I know there have been threads on this topic but I think its still an issue and an important one. One of the reasons I personally feel basketball has slipped is its presentation in today's media. ABC has flat out sucked and NBC did a phenomenal job of building up the drama and really showcasing games that in today's NBA media may not be looked so highly upon. A friend sent me this, the final montage of the greatest moments of NBC that they played after the 2002 finals and it really struck me as a representation of why NBC did a damn good job. Not only were they great moments, but the presentation is exactly why its so great. NBC showcased the events themselves as reason to watch. Not the pussycat girls crap that we see today. There's drama and stories inherent to the game that get overlooked today and that's a tragedy. Anyway, here's the montage of the greatest moments (yes it includes the stockton shot, although they did add the Eddie Johnson shot) <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qcQ2r6P8Sok"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qcQ2r6P8Sok" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> Also, here's game 7 of the 1995 series with Phoenix. That's how you present a series. <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bjIBceCJq40"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bjIBceCJq40" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> That's the essence of what basketball should be about, the game itself and its a tragedy that ABC has resorted to other means to attract an audience. Ratings slipped even when NBC was running the show, but ABC has consistently hit new lows and its honestly just damn annoying. I know this topic has been beaten to death, but watching that montage really brought back memories.
ABC/ESPN's only interest is themselves. I like Disney though. Can't wait for HSM 2. maybe espn/abc can rip up that new contract with the NBA cause of the ref scandal. and maybe let NBC get it.
Yeah, as a kid I would always get excited when they showed the little preview before that was great at building drama. Then, the peacock came on and the John Tesh music started playing... I loved it! ABC sucks
<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xJ5tU2dWdzk"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xJ5tU2dWdzk" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>
NBC just had a way of presenting it that made it seem more significant than it does through ABC's coverage.
nbc benifited from the greatest era in the nba. you can present michael jordan any way you want to, it won't suck.
<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6ixyMQX9_wo"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6ixyMQX9_wo" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> Rockets Top 10 plays from the 2 championship seasons
Oh what great memories. I remember all those moments like it was yesterday. My heart still hurts watching that stockton shot and the Allan Houston one against Miami. And I got chills listening to the NBA on NBC theme song, that has to be best one ever. I agree that ABC's presentation sucks. I cannot stand the p***y cat dolls song "right now." The other problem is that the NBA no longer has any real rivalries. Nobody really hates each other like back in the day (Bulls-Knicks, Heat-Knicks, Rockets-Jazz, Pistons-Bulls). The NBA has always glorified its stars, but there were always great team rivalries back then. Now they forcefeed us this Shaq vs Phonie BS every X-mas. As good as the NBA has been the last 3-4 years, it still doesn't live up to the era I grew up watching (from 1991 on).
I'm really not sure its that there aren't rivalries, its just that ABC has done a horrible job in creating them. Rivalries in large part are built by the media. NBC would telecast a lot of the same teams and really beat it into you. It's all really a lot of media-generated attention and NBC did a good job. I mean teams like Indiana today, probably aren't getting all that much hype just by virtue of the fact that they're Indiana. I mean, I can't imagine how a team like Sacramento would have been treated in today's ABC NBA. They had no real superstars and yet dominated the NBA. Nonetheless, NBC created this Lakers-Kings dynamic that really came through when it came to the playoffs. ABC is cherrypicking teams based on the players, instead of the rivalries. And its messing everything up because bad teams are getting way too much attention due to star power and good teams, the same teams that would create real rivalries, are being ignored.
CBS is still the best when it comes to basketball. They invented the whole basketball montague and drama building. And the theme song is amazing.
I am part of the members who bought NBA on NBC, I believe on the 1st playstation specifically for the NBA on NBC theme song. I haven't lived in the US so don't really know much about the ABC, yet too young to really see the difference, but the theme song bad @$$.
Exactly. NBC's ratings weren't all that hot after the Jordan era, and it precipitated the NBA's move to mostly cable. Its not ABC's fault the NBA gets no ratings... its the NBA (and the overall quality of the leauge post-Jordan) that caused it.
I am not sure NBC was that great, but ESPN . ABC are horrible, and this is a great take by GISB. I had not thought of it, but the games televised by these guys are tedious. I think the better point of comparison is TNT, which does a terrific job - they have a great sense of humor balanced by really insightful stuff from Kenny Smith - they goof around, but I would say on an average night Kenny Smith says 4 or 5 genuinely insightful things. You can bemoan Barkley's repetitiveness, but as a network, TNT has a terrific 'angle' - funny, thoughtful, behind-the-scenes. They are not the best at dramatizing boring games - they actually spoof them - but that's fine, i will take that, it is more honest. ABC and ESPN are just terrible, they dont match with the sport. ESPN has never EVER understood how to narrate the things about Sports that transcend Sports - the human element, other than really syrupy human interest stories. I think sportscenter is smarmy and self satisfied and unwatchable. TNT is good at bringing out the humanity is sports. ABC and ESPN are just trying to make it a noisy video games - no heart at all. I absolutely think that as the predominant communicator of a sport, they need to be less emotionally sterile - highlight what is beautiful about basketball, which is not Stepheen A Smith, Greg Anthony, Stuart Scott, etc. Sadly, their producres seem to have no clue about the heart of basketball.
