They don't cover up black arms, black coaches, or dreadlocks. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Py5NfEv6c6s&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Py5NfEv6c6s&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> Fans care about the game, not the people playing it.
1. Officiating needs reform/ bad calls/no calls can be reversed 2. Fewer games in the regular season 3. Less teams in the playoffs (or add more teams to the league for variety-> I wish), 4. Cheaper tickets ~$20 good seats, $10/avg seat (comparable to going to the movies with a date) As a college student, you easily see the racial divide between NBA fans. However, I've noticed an increasing number of white guys also becoming fans. Who are they? The kind who grew up in diverse suburbs like Sugarland where they mingled with lots of Asians and minorities. Basically the non-Plano/North Dallas/frat types-> generally the ones you see in Corporate America.
But people LOVE to see a white boy at the top of the sports pinnacle. In the NFL you have Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Kurt Warner, etc, etc. Larry Bird vs Magic Johnson in the 79 NCAA Title game is STILL the highest rated NCAA Championship game of all time. Showtime Lakers vs Bird's Celtics is why the NBA became so popular in the first place, then Nike and Gatorade turned MJ into sports first megastar and the 92 Dream Team, all these things helped catapult the league into what it is now. But it is true, a lot of white people don't relate to Ron Artest and his hop albums the same way they relate to Lance Berkman or Eric Winston.
Another great point. Nobody cared when Bird talked trash or when Magic through a flashy behind the back pass, alot of people loved it. But, when guys talk trash now they're thugs...is hip hop culture really that bad? why does it matter so much how someone looks or what their personality is?
White collar America cannot identify with the NBA anymore. It is an image problem that David Stern has been dealing with for a while. And yes, race is a factor.
Like a little Chuck Hayes post defense and a little Battier 3 point shooting, a little of everything decides the outcome - Shortened college tenures: seeing a player only 1 year at college, or high schoolers making the jump straight to the pros, hurts being able to identify with them. like David Falk said, the NCAA tournement is the best free advertising for both a college player AND for the NBA. More years in college makes them more recognizable, gives them a little more wholesome "academic" appearance. And of course makes them more NBA ready. The knuckleheads can flame out on college's expense before they make it. - From the ground up: Just a huge generalization and stereotyping here - from the local courts on up, those "hardened minorites" seemed to have "seized" the game for themselves. You're not gonna send your kid out to those "dangerous" courts with all those streetballers doing their trash talking and intimidation. Gonna put him in baseball and soccer so he can carve out his own niche in a "safe" sport. And it just amplifies from there each level up - Possessions and pace: meaning, is fast paced alternating possessions consistent action or consistently boring? Like hockey or soccer, its just a bunch of back and forth and it all looks the same, no deviation, people try to put round device into scoring zone and thats it. Oooh a dunk, okay big deal seen that before. I dont agree with that. Just trying to get into what people might think. I think NO SPORT EVER deserves to be watched if you analyze every detail of it. You can disconnect yourself from anything if you try hard enough. From the start, basketball's been a consistent 3rd place anyways.
Fans can't exactly imitate the best players because insane height and wingspan. Genetics. It's much easier to copy baseball players, quarterbacks, golfers, etc. You don't need good genes to be a great pitcher or QB.
My friend has brought this up to me somewhat recently. My answer is, we watch sports for the same reason we do a lot of inconsequential things: because it is entertaining and watching makes us happy. Why do we watch TV? Movies? Play video games? Go to concerts? Attend an art exhibit? Why did the ancient Romans watch the gladiators in the Coliseum?
I don't have that many friends who follow NBA except a couple of co-workers here. They are both white so I don't know if racism plays a part of NBA decline. I love this site because I can talk about Rockets when I really don't have anyone to talk about NBA/Rockets except when I'm at work. When we got Artest, a guy, who is white and in his 30s, I know here at my job told me he wasn't going to buy tickets anymore because he doesn't want to support the Rockets if they support "thug" behavior. We all know Artest isn't exactly a good example of good behavior. So "thug" image may be one of reasons why..
Lebron is far from arrogant in my mind. Attitude reflects leadership... Was Larry arrogant? because he was BY FAR the most cocky player I have ever seen. He played an ENTIRE HALF LEFT HANDED! Talked trash all game long... Do you know why Tim Duncan does not get as much press as Lebron? Because Lebron is that much better, and MORE....
A lot of good points out there on this one and I can see most of them. Its funny because I was talking to a buddy the other day about this. I'm a Hispanic and he's a white guy in his thirties. Both of us are fans of basketball. It may help that he's from Chicago. Bear with me, this is a lengthy one. On racism, I can see it a bit. What gets me is how ignorant it actually is. The thinking is that NBA players always get into trouble, but the reality is that NFL players get into a lot more, especially the last few years. Look at Carl getting shot. The media tried to turn that into something it wasn't and luckily was shot down by the organization and local media. Another stereotype is drug use, well steroids are illegal drugs and they're running rampant in MLB. I don't even want to believe in anyone of consequence not taking them because its disappointing when you find out they did. I'm hoping Lance or Roy O never have. In Lance's defense, he's not in awesome shape. I'm just waiting for Pujols to be caught next. That sport is in serious trouble these days. Another point brought up is the fighting. This gets me because there really isn't a lot of it taking place on a regular basis. In hockey though, "Its part of the game." BS. It has nothing to do with putting the puck in the net. Even when the players fight in baseball, its just the boys of summer having some fun. How is having a ball thrown at someone's head at 90 mph fun? I think some of it may be due to the fact that the players are pretty close to the fans. That could add to the danger factor, but overall it seems hypocritical. As a more hardcore fan, I agree with an earlier poster that I don't follow any non-Rocket games unless they directly affect us. Even then I won't watch the whole game. Really, there's not a whole lot of point to watching a game before the third quarter. With the NFL I can watch almost any game and be entertained. Baseball, not so much. On the officials....they are the worst in sports. Not even close. Some could throw Hochuli's name (sp?) but the fact that people can remember the bad calls specifically tells me something. I can't remember every bad call in the last game we played. I hate the inconsistency and bias. When Shaq used to bowl over people, not only did he get the score, but the other guy that just got grounded was called for a foul. It takes damn near a body slam for Yao to get a call most games. At this point, I'm satisfied if he doesn't get one called against him after being hacked. The "Hack-a-Shaq" move has turned into a great way to get Yao to turn the ball over. Refs are a major turn off for me. Also the season is way too long and half the teams make the playoffs. Sorry for the long post, I have thought about all this from time to time before. Thanks if you got this far.
Absolutely. Time at work ran out on me from babbling too much too much on my last post was gonna mention this Baseball, Hockey, Football, Golf, Tennis, Figure Skating, Swimming, all of them have a good number of self-made athletes. They have talent but also worked harder on that talent to get ahead. They perfected their existing skills. At least it appears that way. There's plenty fans who think they werent that far behind their high school buddy or cousin who got signed by a Double-A baseball team, but they just "didnt take it as seriously" as they did Basketball, FORGET IT. 5'-11" and under gets you called "midget" like Aaron Brooks and JJ Barea, even though they are average US male height.
Do you think steroids are "running rampant" in football? Actually I don't think steroids are running rampant in baseball at all. Perhaps a few years ago, but I suspect things are pretty clean right now.
How many 5-11 QBs are there? The only sports more popular than the NBA and MLB, and while there is a better chance of a person getting into those leagues than the NBA, the chance is very very small.
