- Views
- 924
- Comments
- 46
- 11/06/2011, 12:11AM ET
Are any so-called basketball fans missing the NBA?
...the best policy said 11/06, 12:11 AM
Is anyone missing the NBA? Does the NBA have any fans left? I know the players will miss their paychecks, and the owners will miss some TV money and concession dollars, and support personnel such as vendors will be hurting for money, but is anyone truly missing the NBA?
Anyone?
Anyone at all?
Me either.
C-C-C said 11/06, 12:33 AM
Of course people "miss" the NBA. Basketball is one of the most popular sports in the world and the NBA has the best players in the world.
As a Celtics fan, I WANT the lockout to last a bit longer, though. I'd be as happy as Roy in a half price liquor store if they only played half a season. The old guys probably couldn't make a run in a long season, but in a shortened season they have to be considered among the favorites.
The NBA drew over 12 million fans to games last season. More than 19 thousand per game.
Revenue in the NBA last year topped $3.8billion. Obviously LOTS of people care.
What would Spike Lee and Jack Nicholson do with themselves without the NBA? Maybe they can collaborate on a movie ABOUT the NBA?
Folks who don't care for the NBA (and I'm assuming you are one of them) like to claim that nobody cares. But that's just not true. Many basketball fans are also Football fans, so this time of year isn't that big of a deal to them anyhow, but come February and you can be damn sure they'll be looking for the NBA on TNT.
A lot of fans just have lockout burnout after the long one in the NFL. But NBA fans, miss the games.
...the best policy said 11/06, 08:40 AM
No one misses the NBA. Not now, during the regular season.
Hmmm. Let's see. Do I really believe that anyone truly cares if a **** Minnesota Timberwolves team is playing an equally **** Charlotte Bobcats team in early November?
The NBA is on the downswing. True basketball fans are tired of the overpaid thugs...of the tattoos...the trading of expiring contracts...the disappearance of defense...the lack of basic fundamentals...Eddy Curry...seven timeouts in the last minute of a game...the whole concept of presenting the trash that the NBA calls basketball to the public.
The NBA hasn't been relevant since guys like Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon and John Stockton left.
Nobody cares that the NBA is on strike, or lockout, or whatever.
Nobody's really missing it.
C-C-C said 11/06, 12:07 PM
Do you care if the St. Louis Rams are playing an equally crappy Miami Dolphins in early November? Not unless you are a fan of one of those two gawd awful teams. So what's the point?
Celtics-Lakers in early November, on the other hand, would draw huge ratings. Why? Because people care about basketball.
How exactly is the NBA "on the downswing"? 108,000 people attended the NBA All-Star game last year...and that was for an EXHIBITION game. 54,000 more than the old record. You know how much the average ticket cost for that game? $1,558. 6 times as much as the previous season.
But people don't care?
The NBA is drawing more fans and making more money since MJ, Olajuwon, and Stockton left. I get it that you miss your boyhood hero's and don't think todays players measure up.
But...
YOU are not decider of who does or doesn't miss NBA basketball. By every quantifiable number, you're dead wrong about it's popularity. Of course your claim is that NOBODY cares, so obviously you were dead wrong from the original premise.
Speaking in absolutes, such as "nobody misses it" makes your argument very easy to destroy.
I miss it.
You lose.
...the best policy said 11/06, 11:30 PM
I don't. And no one I know does either.
The NBA could go away for a long time, and I don't think it would be missed.
You make good arguments, but let's agree on one thing: the quality of the NBA is terrible.
I think the NBA should take this time off to retool the league. Tighten up on its image. Go to a trapezoidal lane. Contract 4-6 teams from the league. Cut the number of timeouts in half. And strengthen a minor league system.
Those are just a few suggestions.
But the NBA, as it currently stands? No one really misses it.
C-C-C said 11/06, 11:56 PM
MLB has had 8 work stoppages in their history. In 1994 they canceled the World Series because of a players strike
NFL in 1987 had the temerity to run "replacement" players on the field for 3 weeks passing them off as actual professional players
NHL has had 3 work stoppages. One of which resulted in 36 lost games per team and another that resulted in an entire lost season
In every instance, the fans claimed they "didn't care". Were "tired of whiny multi-million players fighting with greedy owners". Would "never spend my hard earned money on it again". Etc. etc.
In every case, the sport in question came back stronger than ever after agreement was finally reached.
Why? Because no matter how pissed we get about these things, we still love the games. We still crave the competition. We still want nothing more than to see our team hoist a trophy at the end of a long season as if we had something to do with it.
Nothing about being a sports fan is rational. We root for laundry and feel an emotional attachment to wins and losses by players we'll never meet.
It may not be 'rational' to miss the NBA. But millions do.
Leaderboard
| Fan | W | L | T | Win % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | OJ Simpson | 48 | 11 | 4 | 79.4% |
| 2 | Bloggers Needed | 1094 | 336 | 89 | 75.0% |
| 3 | JimJ77 Can't make it up | 130 | 53 | 26 | 68.4% |
| 4 | :CubanM... | 62 | 27 | 7 | 68.2% |
| 5 | Marlins Fan | 146 | 66 | 32 | 66.4% |
| 6 | Argos. | 174 | 103 | 26 | 61.7% |
| 7 | J-Business | 91 | 73 | 24 | 54.8% |
| 8 | XXPCHXX... | 926 | 1535 | 406 | 39.4% |
| 9 | Highway... | 170 | 813 | 54 | 19.0% |
Truth & Rumors
MOST POPULAR
-
1
Howard aired D'Antoni grievances with Lakers
- Views
- 30563
- Comments
- 1795
-
2
'Alarming' report on Werth
- Views
- 18065
- Comments
- 651
-
3
Babcock's best job ever?
- Views
- 2109
- Comments
- 109
-
4
Duquette's luck running out
- Views
- 356
- Comments
- 73
-
5
Roy's brother spills beans on Facebook
- Views
- 2306
- Comments
- 66
Most Active Users
Comments + Blog Posts + Throwdowns
Blogs
-
Charles Hartley's Blog
Salute to the World's Non-Athletes
There are people walking this Earth who are not world-class athletes like…
- Views
- 39
- Comments
- 0
-
Stack Attack's Blog
"The Stack" 5-21-13
Sports seems somewhat insignificant today in light of the devastation from…
- Views
- 19
- Comments
- 0
-
For the Record
Ten years after 9/11
<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; …
- Views
- 17319
- Comments
- 62
Fantasy Plus
TM & © 2013 Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.
FanNation.com is part of Sports Illustrated Sites
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines, your California privacy rights, and ad choices
Comments (46) Add A Comment
Hey, attendance at college basketball games will probably be up just a little.
...the best policy
Harrodsburg, KY
Total Comments (4027)
Left, nothing personal, but your opening argument looks like it got locked out.
HOOTZ
Hooterville, PA
Total Comments (1397)
I'm only an NBA Finals Fan so I don't mind missing a month or 2 months of the regular season. But arguments go to the right side.
McLOVIN
Total Comments (163)
I don't know about that.
01FN
Total Comments (54)
Hey, NBA, make a bunch of us happy and lock out for this entire season...and next!
...the best policy
Harrodsburg, KY
Total Comments (4027)
The regular season gives you something to watch on TV if your boredom level is high... And there are a few decent games here and there. Pretty much the same as the college regular season.
Armpit
Total Comments (10173)
Not being much of an NBA fan I wouldn't care if the whole season is lost.
W_A_M_U?
Total Comments (64291)
College basketball far better than the NBA. They play defense and don't take night off like they do in the NBA.
The brand of basketball the NBA gives is just pathetic. All it is is pick and rolls or clearing out for your star player. You don't ever see a team run a 5 man motion or the wing man on the opposite of the court setting picks or doing anything other than setting up for a dish out for a 3.
The NBA stinks and their attendance numbers are proof of this.
BuckyBadger.
Total Comments (2791)
Thank you. You get it.
...the best policy
Harrodsburg, KY
Total Comments (4027)
I'm sure many people miss it. I'm not one of them.
Mondo Jay
Total Comments (20026)
I have an idea that was alcohol and drug induced a few days ago. I think it would be huge and solve all the money problems of the NBA.
Make the NBA 3 on 3, play to 21 [1s and 2s] and do best of 3 each night. Teams would travel in groups of 8 so the fans would get to see 4 sets of games each night. Would have to expand the league to 32 but these teams would be cheaper to run, less employees, and could possibly expand even further. Roster size could be as small as 5 or 6 and many more markets would be able to support this.
The way teams play in the NBA 3 on 3 isn't far off from what they are doing now. It would open up the offense and make for a lot of dunks and alley-oops. Their fans seem to like the street type of game, give it to them. This interests me more than what they are doing now. Still strategy in a 3 on 3 game and the stars would get to showcase their talent more. I think the players would give a better effort for every minute they are competing with this format instead of just going through the motions for 5 and 10 minutes at a time.
The fans would get to see more of the stars each night they pay for basketball. Could even make he players accessible to the fans when their team isn't playing. The players would make more money than they are now and the owners would be rolling in it. I think the game would be fast pace and give you the drama of the final five minutes as many as 12 times a night. The league would need a hard salary cap to prevent teams from stock piling talent.
Maybe I am just reliving my Gus Macker days and other summer tournaments but those where fun days for the players and people coming to watch. Many would be surprised at the crowds to see a bunch of nobodies play.
BuckyBadger.
Total Comments (2791)
There is nothing wrong with NBA attendance. I have no clue what you are getting at here. They draw over 17k per game playing an 82 game season indoors. They have revenue of nearly $4bil.
The NBA average ticket is $48.08. Compare that to MLB where the average is $26.91 and that's just because the Yankees and Red Sox heavily skew it upward with more than double the average.
C-C-C
Total Comments (4335)
The NBA doesn't have any money problems. This is simply a labor dispute, same as the NFL was.
C-C-C
Total Comments (4335)
Not true. The reason there was never going to be a work stoppage in the NFL is because everyone was making money. Down to the last team. No one was losing. Profit margins just weren't where they wanted them for the money coming in. The players had a real sweet deal money wise before. There was never going to be any missed games in the NFL, not even preseason ones.
In the NBA a lot of teams are in the red. The attendance of some of the teams is down. Sure the big market teams are doing great but that is just a handful. Most of them aren't having a lot of success from a business perspective. If they were making money and the attendance was great than they wouldn't be so willing to throw away the season. It is better business for a large of the league to not play than it would be to continue how they where.
This labor dispute is very different from the NFL.
BuckyBadger.
Total Comments (2791)
The revenue is there but not all the markets are bringing it in evenly. This is the issue.
Few markets in the NFL aren't selling out each game and they all make enough to where it is easy to strike a revenue sharing deal. Baseball and basketball are different. They have their big teams like Lakers, Celtics, Red Sox, Yankees that bring in the lion share of the money which creates a larger divide among the owners which makes them want a different deal for the players.
BuckyBadger.
Total Comments (2791)
Comment
Remember to keep your posts clean. Profanity will get filtered, and offensive comments will be removed.