The amount of money invested by amateur coaches in the US is something out of the ordinary and makes us ask the question, "Why?".
10K on a kid's game?
La Talacha
Paying the best adult players in the city anywhere between 50$ and 400$ a game to play for you is something really interesting to see from the outside. I have so many questions for the coaches that pay players but I think I could answer them myself.
Parents Ruin The Game
Let me quickly address my opening question. It actually happened in a kid's game where parents from each team ended up betting a bit over 10k on their kid's game. This is the worst thing a parent could do to their kid. Kids should be playing for their own entertainment and not to buy their parent's a new truck. I can't even imagine how the parents on the losing side treated their kids for not winning that game. I only know of this case but if they bet this much on one game, I'm guessing it's more common with smaller amounts of money on the line.
The Male Fantasy
Now, let's talk about the adults. I could care less how adults spend their money which is why I don't criticize those who invest thousands on their teams. I find it interesting and I think they're the reason we, the fans, get to enjoy some great games in the weekend leagues.
I think many guys have this "desire" or whatever you want to call it, to coach or own a sports team. Whether it's through videogames like FIFA, Football Manager, or Fantasy Leagues, I think we all enjoy the feeling of managing players. There has to be research behind this out there but that's for another day.
This "guy urge" to manage a team might be the reason amateur coaches and owners invest money in having good teams for tournaments. They're not seeing their return on investment unless they win a big tourney or bet more money than they spend on one game. It just doesn't make sense to the regular fan of the beautiful game. This comes back to the "guy urge" and I think it's a sense of pride in owning and coaching your players. Maybe there's more to it than just this but I'm too scared to ask one of these coaches we speak about.
The players who get paid to play amateur games and tourney are usually 18-35 years of age. I'll start with the only negative of these players which is their inflated egos. After they get their ref and entrance covered once, they think they're too good to pitch in for referee with their friends' team. Other than that, these players are living the life. Most of them probably work during the week and then make more money to play the game they love. Win or lose, they make their money and make even more money in some cases when they win a game. The only problem they might face is a coach not wanting to pay them, which for sure has happened in the past.
CONTACT US
If you get paid to play in Chicago or pay your players and are willing to come out in a video, please leave a comment or email us at chifooty@gmail.com. It would make an interesting video and I know it would get a lot of views on TikTok. After all, we make content to entertain and grow the page.