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Just after winning the World Cup of 2010, FIFA officials handed the trophy to the team captain of the Spanish team rather than to the coach or a team owner (in this case, an official of Spain).  In contrast, at the Kentucky Derby, the honors went to the horse’s owner, rather than to the jockey. The distinctively American value on wealth could not be more evident, and the contrast with the World Cup confirms it.  We value wealth so much that we regularly hand trophies to team owners rather than to the players, even as the world does otherwise.  Hence when George Steinbrenner died, the NYT ran a front-page article describing him as “a visionary and a giant in the world of sports.” To be sure, he was a notable team owner. However, in terms of the winning, what of the players and coach of the renowned Yankee teams that won the World Series? It was their talent that was decisive. It is odd at best that at Steinbrenner’s last appearance at the 2010 home owner, the manager and team captain presented him with his 2009 World Series championship ring. That being an owner would justify getting a ring evinces a sort of sordid category mistake—and at the very least an over-reaching.  Putting money on the table does not mean you won; rather, to be out on the field would be necessary.  Sports, in other words, cannot be vicariously won.  Yet wealth is vaunted so in the U.S. that such a stretch is accepted without question.  So, too, we allow physcians to go by the “Dr.” title in front of their names even though they have not earned a doctorate (unless they have the D.Sci. M. degree, which is the graduate degree in Medicine, for which the first degree—the MD—is a prerequisite).  I would even say that we (meaning Americans) are blind to how distortive our dominant value on wealth is, and how it has been exploited.  Essentially, I am pointing to a societal blind-spot rather than merely complaining over trophy ceremonies. Once the blind-spot becomes transparent, it is apt to be approached differently.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/14/sports/baseball/14steinbrenner.html?ref=sports