When word started trickling in yesterday evening about a potential taxpayer-funded bailout of AIG, my thoughts surprisingly didn’t turn to the disastrous precedent this is setting for government involvement in private markets, but more to how this affects sports.
As followers of joga bonito know, AIG is the lead jersey sponsor for the world’s most popular football team (no, not the Dallas Cowboys) — Manchester United. In 2006, AIG agreed to pay $100 million to have their company letters adorned upon the front of ManU’s jerseys for the next four seasons.
So, given the developments of the bailout, does this mean that ManU’s jerseys should be changed to read "US Taxpayers"?
I’m sure that will go over well in the rest of the world.
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