why the disinterest (is that a word?) in basketball?

Consider the source - the internet. Basketball does appeal more to urban people be they black, white or otherwise. There is still a pretty large digital divide in this country meaning the demographic of people online is still skewed towards the upper middle class, white and suburban.

As a result, sports like basketball suffer in polls like this one.

The local station thing is simply a matter of who is talking. Lance talks basketball alot as do Matt and Adam. Rich and Mark are just not basketball guys.

 

I voted game 7 of the World Series.

 

There's a reason for this.

The Superbowl is a ubiquitous event. People who don't give a crap about football watch this. This day should be a holiday.

Game 7 of the World Series is the epitome of "series" sports and is rooted in history, especially in the Northeast where rabid sports fans live. Also, with the recent success of the Yankees and Redsox, thereis increased interest even if you're not a fan of either of those 2 teams or towns. It's history and Americana.

The NCAA is like the Superbowl in the sense everybody knows March Madness. What sports fan does not participate in an office B-ball pool?

The Masters is the Superbowl of a niche audience - golf.

The NBA finals, although exciting does not offer the 1 game drama of the Superbowl or NCAA basketball or Football championship game nor does it offer a unique experience like baseball.

 

I think the Masters is a lot harder to attend. Many people live in cities that have an NBA team or that are in driving distance

I too would love to go the the Masters once.

 

There's a variety of factors as to why the poll turned out that way, but one of the major reasons is because college basketball is probably more popular now than it has ever been. The ratings are skyrocketing and the games are thrilling. Most basketball fans like the pros and college, and their vote was most definately swayed by the fact that the NBA finals hasn't been a decent affair for years, and that the NCAA Final Four was just played and was terrific.

It's fresh in their minds. And we're at a point in history where the NBA is suffering from an image problem, while the NCAA is firing on all cylinders.


P.S. Anyone who tells me the BCS is better than March Madness can go die for all I care. Imagine how amazing a college football elimination tournament would be.

 

the nba finals hasn't been very competitive in recent years. pistons, lakers, spurs have all pretty much mollywhopped whoever they played in the finals.

 

People don't appreciate how amazing and gorgeous a great play is. There is nothing else like it in any sport.

Non-basketball people are afraid of basketball. Something in it repels them. They're not bored. The game is dynamic and fast with a lot of scoring and amazing atheletes.

I have heard non-basketball types drop the race card. It's out there.
Ugly, but it's there. Just look at the frickin' Astros.

Stocky, slow people don't follow the action well - they can't identify.
Football is home to these McMasses.

Snobby country-clubbers can't understand a public park game. They don't want their cuffs soiled on their new white trousers. Golf and Tennis for Thurston and Lovey.

Basketball is a game that's open and embraces all the people, where talent rises to the top. Still a strange concept to many. It has an improvisational element that is lyrical and beautiful, but foreign to paint-by-numbers drones.

I can't say Hip-hop culture, but the notorious image of dumb former millionaires with 14 kids by 14 mothers and a host of substance abuse and authority issues isn't good. There's a perception that there's a lot of thugs and losers in the game. True with Football, too, sure, but they're supposed to be gladiators. Basketballers should be artists. One has to look at the play and not the persona, and most people can't do that.

 

Superbowl = Major event and entertainment
Masters = almost always a good finish, has Tiger element
Baseball Game 7 = Electricity about it
NBA game 7 = Need Jordan, but get Detroit or Philly now.
NCAA - Usually great drama and pressure

Tough call, but nba lacking a major force in East. Not even shaq has major appeal unless taking on Yao. Then rating may rocket. But Miami still not as exciting as lakers.

 

Of course, ask this question among 12-18 year olds, and the NBA probably gets over half the vote. Baseball, Football, and Golf all appeal to the middle aged male demographic, and college hoops appeals to mostly college aged people. Basketball has replaced baseball as the top sport among kids, and a two sport high school athlete that plays football and basketball will most likely pursue basketball because the money and fame are bigger and more immediate in hoops and the chance of career ending injury is far less. Iverson and Lebron are classic examples. Both could have easily gotten D1 football scholarships as wide receivers.

 

It has been fashionable the past few years not to like basketball. (better for me)

It probably started with the Shawn Kemp Olympic team. People started to call the NBA players punks, hoodlums and all of that (even though they are probably the same as baseball and football players. In the NBA they are able to showcase their personalities more, not hindered by masks, helmets, and the baseball non-aggressive traditions.

Basketball is hip-hop, which can be threatening. Not everyone relates to it. Hip-hop used to be funk, and that wasn't AS scary. I see that starting to wane some (which is good for the game overall, but it is still dominate and that's ok). Thank you Yao Ming.

 

You guys are acting like this is suddenly some new development.

Throughout the history of sports, the NBA has almost ALWAYS been 3rd (among prestige), behind the NFL and MLB. The only exception was from 1994-1996, when baseball had their strike, and the fans lost interest (and even then... they had to love the game that much to eventually start hating it with the passion that they did... we didn't see that after the 99 lockout)

Throughout the 70's, the NBA was on the verge of utter collapse... untill Bird and Magic saved the league. Jordan was the one that put the NBA at its magical peak... and its safe to say that although the stars are there right now... the NBA has slipped since the late 90's.

The only difference amongst the history of the sports landscape is that the NFL is now ahead of MLB in fan interest... mainly because of their socialist (ahem) collective bargaining agreement, giving any team a chance to be a big winner (and also allowing them to support teams in places such as Green Bay and Nashville, of all places).

I know this occurence, with this being a b-ball site, will shock many... and it suprised me when I had a chance to live up North (where the interest in the NBA becomes even LESS than Texas', nowadays), and people do nothing but countdown for the opening of MLB and the NFL.

Also, the NCAA tournament is the single-greatest basketball event (maybe even SPORTING event) in this country... and there's no denying that... no matter how much you like the NBA. SO... I don't want to hear all the talk about how basketball is "too urban" for some people. College is doing just fine, and the NBA was just fine when Jordan was there.

 

You pick examples of two of the world's greatest players... forgetting about the millions who actually choose the other way (either football or mostly BASEball) for two reasons:

1.) Height
2.) Chances of actually making it to the pros.

The NFL is the easiest league to crack, as far as the pros go, because there are several rounds in the draft... and you can eventually play a multitude of positions. (but, it also has the shortest average career because of injuries, and the fact that the contracts are never guaranteed)

MLB and the NBA are still hard, but because of the minor-league system in the MLB, and the fact that you can have long long careers in baseball, where the minimun salary is just as much (if not more) than the other sports, its not as bad as the NBA.

The NBA is, by far, the HARDEST league to make it in. If you have height and athleticism, that carries you further than the simple ability to make a jump shot... that is not something you see in the other sports (if you can hit a baseball, there's always a place for you... no matter how tall you are).

 

Golf seems pretty hard to crack as well. You have to like win a tournament and spend your own money to do it. That cannot be easy. Then you have to be good enough to maintain your card and make enough money to eat. Sounds brutal. But I'm not that familiar with how hard that is to do.

 

I love the NBA. It's not my favorite, but I still love it. But I don't love it as much as I used to. I find the quality of play to not be as good as it once was...but the good news is I think it's improving again.

 

Some say that Q school (the tournament where you can qualify for the PGA) is the MOST STRESSFUL sporting activity known to any man.

Can you imagine your entire career based on making drives and putts (which are so easily screwed up anyways... even if you're a pro).

It is hard... but I was just including the main-stream team-sports. Besides, if you REALLY wanted to be a golfer (or a tennis player), and you had the talent, it wouldn't matter how tall/fat/ugly you were.

It does matter in the NBA... no matter how sweet your jump-shot is, or how slick your dribbles are.

 

If I wasn't a Rocket's fan I would only watch the NBA if I was bored... if at all. Since Jordan has left the game has gone down hill in my opinion. Players lack the skill and finesse of past generations and try too hard to be on the And 1 highlight real.

I think in the past two seasons though the owners and GMs are taking the right strides by globalizing the NBA. They've realized that players outside of the US generally are better at basketball fundamentals and are drafting/playing more international players then even.

 

really? Unless you're a first or second round pick, you'll be lucky to make it off an NFL practice squad. I'd be willing to bet that the percentage of people that enter a pro sports draft and have a long career in that league are about the same...

Besides, I wasn't talking about just "cracking" a pro sports team. I was using Iverson and Lebron as examples of basketball being more popular than football among the nation's youth. I wish I had the actual poll, but I remember seeing something on ESPN recently where they polled kids on which sport they like to play the most, and basketball was leading by a pretty significant margin over football and baseball...

 

yes.

Disinterest is a word.

Pronunciation: (")dis-'in-tr&st; -'in-t&-"rest, -t&-r&st, -t&rst; -'in-"trest Function: transitive verb: to cause to regard something with no interest or concern.

 

So is "meathead".