[philcski]

Originally Posted by ateamstupid

Thanks for telling me to go to an NBA game. I've never been.

Again, you've missed my point. I don't care if NBA guys are assholes, my problem is that the NBA is so dry. It largely doesn't matter to these players whether they win or lose. That's gay, no matter how good the players are.

I cover high school basketball in the city and I enjoy the hell out of it, moreso than NBA games. Why? Because these kids live and die for basketball. Many of them are trying to play their way into a scholarship, others are just doing it because they love it. It's basketball at its purest, if not at its cleanest. There aren't seven zillion TV timeouts, halftime show inanity, or players that are treated like Gods. It's more than just some **** they have to do in order to get paid eight figures a year and secure endorsement deals.

College hoops is similar. Most kids aren't going to the NBA, and every season, thousands of players take their last steps on a basketball court in front of a crowd. Therefore, they're going to want to win more than NBA players, to keep their careers going. So they bust their asses and give us great games against other kids not wanting their careers to end. That's fake drama? What the hell would be real drama then?

Yeah that pretty much sums it up for me.

I never get the sense that NBA players care whether they win or lose. Getting paid is really all that matters. There are a smattering who still play with the passion that would indicate the final tally is wins and losses rather than dollar signs (Dwayne Wade, KG come to mind) but for ever DW there is two Stephon Marburys. I don't doubt the fact that these guys are superior athletes, and that's about the only reason to watch IMO.

College hoops (and Chuck I'm surprised you don't feel the same way, being an alumni of an elite basketball school) inspires passion and pride in people and the players. You rarely see kids "take a night off", let alone a possession. The NCAA Tournament is the best team sporting event in the world- the NBA playoffs can't touch that, ever. I don't care if I cheer for a jersey in college hoops because it's MY jersey.

Also, they unceremoniously ripped the NBA teams out of my hometowns because "the TV market wasn't big enough" and moved them to San Diego and Cincy, I'll never forgive them for that, even if the first one was well before my lifetime.