Do you Sit or Stand?

Proof that the free market has determined things you never even take time to think about: such as whether you prefer to sit or stand at a sporting event.

The Wall Street Journal ran this interesting story about why Americans tend to sit at sporting events while people in other countries usually stand. Perhaps it also helps to explain why soccer never really caught on in this country either. We like to sit, we like to relax, we like sports with natural, relaxing pauses in the action, like baseball or football, as opposed to the constant action of futball.

But as The Sports Economist speculates, the issue may have more to do with the market than with anything else. British and European sports were mostly about entertainment for the working classes. Working class people did not have much money (period) to spend on luxuries like sporting events, so there was no incentive for the owners of teams to build nice stadiums or provide amenities like actual places to sit. Thus, spectators would stand around in large "terraces" to watch the action. When Stamford Bridge, one of the most famous soccer pitches in the world, first opened in 1905, it had only 500 seats, but room for over 90,000 people to stand.

On the other hand, American spectator sports that were developing at the same time were a money-making enterprise from the very start. Early baseball owners, building the first real stadiums, decided that catering to the lower classes was not going to make them any money, so they targeted the upper and developing middle classes. Those people also enjoyed sports, but they were also willing to pay a little more if you provided them with a place to sit. So owners did the smart thing, built grandstands, and brought in the cash.

Many early baseball stadiums included standing room, but usually WAY in the outfield - as you can see from this famous picture of the 1903 World Series at Boston's South End Grounds; or this picture of Washington Park (home of the Brooklyn Dodgers) in 1909 (yes, I'm kind of a geek for old time baseball stadiums). By the 1920s, however, "modern" ballparks like Fenway Park, Ebbets Field, and Yankee Stadium were being built that included seating all the way around the outfield.

And so, cultural traditions were born out of these different approaches to the market.

These traditions are still with us today: When the English Premier League tried to outlaw standing-only sections a few years back, it was met with protests from all sides. And, though standing room sections have become increasingly popular at American ballparks, they are not a true alternative - you still usually have to buy a ticket to an actual seat to get in.