﻿ Allen R. Sanderson, Bend It Like (Yogi) Berra | Library of
Economics and Liberty  Bend It Like (Yogi) Berra  Allen R.
Sanderson* "In the United States we structure most competitive
contests to ensure that talent and performance are the main
determinants of outcomes." On the afternoon of July 9, like
millions—maybe even billions—of other people around the globe, I
sat on a couch to witness the World Cup finals between Italy and
France. I watched the game with 20 French economics students who
were spending the summer at the University of Chicago, and who
were, in the end, more depressed about the outcome of that title
game than they were about their own economy. But not only were
they more interested in the whole spectacle than I was, the same
would have been largely true even if France has not been in the
final game. First and foremost it was the championship game for
soccer itself, or "football" in French and other languages.
Throughout the entire 2+ hour ordeal, I kept asking myself: Why
would anyone wast