I wan't going to comment on this thread... but now feel the need seeing some of the comments.
Bias Alert: not in this response, but..
I am a Finance Major
I live in the world of maximizing shareholder value (not necessarily a bad thing. See: Panera, Whole Foods, Tom's Shoes... all maximizing shareholder value via social responsibility.
I go to a "conservative" university
I am a skier :)
Guys, this is a business show. The entire focus of this show is to highlight stories in the market that are examples of cool/prudent/relevant news to the market as a whole, so money can be made.
Now, money being made, or money spent on advertising, is not necessarily a bad thing. Put plainly, most professional skiers are in the BUSINESS OF ADVERTISING.
Now why would a loyal NS member say this? Because it is a fact. Companies would not sponsor skiers if they weren't generating some kind of return for it.
Take Salomon's red and White G-Suit from a few years back. Trend-setters like the Martinis, and Edollo rocked that thing. All of a sudden, everyone and their mother was rocking that outfit. Do you think the guys at Salomon did a financial analysis projecting the return on that product? Do you think they asked people like Edollo about how they wanted the outerwear to fit so it would look cool and sell more?
YOU BET YOUR ASS THEY DID!
Look, professional athletes are sponsored so products can be associated with the "coolness" of the sport of skiing, of individuals who are on the cutting edge. Despite what everyone says, even the Nimbus guys, they represent a lifestyle and a brand and are funding the machines of our industry today.
Fox Business wished to highlight that. that is the world they live in. Its the world we somewhat live in, as skiers.
Now, that money is being put to good use. More money means more competitions and more chances for the firms to advertise. It brings events like the RedBull Cold Rush, the X Games, IF3, etc. Yes, the corporations are getting into your minds and taking your money...
but they are making new ski designs with that money, better outerwear, more camps, more comps, bigger jumps, etc.
The pursuit of economic gain isn't necessarily a bad thing. This show just did a bad job of highlighting that.
At the end of the day, corporations are trying to associate themselves with the soul of skiing, which at it's core, is being true to yourself and having fun. No corporation can touch that, because the actual entity isn't human.
But you better believe money is involved. Resorts, ski companies, NS even, would not exist if there wasn't some type of long term profitability involved.
That being said, Ski Industry, Hire me :).
