From the land of "News That used to Matter"
Today was the begining of the 2006-07 NBA season. In the immortal words of Adam Sandler in the Wedding Singer, "Whooptidee Dooo!!!"
I used to be a pro basketball fan... no seriously, stop laughing. I was definately a fan at some point, but not now. Not anymore. Who knows when it happened, but when I tell you I couldn't care less about the start of the pro basketball season, I really mean it. I remember back when I was a kid in New York, I used to love basketball. Now back then, it was easy to love the association. You had the great ambassadors of the game running the court back then. You could look up to guys like Larry Legend, Magic, and MJ. But like I said I was a fan, so I did pack up and go when Larry hung them up, or when Magic got sick, or when Mike retired (the first time). I still remember hanging out with Jimmy D and JB watching the Knicks and Heat fight it out in the playoffs when a too old Grandmama Johnson turned a three point shot into a four point play, and pushed the Knicks into a game seven win over the Heat. I was definately still a fan.
But now, something about the pro game turns my stomach. Maybe it is the fact that save a very few teams, "team basketball" has completely left the arena. Maybe it is because i really don't care to watch talented high schoolers leap college, then learn the pro game for all of us to witness while collecting million dollar paydays. Maybe it is because watching a Lakers/Sixers game is really watching Allen Iverson play Kobe Bryant in a one-on-one with a bunch of other players simply clouding the view. Or maybe, just maybe, I can't fathom cheering for a sport where it is common place for players to leap into the stands to fight with the fans.
Like I said, I don't know when it happend, but it did. I am no longer a fan of pro basketball. I still love the college game, and I am glad to see we are getting underway in the NCAA. I am much more excited to see a UF vs Kentucky game than a Spurs vs Mavs matchup. It really is such a shame. David Stern had the NBA on top of the world 10 years ago. Now, not even King James is going to save Stern's legacy.
Let me know America, what is your Abstract?
1 comment:
If you didn't care why waste your time writing, and our time reading a post on not caring about the NBA. Perhaps you do care, and seeing something great fall has cause a distressed feeling, because you want to care.
You want to care, you want to see the association the way it once was, and between the million dollar high schoolers and the crying criminals on the court, you can't bring yourself to respect the game.
College still has some purity left. It's people playing because they love the game and hope to make it big one day. The teams have to play as a team and focus on the game, not the eccentricities of the individuals playing it.
I know I have similar feelings towards Baseball. The games have been lost behind million dollar paycheck characters, not pushed ahead by team leaders.
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