The NBA Is Back!!

[Stormcrow73]

I would never try to argue that college bball is more exciting because the skill is higher. Obviously the skill across the board in the NBA makes the NCAA look silly. But that's a part of what makes the NBA dull to me. The excitement of NCAA bball is largely due to the fact the players just skilled enough to be very good but not so skilled as to make every possession practically a gimme. It's that total lack of certainty that your team is going to score that makes it exciting.

[happytown]

Originally Posted by Stormcrow73

I would never try to argue that college bball is more exciting because the skill is higher. Obviously the skill across the board in the NBA makes the NCAA look silly. But that's a part of what makes the NBA dull to me. The excitement of NCAA bball is largely due to the fact the players just skilled enough to be very good but not so skilled as to make every possession practically a gimme. It's that total lack of certainty that your team is going to score that makes it exciting.

Obviously all college sports have that lack of certainty that makes them exciting.
NBA dull? Take a look at the MLB or the NHL. Both have always tried some huge altering tactic to gain more support from their fans and to tweak the excitement. Baseball more offense/homeruns/steroids ect. and the NHL with that stupid glowing puck which shows you how desparate the league is for fans.
Coupling the MLB and the NHL is completely ridiculous though. My bad. The MLB dwarfs the NHL. The NFL, MLB, NBA all dwarf the NHL.
Good recent article on why the NHL suffers. NHL Unable to Attract New Fans for Numerous Reasons - The Tech

[Stormcrow73]

Originally Posted by happytown

Obviously all college sports have that lack of certainty that makes them exciting.
NBA dull? Take a look at the MLB or the NHL. Both have always tried some huge altering tactic to gain more support from their fans and to tweak the excitement. Baseball more offense/homeruns/steroids ect. and the NHL with that stupid glowing puck which shows you how desparate the league is for fans.
Coupling the MLB and the NHL is completely ridiculous though. My bad. The MLB dwarfs the NHL. The NFL, MLB, NBA all dwarf the NHL.
Good recent article on why the NHL suffers. NHL Unable to Attract New Fans for Numerous Reasons - The Tech

That's an excellent article and I agree with most EVERY point it makes and have said many of those same things before. As for the NHL, the constant rules changes (most of which came about after hiring a guy from the NBA to be the commish...stupid move) don't help at all. Obviously your opinion differs from mine and that's cool. I play basketball and I watch basketball...just not the NBA. It's a fantastic sport but I can't get into the pros anymore. I used to be able to get into the NBA but I have little to no appreciation for it anymore and no thread on a messageboard trying to diss my #1 sport because it isn't as generically popular as the NBA sure isn't going to change my mind because it isn't a hockey vs. basketball thing.

[happytown]

Originally Posted by Stormcrow73

That's an excellent article and I agree with most EVERY point it makes and have said many of those same things before. As for the NHL, the constant rules changes (most of which came about after hiring a guy from the NBA to be the commish...stupid move) don't help at all. Obviously your opinion differs from mine and that's cool. I play basketball and I watch basketball...just not the NBA. It's a fantastic sport but I can't get into the pros anymore. I used to be able to get into the NBA but I have little to no appreciation for it anymore and no thread on a messageboard trying to diss my #1 sport because it isn't as generically popular as the NBA sure isn't going to change my mind because it isn't a hockey vs. basketball thing.

I didnt know the NHL is your #1...I didnt mean to diss or anything.

[Stormcrow73]

Originally Posted by happytown

I didnt know the NHL is your #1...I didnt mean to diss or anything.

No worries! BTW, I'm thrilled that the Sonics are coming OKC! It can't help but be good for the entire region.

[happytown]

Originally Posted by Stormcrow73

No worries! BTW, I'm thrilled that the Sonics are coming OKC! It can't help but be good for the entire region.

Dont know if the Sonics will be definitely coming or not! IMO should stay in Seattle (history), but the town has problems and is a mess with their pro teams.
OKC will get a team though, whether it be the Sonics/Hornets or expansion from what I understand.
I am really looking forward to my town finally having a REAL team to shout for. I just hope its not the NHL (no diss).

[another guy]

Originally Posted by Stormcrow73

Rugby may not nearly be as wildly as popular across the entirety of Europe as soccer but for a good deal of Western Europe rugby has a rather successful and large presence. Heineken Cup and 6 Nations competitions have a lot more draw in Europe than basketball. Rugby is quite big in France, Spain and Italy. Team handball has more draw in Europe than basketball (roughly a basketball/soccer cross).

I'm surprised to hear that really. I don't remember rugby being very big, but I could be mistaken. Team handball is actually a pretty cool sport, and you're right, it's quite popular in Europe.

Originally Posted by happytown

You make a lot of good points about the NBA and other leagues, except college bball is very exciting in my opinion.
I wouldnt take the opinions on this this forum seriously at all.
To think it represents the Nationwide or Worldwide view of the NBA is extremely silly.

I don't hate college ball, and obviously, I still pull for my school, at least in bball and football. It's just that a) I feel conflicted because of all the corruption in college sports (it's about as hypocritical as it gets), and b) I just get sick of hearing the same tired arguments about why the NBA stinks. No doubt it went through a down period for a bit, but IMO, it's back and stronger than ever.

Originally Posted by Stormcrow73

I would never try to argue that college bball is more exciting because the skill is higher. Obviously the skill across the board in the NBA makes the NCAA look silly. But that's a part of what makes the NBA dull to me. The excitement of NCAA bball is largely due to the fact the players just skilled enough to be very good but not so skilled as to make every possession practically a gimme. It's that total lack of certainty that your team is going to score that makes it exciting.

Do you prefer college football to NFL as well? How do you feel about high school ball (bball or football)? Just curious.

Originally Posted by happytown

Obviously all college sports have that lack of certainty that makes them exciting.
NBA dull? Take a look at the MLB or the NHL. Both have always tried some huge altering tactic to gain more support from their fans and to tweak the excitement. Baseball more offense/homeruns/steroids ect. and the NHL with that stupid glowing puck which shows you how desparate the league is for fans.
Coupling the MLB and the NHL is completely ridiculous though. My bad. The MLB dwarfs the NHL. The NFL, MLB, NBA all dwarf the NHL.
Good recent article on why the NHL suffers. NHL Unable to Attract New Fans for Numerous Reasons - The Tech

I wouldn't group the NHL with baseball; they're struggling for different reasons. MLB has history and tradition behind it, it's a declining sport, both in participation and audience. NHL is still a relative newcomer that never gained a foothold. MLB is, quite frankly, a very boring sport that you had to grow up with to appreciate. The NHL's biggest problem is that few people grew up with up (if even nearly as many people had grown up with and played hockey as baseball the NHL would be hugely more popular than baseball (IMO)).

Originally Posted by Stormcrow73

That's an excellent article and I agree with most EVERY point it makes and have said many of those same things before. As for the NHL, the constant rules changes (most of which came about after hiring a guy from the NBA to be the commish...stupid move) don't help at all. Obviously your opinion differs from mine and that's cool. I play basketball and I watch basketball...just not the NBA. It's a fantastic sport but I can't get into the pros anymore. I used to be able to get into the NBA but I have little to no appreciation for it anymore and no thread on a messageboard trying to diss my #1 sport because it isn't as generically popular as the NBA sure isn't going to change my mind because it isn't a hockey vs. basketball thing.

I like bball obviously, especially the NBA, but I've got a lot of respect for hockey. I never got into it, but that's certainly an exciting sport to watch (it's no baseball, that's for sure).

Originally Posted by happytown

Dont know if the Sonics will be definitely coming or not! IMO should stay in Seattle (history), but the town has problems and is a mess with their pro teams.
OKC will get a team though, whether it be the Sonics/Hornets or expansion from what I understand.
I am really looking forward to my town finally having a REAL team to shout for. I just hope its not the NHL (no diss).

I was really hoping that the Hornets were going to move to OKC. It just seems unfair that the city really embraced the Hornets even though they weren't even that good, and now that they're good (and getting very little support in NO), they might just be getting the relatively crappy Sonics, who really belong in Seattle, anyway.

[Stormcrow73]

Originally Posted by another guy

I'm surprised to hear that really. I don't remember rugby being very big, but I could be mistaken. Team handball is actually a pretty cool sport, and you're right, it's quite popular in Europe.



I don't hate college ball, and obviously, I still pull for my school, at least in bball and football. It's just that a) I feel conflicted because of all the corruption in college sports (it's about as hypocritical as it gets), and b) I just get sick of hearing the same tired arguments about why the NBA stinks. No doubt it went through a down period for a bit, but IMO, it's back and stronger than ever.



Do you prefer college football to NFL as well? How do you feel about high school ball (bball or football)? Just curious.



I wouldn't group the NHL with baseball; they're struggling for different reasons. MLB has history and tradition behind it, it's a declining sport, both in participation and audience. NHL is still a relative newcomer that never gained a foothold. MLB is, quite frankly, a very boring sport that you had to grow up with to appreciate. The NHL's biggest problem is that few people grew up with up (if even nearly as many people had grown up with and played hockey as baseball the NHL would be hugely more popular than baseball (IMO)).



I like bball obviously, especially the NBA, but I've got a lot of respect for hockey. I never got into it, but that's certainly an exciting sport to watch (it's no baseball, that's for sure).



I was really hoping that the Hornets were going to move to OKC. It just seems unfair that the city really embraced the Hornets even though they weren't even that good, and now that they're good (and getting very little support in NO), they might just be getting the relatively crappy Sonics, who really belong in Seattle, anyway.

Rugby in WE: France is actually a fairly big stronghold but most people don't realize it. It has it's own professional contests (French Rugby League Championship - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) as well as routinely getting clubs in the major European contests. France is undeniably the strongest European rugby nation outside of the UK and Ireland. Italy has a steadily growing tradition in international competition (Rugby union in Italy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia).


Me personally, I tend to prefer college football to NFL because I don't have a real home team in the NFL to cheer for. I have a couple of adopted teams I kinda cheer for but when the chips are down and they aren't winning, it's easy to abandon them cuz I don't live there. If I really had a great home team in the NFL, I'd much prefer it. I totally agree with you on the corruption in the NCAA. There are just way too many ways to get around the compensation rules. Probably all the star players in college are getting something somehow.

I LOVE high school football! Especially in small town USA where it's like a community event every Friday night. Even if the talent level isn't high, it's a fun time. HS bball is ok I guess but its usually not as publicized an event as football so it's easy to forget there are games going on. Before you know it, the season is over and you maybe managed to get to one game.

The thing about hockey is, if you ever decide to play it, you'll probably be ruined for life on some other sports. You may still be a fan but you'll probably never again be as so totally into it. Just like that article happytown posted said, it's hard to get into the game if you haven't played it. But once you do and you begin to understand the flow of the game then other sports start to seem slow and cumbersome. In bball, I have a real hard time watching teams that use really sound offensive sets even though back when I was in HS and I played a lot of bball I really appreciated that chess match of picks and passes. But now I can really only get into the uptempo play, full court press and all that, which is why I prefer college over NBA.