The NBA: 2 Camps
/There does not seem to be much middle ground when it comes to the National Basketball Association. In my (less than scientific) experience it appears there are two camps. 1. Enthusiasts who love the NBA. 2. "Fans" who think the players don't actually play defense and travel all the time. I don't like to use the word "fan" because fan is short for fanatic (who wants to be called a fanatic; except maybe members of a cult). I like to consider myself a purveyor of the physical arts. OK I'm not that hoytie toytie. I just enjoy watching people do things that I cannot.
So lets start with the second group of "fans"
These people are typically older or at least did not actually play ANY basketball beyond 8 years of age. They complain about all sports and how the athletes get paid too much money (even though in labor disputes we are talking about Billionaires [owners] v. millionaires and upper middle class thousandaires [players] and their contracts are not always worth as much as "fans" think they are). The complaints about the play of the Association are even more absurd. Fans lionize the good ole days when Karl Malone was a leader on the court but
. Fans who disparage the NBA today think the players are soft but yet go ballistic when Ron-Ron-Ron (the extra Ron is for Extra Crazy; thanks NFN Kalyan) pulls a
on James Harden.
Fans talk about how the players are lacking skill because we all know we would rather watch this
Instead of this*
* please note the epic dunk at number 1
These fans talk about how they like the NCAA more than the NBA. Really? Get out of here. The NCAA tournament is fun and exciting but does anyone really think the top NCAA teams today stand anywhere near the Duke/UNLV teams of the early 90's or even Kentucky's National Championship team in
. So the idea that current NCAA teams are better than ever is laughable. There is tremendous talent, however, they all leave after one year (which I'm fine with) so they cannot compare to teams 15-20 years ago full of Juniors and Seniors (that too went on to the NBA).
The Enthusiasts
We are the ones that actually like/love the NBA. We can appreciate Kobe even if he does dress like a
transgendered mujahideen warrior
. The NBA has never been better. There are great stars like LeBron, D-Wade, Kobe, Durantuala, Dirk, Nash, Rondo, Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, D-Rose, and a slew of others. Most of these players also seem like great humans and fun to be around (please note, I did say MOST). The NBA has always had an image problem. The perception of casual fans and the national audience is that the NBA is full of thugs but it is really just a small minority that make the headlines for assaults and other crimes.
I appreciate the great athletic feats accomplished each night. You don't need be an expert to know that LeBron James is one of the most physically-gifted athletes to walk the Earth. If people just sat back and attempted to watch the NBA without a preconceived notion they would likely appreciate how great these players really are. Even the
last guy on the bench in Charlotte
had arguably a better High School career than Kobe Bryant.
We get it. We understand that the NBA is better than ever. It's FANTASTIC!
