Sunday Forum: The Story of ‘Mo the Waiter’

Good Sunday morning, and I wish everyone a Happy Passover and Easter. A few things to start your week …

• More reader feedback on “Soul Power,” Dr. J, and Team vs. League
• The first drop of some of your favorite sports documentaries
• This Week’s Forum: Sir Mohamed Mansour’s remarkable journey

This week’s magazine features the first of the 2026 Champions profiles, and I strongly encourage you to read Bill King’s feature on Billy Payne, which includes one of the best sidebars ever to appear in SBJ — how Payne prepped for a meeting with a key Russian Olympic official when trying to land the ’96 Summer Games. It’s just fantastic. Reviewing my notes from our visit, two quotes from Payne about his personal style stood out and resonated with me:

“The best prepare, and prepare so much.”

“The great equalizer is effort.”

A story that caught my eye this week was one of the best cricket players in India, Ravichandran Ashwin, signing with the San Francisco Unicorns for the upcoming Major League Cricket season. What else stood out was Ashwin’s strong social media following, with more than 5 million Instagram followers. The six-team MLC plays matches at sites in Texas, Los Angeles and Oakland. Don’t sleep on cricket; it has real momentum on the investment side, mostly from those wanting to invest in the Indian Premier League. The question in the U.S. is more complex. Yes, the growth potential is intriguing with a strong immigrant population, their love of the sport and cricket being part of the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. To me, the question around MLC is the business model: Do they focus on building infrastructure and selling tickets, when there’s not a lot of domestic interest, or do they focus on developing a media product that they can take to the global marketplace and satisfy the insatiable demand for the sport in India and Pakistan?

DEALS OF THE WEEK

→ The deal of the week was Publicis acquiring 160over90. A couple of points: The deal surprised me, as I know how much WME Group liked having 160over90 in its portfolio. Years ago, WME President Mark Shapiro told me point blank they weren’t going to sell the agency business when Endeavor went private because it provided access to the brands and it was good for their athletes and talent. Many agencies have approached WME about buying 160over90, as its experiential division and assets are well-regarded, but talks never went anywhere. So, this must have been a deal too good to refuse and I’m told negotiations went fast, completed in a few months.

While the Wall Street Journal put the deal at $500 million, with an earn out, it could mean more for WME Group. It’s a bigger number than I anticipated, but difficult to pin down exactly the size of return based on revenue/EBITDA. Publicis is clearly building a sports agency power around media, strategic consulting, experiential, activation and content. They’ve been rolling up agencies — Bespoke in Charlotte being one — and this was a really big one for their portfolio. I heard Publicis Sports CEO Suzy Deering did a town hall on Thursday, the day of the deal, which was well received.

→ The stadium deal I’m asked the most about is what’s next for the Chicago Bears. The team hopes to make a decision between Indiana and Illinois by this summer. There’s a reason for that timeline: The Bears seem to feel comfortable about their deal outline in Indiana, and the Illinois General Assembly session ends in May. So, by then, they will know where things stand in Illinois, and if they aren’t comfortable, that’s when they will really have to determine if they are serious about moving to Indiana. Another factor to the timeline: getting the stadium done in time to host events around the Women’s World Cup and Rugby World Cup in 2031.

My guess is that Illinois, an incredibly difficult political landscape to get a deal done of this magnitude, still makes it happen. I also believe the potential of the Arlington Heights location is a far more appealing, attractive and compelling for the Bears over the long term. Yes, Indiana may have a better up-front deal, but long-term, one could argue the better result for the team and fans would be Arlington Heights.

MORE FEEDBACK ON THE “TEAM VS. LEAGUE” DEBATE

Some readers took exception to last week’s claims that leagues are cannibalizing team inventory. For example, one wondered how NBA teams could complain about the league’s new national deals negatively affecting local team revenue when national TV revenue went up by $40 million per team. One wrote, “The math doesn’t support the idea that the national gains are cannibalizing local business in any significant way.” As another NBA exec wrote to me, “The national agreements are actually adding substantial value, not shifting it around.”

I dug into the NBA issue more, and the average number of additional exclusive national appearances per team is fewer than two games, which should have little impact on local inventory and a team’s overall media strategy. Several sources also cited data shared widely that indicated NBA team revenues are up 10% this year, which counters the notion of team revenue being affected by league sales.

Finally, a reader shared this, which is a good final word: “There has always been the rub between the league office and team office. I don’t agree with the point made that both sides are fighting over a pie that’s not getting bigger — sure, it’s the same pie, but the pie IS getting bigger, and that’s because teams and leagues are working together to drive that — look no further than the agreement to add new inventory.”

FEEDBACK ON “SOUL POWER: THE LEGENDS OF THE ABA”

“You didn’t touch on the fact that after the ‘merger,’ the ABA players DOMINATED the NBA landscape, from the All-Star Game selections, to MVP, to teams in the finals. It really was amazing.”

After writing about his dad, and my uncle, this was from my cousin, Jim Ralph, professor at Middlebury College, on his memories of Julius Erving:

“One day, my brother Lee and I were shooting baskets outside at the Wildwood Elementary School in Amherst, behind our house, when a group of UMass basketball players came to shoot around, and Julius was one of those players. We were in shock, but we went up to them and told them that we were the sons of Dr. Ralph and were greeted warmly. So Lee and I (age 10 and 9, respectively) can laugh by legitimately state that we shared a basketball court with Julius Erving.

At that time, UMass played all of its games in Curry Hicks Cage, an old-time gym, with bleachers and a balcony (where we sat) extending around the gym, the capacity was something like 4,000, so you felt very close to the action. Julius’ teams were very, very good, and so the atmosphere in Curry Hicks was electric. And it became even more electric when Julius (not yet known as Dr. J.) did something unbelievable on the court as he often did. Dunking wasn’t allowed during games, but we all saw how high he could jump. Sometimes, players would sneak in a dunk during warm-ups — when the refs weren’t looking — and the home crowd would go wild.”

His brother, and my cousin, Jon Ralph, partner at Freeman Spogli:

“Freshmen weren’t allowed to play on the varsity team, so fans would pack Curry Hicks Cage to watch Julius play on the Freshman team and many would leave before the Varsity game started.

Our Dad would share the story that when Julius first arrived as a Freshman at UMass, he was only 6-2 or 6-3. While our Dad gave him his physical, he looked at Julius’ unusually large hands and feet, and told him he thought he was still growing. Julius grew another 4 inches that year.”

I appreciate all the feedback on your top sports documentaries. I’m going to roll out responses weekly and then have one full summary later.

One reader: “The Endless Summer”: I’m not a surfer or even a surfing fan, but I think this is the perfect road trip movie. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to surf these places for the first time.

NFL Films, John Facenda Era: Nothing has ever surpassed this in my mind. That voice, the music, the cinematography. I’ve watched these since I was in elementary school, and they’re a big reason why I love the NFL. I could listen to Facenda read the phone book, but personal favorites include Lombardi, They Call It Pro Football, The Championship Chase, and Super Bowl X Highlights.

“The Hard Chargers” (NASCAR): It captures NASCAR in the early 1970s before it took off nationally. At one point, Cale Yarborough crashes out and heads home during the race to beat the traffic.

The one I’m most looking forward to … is the Andre Agassi docuseries on Apple: Agassi was my favorite as a kid, so I can’t wait to see what they do with this series.

Another reader: One of the most underrated documentaries from the last decade is Ben Simmons’ “One & Done.”

Others that should be in your mix:

“Court of Gold”

“Last Chance U”

“Thrilla in Manila”

“Hoop Dreams”

→ Players and staff from the Gainbridge Super League’s Carolina Ascent came in to visit SBJ this week and it was refreshing to hear these players’ stories. They are so genuine, well-spoken, and passionate about growing their sport on the professional level, and very appreciative of the opportunities they have. Their interest in working with brands and within the community was impressive. They converted a number of SBJ staffers into ticket buyers.

→ I first met Simon Wardle in the mid-1990s when Sports Business Daily was located in South Norwalk, Conn. We were both trying to learn, grow and build relationships in the industry, and this Brit with a Ph.D. in aerospace materials from the University of Birmingham said so many things that just went over my head. He combined a wry sense of humor with great intelligence about fandom and trends, and I would often lean on his expertise. In sports for nearly three decades, and 23 at Octagon, the last year took its toll, as he lost both parents and two brothers. That would shake all of us, and as he shared with me, he realized, “I am not going to live forever, and nothing is guaranteed.” Wardle’s still young, has a lot to give, but good for him to retire from Octagon, and he is set to build a house in my home state of Vermont. Enjoy this next chapter, Simon!

→ A great image in our Photos of the Week below: The WISE Women of the Year is always a strong event and this year, another three accomplished leaders were honored — Ticketmaster’s Marla Ostroff, Canopy Team’s Janet Marie Smith and Billie Jean King Enterprises’ Ilana Kloss. All three have done so much to advance the industry, and this honor is well-deserved.

→ If you missed Morning Buzzcast, check out this week’s episodes here.

→ Remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel.

→ We are just over a week away from the CAA World Congress of Sports at L.A. Live. We are close to hitting record attendance and it’s an event that you won’t want to miss. Let me know if you have any questions.

Check out our Early Access stories from this week’s magazine, coming out tomorrow, and then this week’s Forum, which tells the remarkable story of one of MLS’s newest owners, Sir Mohamed Mansour.

“Every difficult time teaches a person to improve.”

Few people give that comment more credence than Sir Mohamed Mansour, the Egyptian billionaire and owner of MLS’s San Diego FC. He said that recently at our Business of Soccer conference, a rare public appearance where he took the stage and, through his understated charisma, delivered one of the most powerful personal stories I can recall.

An audience fully expecting the typical comments of a wealthy team owner was instead inspired by a tale of true strength, resilience and gratitude from a global business titan who has a true love of America. Onstage, Mansour sat simply and talked about growing up in a wealthy Egyptian family with a love of soccer, as his uncle played for the national team. “Soccer, and sports, is in our blood,” he told a standing-room-only audience in the club level at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

But his lavish life was anything but easy: He experienced his first difficult challenge at 10, when he was seriously injured after being hit by a car. “I was deprived of everything I wanted, which is the passion of sport, because I was a good football player, runner, swimmer, tennis player, and I was in bed for three years,” he said in a firm, yet sad, reflective tone. “Can you imagine?” With the severity of his injuries, doctors wanted to amputate his leg, but the young Mansour pleaded with his parents, who would be by his bed, “‘Please, no! Please, you can’t,’” he remembered. “And I lived through it. I stayed in bed for three years.”

He described being in a full-body cast and how he was forced to sleep by sitting and leaning forward into the palms of his hands, almost like Rodin’s “The Thinker,” unable to lay down or sleep on his side. His friends visited him shortly after the accident, but quickly stopped, and he felt alone. “So, I read American comic books — Batman, Superman, everything. I read a lot and studied.” The isolation and confinement made him stronger. “I told myself, ‘If you have the willpower, you can continue,’” he remembered.

With an admiration for America, he left Egypt, enrolling at N.C. State at 15. While at college, a revolution ripped through his home country and his well-to-do family was stripped of its wealth. Instead of getting $200 checks from home, the funding stopped and the 16-year-old went to work at a local restaurant as a waiter, earning paltry tips. “I learned the value of money during that period,” he said. “‘Mo The Waiter’ learned the value of money and hard work.”

At the age of 20, Mansour faced another hardship when he was diagnosed with cancer. “This was back in 1968. You can imagine, that was the big ‘C’ then. It meant death,” he said. But he again cited his resilience, strength and great medical care, exclaiming, “Here I am today at 78!”, which drew widespread applause.

Mansour’s story is amazing: He got his degree in textiles at N.C. State, received his MBA at Auburn and ended up going back to Egypt to eventually build a global conglomerate around the automotive, supplies and logistic sectors. He worked for the Egyptian government and was knighted in 2023. His love of soccer led him to acquire the global football academy Right To Dream, and launch San Diego FC with the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation tribe in 2023. Right To Dream is its own amazing story, which I first wrote about in 2017, as it develops top-tier soccer talent while offering a full education and character development. With academies around the world, he opened a Right To Dream Academy in San Diego. “Our first class has 18 kids, and they are amazing,” he said. He is not done, as his vision is to build 100 soccer pitches and train 100 coaches for the underserved areas of the city. “This will be from my budget every year, so that soccer is ingrained more and more in the community,” he said. “I’m starting something in San Diego because I love San Diego.”

On this day in Atlanta, attendees heard from an elegant, distinguished global statesman, who listens more than he talks. Knighthood is fitting, as Sir Mohamed has a natural warmth, and a stature which draws everyone’s attention. Spending his formative years — from 15 years old to 25 — in America, he isn’t shy about his admiration for this country’s spirit. “I always believed in America,” he beamed, proudly. “America always has the positive way of getting things done.” He also is a massive boost to the sport of soccer, as his love of the game pervades his thinking and actions. Mansour brought it all full circle when he shared how he returned to N.C. State in 2022 to give the commencement speech and receive an honorary doctorate. “I got up and said, ‘Everybody has a chance in life.’ It was very touching for me, and I was so honored and so humbled.”

Mansour’s mantra of resilience should inspire us all, as every difficult time teaches a person to grow.

Abraham Madkour can be reached at amadkour@sportsbusinessjournal.com.