Hoops

I am trying. I am trying fairly hard to care about professional basketball again.

For years and years I would devour all the pro hoops I could find. When I lived in New Haven I would watch everything NBC would run, everything TNT would run, the Knicks on MSG, the Bulls on WGN, and the Hawks on TBS. Now days, even the lure of high definition doesn't seem to be enough to get me to watch - and normally that would get me to watch flies fornicating.

Just this last week they started running the "rest of the season" cable package that includes every game and the entire playoffs. It's only $45 dollars, and for the first time in memory that didn't feel like too much money. Unfortunately I don't care enough to watch any of it, so why spend the money?

I watched hoops after Dr. J, after Larry, after Magic, after Michael, and after Michael again, so missing an iconic player shouldn't deter me. I just can't get into it. Shaq and Dwanye Wayne, Yao and Tracy, the Phoenix Suns? Who cares? What happened to the NBA - I used to love this game?

In some ways I think their own marketing machine got the best of them. Certainly at the moment that's a victory of style over substance where in the past they really had the substance to justify the style. They are always so keen to anoint the next superstar that they never really let someone become a superstar before the smack him on the promotions for the next game. The advertisers have probably been worse about this than the league. Now days there are kids (and I mean kids) with shoe contracts between their high school graduation and their first NBA tip. They've yet to even hit a professional free-throw and the marketers already have them plugged in. That can't help much.

They would get their stars if they backed off a little, and the stars that they got might have even achieved something to back up the status. I guess they are all competing for the next big endorsement opportunity (the sponsors that is), and they risk losing the guy if they wait for him to actually become the guy. But really, at the game people shout "you the man," not "maybe you might eventually be the man."

Maybe letting someone grow into it might not be the worst commercial, career building, and (wow) basketball decision. Also seems fairly clear that the money and the nature of the contracts, what with free agency bouncing guys all over the map, haven't helped either. Players are more caught up in their contracts than the championship. Professional success used to be championship rings, now its a phat bank balance. That can't help either.

There also don't seem to be that many compelling personalities at coach at the moment. The guys that coached the teams of the 80's and 90's were stars in their own right. Now they seem like interchangeable babysitters at the service of boy millionaires. That can't help either.

Every time you hear a career coach being shown his hat at the whim of a player it deflates the game. Somehow I guess things got going the wrong way when Latrell strangled PJ Carlisimo. But really, who would argue with Latrell? He's got to feed his kids. Its too bad that people like Phil Jackson have to decide how much the people management should cost in order to coach - and this from a guy who very deftly handled The Worm, and then walked away from Kobe. Something really wrong there.

I will likely get geared up and watch the conference finals. If things are real compelling I might even hang on to watch some of the finals. But I was a guy who used to watch 8 first round games, and knew every player on every team and every coach. Now? Now I would rather write about how much the NBA disappoints me than watch a game.

And that can't help either.