I thought about putting this in the D&D but I don't feel at home over there. I was listening to "Sportsradio" 610 this morning and J&L were in this discussion about why fans were turned off by the NBA. They claim that urban culture is turning people off to the NBA and that teams like the Mavs sell out because of their "appearance". BALDERDASH! First of all urban culture is synonymous with pop culture, white kids wear as much gear as black kids and help to define the genre. There are as many whites on "cribs" as there are blacks but the urban angle is the only one spoken about when referencing our covetous society. Secondly, hip isn't hip when it reaches the mainstream. Those guys said "bling, bling" so many times this morning it made me sick; MEMO: NOBODY SAYS "BLING, BLING" ANYMORE! There are still white men that give me the SOUL SHAKE (circa 1960?)! I'm getting ready for all the "Bootylicious" references as Beyonce' is scheduled to sing the national anthem for the Super Bowl, this isn't popular anymore but white dudes will say it, then claim, " Well that's what the kids say" hmmm if the kid is 30! Finally, this media market is one of the whitest (or non-blackest) in the country, and there is no excuse for it because the urban radio stations rate extremely high here. Why is there no black presence on sportsradio? Apparantly there are black people that listen to radio, would it kill 610 to have a black dude do a weekend show? I think not. Maybe I am wrong here, if you disagree I ask for you not to flame me but to help A. Brother understand.
I'm turned off of the NBA because... 1. I <b>hate</b> the new arena 2. I'm broke this year and worried about my job 3. I decided to spend what little free money I have playing poker with the guys instead of watching someone else play basketball. 4. To a lesser degree, I hate JVG and miss Rudy *note* I still watch on TV but I'm not attending the 20-30 games like I did last year.
i'm turned off because i remember when the NBA was fun to watch...when it was a compelling product...when there were personalities i cared about that i could identify franchises with...when guys could actually hit a jump shot...when team after team didn't set franchise lows in FG% and points scored in one season. etc. etc. etc.
Is it a handshake? Like the three step shake where you start off with a normal handshake, followed by the arm wrestling hold, and finished with the thumb wrestling hold?
I have to agree with J&L, even though I didnt hear them. Like MadMax said, I cant identify with any of these guys. I dont care about them either. I honestly think basketball is pretty damn hard to watch. It is no longer the team game it used to be. The conceit is ridiculous. Most of the players try to act like they are thugs. Which they are not. They are not professional and full of themselves. I think that confident is cool but cocky and obnoxious is stupid. Case and point http://bbs.clutchcity.net/php3/showthread.php?s=&threadid=70906
As of January 5th, we have had ESPN Classic added to our cable service. I love the "old" NBA. I wish they could/would televise some of the games from the 60's. You used to be able to hear the sneakers squeak on the parquet floor at The Boston Garden. Yeah, the athletes are better but the game is worse.
Yes I listened to this discussion as well. I thought that J&L settled on the fact that winning cures all ills. I would certainly agree with that. I think the real problem is what they touched on at the end. We're watching one of the most boring teams play offense under JVG's scheme. YAWN. I cannot even bear to watch all 4 quarters, and actually I find the discussion in chat more entertaining than the actual game. That's a problem. They said that teams like Dallas and the Kings sell out was because their product was fun to watch. They put up good offensive numbers by good shooting and well run offenses. I didn't hear him say that they sell out due to their "appearance", which I'm guessing you're making a reference to them having lots of white players. AB, didn't you post a thread about 2-3 months ago how you couldn't relate to the Astros since they didn't have any blacks? Mods, go ahead and move this to D&D. It's inevitable.
HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I heard the segment in question on 610AM this morning too... and the first thing I thought was "Another Brother would be pissed!" Damn I need to get away from this place and back to reality!
As far as the show this morning on 610 I think both guys had a point. John's point was that if the product was better there would be more fans. I agree with that to a certain extent. Lance took the position that some of that people don't like the players and what they represent. I believe some of that is also at work. You have to admit that if you listen to sports radio in Houston on a daily basis, everytime the NBA is brought up someone always calls in and says, "the league is full of thugs". Then they turn around and say they like Pro Football. That is one of the dumbest things I ever hear, because if any league is full of thugs its the NFL. The best defensive player in the NFL was involved in a murder trial just 3 years ago. Another player was convicted of murdering his pregnant girlfriend. It doesn't get any more thuggish than that. A caller this morining made a good point that I thought about a couple of weeks ago in regards to the NFL vs. NBA. In the NFL, you can't see all the tatoos, corn rows, etc. I think it makes a difference. Also, if you think fundamentals in the NBA are down, just check out some of the missed tackles in a NFL game. As far as the product is concerned, there used to be a lot of offense back in the 70's and the Rockets could not sell out games in Waco. Anyone involved with league before Bird and Magic came along will tell you that there was a concern about the league being "too black". Obviously we are a more enlightened generation so that is less of a concern but I think its still a factor.
You used to be able to hear that at the Summit as well. It was one of my favorite things about going to games as a kid. Now you can't hear anything except the music glaring over the speaker system DURING game play. Can someone please tell me how playing I Can't Wait by New Shooz while the Rockets are bringing the ball up the court is supposed to pump up the crowd? Thanks in advance. The NBA is a horrible product these days. Horrible.
I get turned off from the NBA due to crybaby, arrogant millionaires, not hip-hop culture. Steve Francis can say "shizzle my izzle" 300,000 times a day, refer to everyone as his "dawg," wear nothing but retro jerseys and skull caps, and I wouldn't even blink. However, if he flaunts his Rolls Royce, talks about deserving to be an All Star, tunes out his new coach, and displays a me-first type of attitude (um.... this is just a hypothetical example ), then I'm put off. All in all, the NBA just isn't exciting anymore. Low-scoring games are the norm now, and the refs seem to love killing any sort of momentum on the basketball court with incessant whistles. Honestly, the whole hip-hop thing in the NBA doesn't affect me at all, UNLESS it shows on the court (in the form of AND1 streetball and not team effort).
Did anybody see the "queer eye for the straight eye" episode of South Park last night? "Come on, Mr. Slave, let's go back to the bippety-boppity-boop"
"A distinction that I am ashamed of" After a media source acknowledged that this is also a concern of theirs(the Astros) I softened my position. My point back then was that the Astros were (and maybe still are) the only team in MLB without an African American player.
1. What does that mean exactly? Ball players were always rich what else are you refering to? 2. There was no shot clock, three point line or incentives in the game you speak of, right? 3. Please define for me what you interpretation of a "Thug" is. 3a. How do you know? 4. Please give me an example. Not picking on you MB but I want to see what you see.
A few thoughts. 610 is lilly white. I've also noticed that one of the hosts (at night) when ever he is talking to a black guest always ends almost ever sentence with "man". As in: "Hey, what's going on, man? I hear you, man...". As far as the NBA and specifically the Rockets are concerned, the bottom line here is WINNING and I'll tell you why. I grew up in Kentucky around a bunch of hardcore Kentucky Wildcat fans (who I can't stand). They would drop n-bombs like no tomorrow. I'm honestly surprised I didn't see any cross burnings growing up in the sticks where I did. Yet they always cheered their Wildcat basketball teams because they were WINNING. A winning atmosphere cures all.
