Spotlight: what is it about sports and web3?

About the Thirdwork Writers Spotlight

Our 'Thirdwork Writers Spotlight' is a guest post series that allows us to feature content by talented writers, builders and contributors from across web3. If you're interested in contributing, email us at founder@thirdwork.xyz or shoot us a DM.

Community, Passion, and Money

Sports and Web3 closely occupy many of the same areas of the brain (anecdotally) and it makes sense they complement each other in many ways.

Sports communities are becoming more popular in Web3 because entrepreneurs are using the power of blockchain to enable popular life experiences (sports), give fans more power (voting), and make crowdfunding more accessible (NFTs).

More than a JPEG

Vehicles are to a highway, what NFTs are to the blockchain (and crypto is the gas).

Gone are the days where NFTs were just digital pictures you can only own like art (not that there’s anything wrong with that). NFT applications are advancing and can be used more like business tools that leverage the power of built-in smart contracts.

NFTs can be many things all in one: Keys to unlock digital gates, community votes, proof of purchase, identification, merit, status, investments, memorabilia, and collectibles; all secured as possessions to a unique wallet address you own on a blockchain.

More clubs are using blockchain boards and NFTs as an online utility mechanism that 3rd Party tools couldn’t do harmoniously or without integration pitfalls.

Which Sports are Doing Web3?

Basketball, baseball, racing, and football have done well in the past with collectibles on marketplaces like NBA TopShot, Candy, and Autograph. 

Teams like The Golden State Warriors and The Mavericks have launched their own team NFTs and given fans something to keep as a memento. Tom Brady alongside major figures in professional sports have created a new NFT access point for rare fandom experiences.

Those major sports establish a relationship with spectator-fan communities. Sports communities with fans who also play the sport have even more to offer. Not only can those members access professional experiences, but they get to access unique playing experiences.

I’d Like to Turn Your Attention to Golf

Golf is one of the largest sports in the world where fans are widely active players in the sport throughout their lifetime. Golf has seen a huge boom in the last couple of decades; mostly from Tiger Woods, and more recently, the pandemic.

During a golfer’s lifetime, they passionately follow professional events, are educated on sporting equipment, drive an athletic apparel industry, and play as much as they can with their friends and family. 

There is serious community, passion, and money flowing through golf. Given the right catalyst, all of these things can come together and build a pretty great Web3 experience for golfers; pro and amateur.

Who’s Setting the Standard in Web3 Golf?

A community of entrepreneurial golfers took inspiration from The ConstitutionDAO who wanted to buy the constitution through $47 million crypto fundraising.

The project showed a group of people could use blockchain mechanisms as a means to quickly  crowdfund a passion project. Fast forward a couple of weeks and LinksDAO raised $11 million in 48 hours from over five thousand people who wanted to go buy a golf course.

The project has come a long way since mint and is closing in on the first golf course purchase; which will seem more like the “cherry on top.” So much goes into running a sports Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) that requires a mix of NFTs, blockchain, and democratization.

Here are some primary ways LinksDAO (The Golf DAO) uses NFT and blockchain to empower their community:

1. NFTs sales are the mechanism to collect club initiation dues from new members. 
2. Anyone can buy and sell their passes across marketplaces (like OpenSea and LooksRare) and initiation dues always come back to the club since they share the same blockchain.
3. LinksDAO leverages a Dune blockchain dashboard so the public can be informed of what’s happening with the community funds in real-time before deciding to join.
4. Blockchain allows members to view real-time treasury fund movement on the public ledger and remove worries about nefarious activity.
5. The LinksDAO NFT can be used to collect votes from members on community proposals regarding code of conduct or club expenditures; using such voting platforms like Snapshot. 
6. Smart contracts are used to encode a fixed number of votes in the NFT. Members can use their NFT votes to express their voice to influence expenditures like which golf course to purchase.
7. This membership pass is also used as a key to unlock limited perks and partnership benefits for members.
8. Partnerships have played a major role in providing value to members. This NFT-gated page allows partners to know their discounts are rewarding active members of this golf community.

There are other active Web3 golf communities worth exploring:

• 8bitTeeTime Limited Edition NFTs - Art, Collectible, Community
• Crypto Country Club Limited Edition NFTs - Collectible, Community
• Headcover DAO - Collectible, Community, DAO
• Links Lynx Genesis Limited Edition NFTs - Collectible, Fantasy
• Malbon NFT - Collectible, Apparel
• Bee Keeper Society - Collectible, Putters
• Swag Skull Collection - Collectible, Headcovers

Closing 

To recap, Web3 and sports share community-driven, passionate people. These organizations require healthy financial streams and community participation across the world to ensure longevity. 

NFTs remove financial barriers while working as operational tools needed to move funds transparently and empower democratic memberships.

Web3 is bringing athletes closer to fans, but it’s also bringing fans closer together to build a strong community bond.

Golf continues to be one of the stronger bonding experiences in sports and it shows why LinksDAO is not laying this one up.

Transparently, I’m an active contributor to LinksDAO and own LinksDAO NFTs. Also, I love golf and most sports.

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Ethan “Eth” Bailey

Web3 Community Leader

ethanhbailey.eth

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