Good Sports Get off the sidelines and into the game! Starting a business based on professional sports could put you in the big leagues.

The crunching of body parts, as 300-pound linebackers slam into each other. The crack of the bat, as Sammy Sosa slams another ball, whipping through the air and into a stadium full of thousands of cheering fans. Millionaire giants lunge for a ball, hoping for the chance to seize a brief moment of glory and win one for the team.

There are a hundred dozen ways to explain the appeal of sports--and yet no way to explain it. You either get it or you don't.

But one thing is for sure: "Sports" is plural; it's almost always about the team. There are a few exceptions, like golf and tennis, but most sports are a group effort. That's why fans always shout "We won," instead of "You won." But as some entrepreneurs know, you can be part of a winning team without being able to pitch a 95-mile-an-hour fastball. You don't even have to paint your face green and scream like a lunatic in 25-degree weather. You can be part of a team by starting a business in the professional sports industry.