day and Rasmussen had his mind made up.
Soon after, the Wall Street Journal ran a front-page story detailing how developments in satellite technology would revolutionise cable television. Then everyone wanted a piece of cable but Rasmussen was at the top of the queue having secured his 24-hour slot.
In September 1978, Entertainment Sports Programming Network TV was born. Rasmussen's phones were hopping with people wanting to buy his space on the cable but he wasn't interested in selling - merely filling the 24 hours of sport each day that was required was enough to occupy his mind.
But, Getty Oil came along and pumped $10 million into the project buying 85 per cent of the company stock which was to become the seed from which the sports channel was to grow.
As David Halberstam describes in his book on Michael Jordan, Playing for Keeps, "Without anyone entirely realising it, the future of sports had arrived. The attention that America had focused on its athletes, which had grown with the coming of radio, grown again with the coming of network television, was about to take another huge jump, one that this time would enhance all sports."
However, ESPN TV, which only officially became ESPN after a printing error omitted the last two letters, was haemorrhaging money, losing some $30 million in its first year and a reported $40 million by 1982, but in 1984, when ABC bought the channel from Texaco for $237 million, ESPN was on the up and ABC's slick production abilities tailored the product perfectly to the medium.
Bill Rasmussen was squeezed out of the company soon after (but making a tidy $30 million from the deal) and was always amazed how he, with no TV or broadcasting background, could stumble upon an idea that caught on like wildfire and would have such an impact on the world of sports.
Twenty five years on and Rasmussen's unique idea is still reverberating around the world.
Ireland now is only getting its own sports channel - a quarter of a century after America's first one - and who knows how much it can expand by.
For CNN there is now Al-Jazeera so will we see something similar to ESPN for the Arab world? Or maybe since FoxNews has become so popular there will be a Republican Sports Network to be followed quickly by a Democratic version? Just think of the possibilities for this country.
Since we're now in the midst of a TV sports revolution over here, to try to figure out what's coming our way for 2020, just have a look at what is going on in the USA. "Right now, you're standing on the edge of tomorrow" were the first prophetic words spoken by ESPN's young sportscaster Lee Leonard on the opening night of broadcast in 1979 but for now, we're happy enough to be playing catch up in TV Sport - a mere 25 years on.
PS - Rasmussen's original idea of a network broadcasting college sports is becoming a reality with ESPN announcing their latest channel, ESPNU, which will cater for purely college sports from March, 2005.
Also this week
GAA to play matches in new Northern Ireland stadium. The Ulster Council of the GAA took many by surprise by agreeing to stage up to six matches a year in the proposed new 30,000-seater stadium for Northern Ireland. Costing £55 million, it will be based on the old Maze prison site and will be shared by soccer, rugby and now the GAA. Question is, though, why would the Ulster Council agree to it when they have many other stadiums to play in and which will cost them money? Is there something in it in the long term for them?
Critics of Irish athletes' performances in Athens watch out. British Olympic gold medal-winning sprinter Darren Campbell has demanded an on-air apology from the BBC for comments made by their pundit Michael Johnson when he questioned if Campbell was feigning an injury in the 200 metres semi-final. If the BBC refuse to make an apology, Campbell's solicitors say they are prepared to take the corporation to court.
G14, the body representing Europe's most powerful clubs, last week elected its new Board and President. For the next two years, the management board will be: Roberto Bettega (vice-president Juventus), David Dein (vice-president Arsenal), Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa (president FC Porto), Joan Laporta (president FC Barcelona) and Michael Meier (managing director Borussia Dortmund).
