I‘m not usually one to criticize others, especially when it comes to something as trivial as sports. However, upon reading Jeff MacGregor’s piece on ESPN this week I was put off so much it begs going over.
If you don’t want to read MacGregor’s whole piece, I’ll summarize it for you: MacGregor lodges the common complaint that he’s exasperated with listening to millionaires and billionaires bicker about a labor dispute. He puts forth the comparison between the NBA and the bailouts of 2008 and then suggests that true basketball fans will watch college basketball and European basketball leagues via satellite and will be satisfied. Finally, he suggests that the NBA players should form their own league “like the good old days”. He ends the piece by saying he’s going to take the most reasonable option and “go up to the Rucker” to watch games on the cheap.
Jesus, where to start?
That MacGregor points out the obvious by playing the “millionaires vs. billionaires” card early should have been a warning. I think Jared Wade was writing about that back in May. In any case, his jump to equating (or insinuating that the NBA sees themselves as “too big to fail) the NBA lockout with the 2008 bailout lacks a bit of context, don’t you think? One is the economy of a nation (and the world) and the other is a bunch of rich dudes bouncing a ball. Let’s get some perspective.
Second, that any normal NBA fan will willingly pay for satellite packages with European basketball is laughable. I’m an NBA writer and I don’t even watch college basketball (MacGregor’s second option). What most people will do is this: watch football. Then, when that’s over, they’ll play NBA 2K12 until their eyes fall out. Those who love the NBA love it because of the soap opera that is trades, stars and flash. College basketball doesn’t ignite the same flame in NBA fans. Sure, there’s some crossover for some fans but saying the demographic is equally as satisfied with those two different products is absolutely stupid.
Finally, this idea of the players creating their own league has been floating around for months and it’s probably the dumbest thing to have come out of the NBA blogosphere during the lockout. Not only are the logistics ridiculous — organizing a league, buying jerseys, renting space, printing tickets, employing all necessary faculty of a team including coaches and trainers and publicity — but it ignores the basic reason the lockout exists in the first place: money.
MacGregor suggests the players “barnstorm from armory to armory… twenty bucks a seat.” Well, the armory here in town seats about 4,000 people. At $20 a seat that’s $80,000 a game at the door, not factoring all the items mentioned above. If you divide up all the money and pay players, they’ll essentially be playing for nothing. European leagues literally pay more money. So… unless I’m missing something here, MacGregor actually buys into the players’ silly PR campaign that “we just want to play”.
Actually, if they just wanted to play for less money they could accept the deal the Stern and the NBA is trying to offer them now. See how that makes no sense? Good.
Then MacGregor ends his piece by saying he’s “just going to go down to the Rucker” and watch some games. As if that’s an alternative for the rest of the group? I don’t know about you but the basketball talent here in Eugene, Oregon is pretty slim — that’s with a college team in town by the way — and not all of us can just pop down to the most famous blacktop park in America in the world’s greatest city. Oh yeah, and it gets pretty cold for hoops at Rucker in the winter months doesn’t it?
Thanks for the help though, Jeff.
Dane Carbaugh is a published research author and can be found writing about the NBA all over the Internet. He can be found on Twitter at @DaneCarbaugh
