This same violent spirit is being manifested more and more in soccer. Heitor Amorim, former goalkeeper for the São Paulo Corinthians soccer team, Brazil, comments: “I left soccer in 1970 and at that time it was in a phase of transition. It was changing from a game of skill to one of force. Art and skill began to give way to violence. I believe that if Pelé [perhaps the greatest soccer player ever] were playing today he would not be able to pull off 50% of the marvellous plays he did in the 60’s. Violence would thwart him. And the fans would go along with it. They seem to love violence.”

According to the Argentine daily La Nacion, the Boca Juniors soccer club deposited the equivalent of $1 million as “payment of the first quota for the definite purchase of Diego Armando Maradona,” one of Argentina’s star soccer players. From Australia it is reported: “Now the sky’s the limit and football is big business, with each of the 12 Victorian Football League clubs having an annual turnover of about $1 million [Australian dollars].”

What is the end result of big business involvement in sports? Increased violence. Why? Because sports now require vast incomes from its spectators and television channels. That means the consumer has to be converted into a sports addict in order to guarantee a constant vast inflow of cash. How is that accomplished? By supplying what the customer demands​—excitement. And excitement usually means violence. Thus the self-sustaining cycle is established. The coaches have to teach and demand violence because the fans (abbreviation for “fanatics”) want it. And the business moguls want their profits. And the media, to boost their own sales, alternate between adulation and accusation. Caught in the middle of this vicious circle are the players who have to come up with the goods​—action, excitement and violence.