As others have said in this thread, I think this article is expressing nostalgia for a very niche type of sports bar... the "Cheers" type watering hole where people would go after work for a beer, etc. and those places have been dying out long before COVID-19. [Reply]
Originally Posted by wazu:
Forcing closure of businesses until they break is not a part of natural re-ordering of the economy. Were there trends that might have eventually ended with businesses like these dying out? Maybe, eventually. In the meantime these businesses may well have provided money and employment to their local economies for decades to come.
This is a better way to say what I was trying to say.
More than just the economic contributions of the individual wrecked business, wiping out whole industries in short timeframes from an external force never works out well.
A cursory review of the industrial revolution will bear out several depressions that were started by some level of volatility thrust upon fledgling industries which wiped out massive swaths of industry. Which wiped out the economies of massive swaths of the country, which definitely moved the needle on a macroeconomic scale. That led to the rise of monopolies, price fixing, all associated shenanigans, blah blah blah.
And that was natural forces, in a few industries. This is external forces in huge numbers of industries. I'm not smart enough to know, but I do know enough not to rule too much out. [Reply]
Bottom line is this, if it were to all happen organically, sure, fine whatever. But when insane volatility is introduced into markets, whatever/whereever it is, its bloody, and in most cases, the economy writ large is worse off for it.
This is exactly where I am at on this.
Small business goes under, big business survives and takes a stronger foothold. Its the absolute last thing we want to happen.
All the people saying well I don't go out anyway, well good for you, and you likely are the people eating at Applebee's when you do go out anyway. Some of us focus on local business and purposefully spend their money there and its 9 x out of 10 a better product as well.
If you want to do something that's actually beneficial to you, spend your money locally whenever you can. 2 places I loved going to locally have closed permanently (along with several other establishments) and another is barely hanging on. [Reply]
Large corporations have deep pockets. Small businesses contribute to the local economy but they don't contribute to money that changes hands in Washington DC.
I'm sure this will end up getting sent to DC but so be it.
Corporations run our elections, pay our representatives, and enforce "laws" that could never be enforced in the public sphere, like limiting freedom of speech because you might offend someone. [Reply]
Outside of a BWW to catch a UFC events... I've spent exactly zero minutes in a sports bar.
We started getting the PPV at a buddy's house instead after a handful of negative interactions with "Affliction" brand wearing douchebags that thought they were UFC super stars along with pretty shitty yet still high food prices.
If I'm gonna force myself to interact with a bunch of strangers for the sake of a sporting event... it will be because I'm in attendance. Otherwise, sports bars are a relic. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
Regarding the bigger-picture stuff in the OP, I guess I'm less bothered by it because I see COVID as an accelerant of these kinds of trends rather than as a true game changer. Sports bars were already dying. Office buildings were already starting to thin out as people worked remotely. Restaurants were already moving to delivery.
The entities that truly have staying power (e.g., sports) will come back soon. It's those that were on shaky ground in the first place that are in trouble. And while that's sad, it's not necessarily anything new. Did anyone shed a tear when Blockbuster went under? People have ranted about Walmart putting mom and pop shops out of business for decades, but have we stopped shopping there? Business models come and go. And while I do feel bad for the people who are impacted, the world will reconfigure to the "new normal," and life will go on.
Live music venues were THRIVING before the pandemic.
The music scene in 2017-2018 was the strongest it has been in 30 years here.
In March of last year, it all came to a grinding halt and the extended absence of performances has led to several venues closing forever.
Many many performers have given up because they can't afford to do it anymore.
The "new normal" is a fucking bleak wasteland with no artistic or creative input. Pure corporatism and consumption, like robots. [Reply]
No, it's simply capitalism. Big businesses have more assets to survive short term troubles. Small businesses generally do not. Local bars and restaurants have survived on a very thin margin month to month for a long time. They're dependent on consistent profit. This is the result of plain old uncaring market capitalism. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DaFace:
If I'm hanging out with people, I'm usually at my place or theirs. I've never understood the appeal of bars in general. If you're referring to the ESU days, for example, I think I went to Bruff's once, and my roommate took me to some shady one out to the west of town a bit once. I think that is the extent of my bar visitation in college.
Originally Posted by htismaqe:
Large corporations have deep pockets. Small businesses contribute to the local economy but they don't contribute to money that changes hands in Washington DC.
I'm sure this will end up getting sent to DC but so be it.
Corporations run our elections, pay our representatives, and enforce "laws" that could never be enforced in the public sphere, like limiting freedom of speech because you might offend someone.
Yup. The more we allow corporations to lobby lawmakers, the more our laws will favor large corporations and disfavor small business. It happens on both sides of the aisle too. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Mephistopheles Janx:
Outside of a BWW to catch a UFC events... I've spent exactly zero minutes in a sports bar.
We started getting the PPV at a buddy's house instead after a handful of negative interactions with "Affliction" brand wearing douchebags that thought they were UFC super stars along with pretty shitty yet still high food prices.
If I'm gonna force myself to interact with a bunch of strangers for the sake of a sporting event... it will be because I'm in attendance. Otherwise, sports bars are a relic.
It's not really any different than the arcade, when people can get the same or better experience in their home they tend to stay home. [Reply]
