Madness of Crowds - Forbes.com: ""
An old article but useful.
The world's most popular professional sport is a study in financial contrasts and often desperation.
Stockport County Football Club is almost literally in the shadow of Manchester United, the world's wealthiest sports franchise. Situated just a few miles down the road from Old Trafford, Man U.'s legendary arena, the soccer club attracts a mere 6,500 people on its best day, pulling in just $8.5 million in sales a year. But thousands of miles away, in Chinese cities like Shenyang, Wuhan and Beijing, the tiny 121-year-old Stockport club is the hottest thing going. There a team that has long struggled on the English playing field draws 25,000 people to matches. This May Stockport will be the first professional soccer outfit to play in Urumqi, Xinjiang province, the city said to be farthest in the world from a sea. "People will travel for four days to watch us in China," says Steve D. Bellis, the team's international marketing manager.