Jonathan Comey: NBA Bashing Won't Last Long

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com>]

  NBA bashing won't stand test of time                   
  Jonathan Comey                                   
                                                           
  jcomey@S-T.com                                             
                                                            
  What's everyone so mad about? When I'm in          
  my car minding my own business, I try to listen
  to as little radio sports talk as is humanly
  possible. But sometimes, when I've gone around        
  the FM dial without even a decent song coming on,
  I'll flip to AM. For about five minutes, at most. 
                                                          
  I just can't deal with radio talk show
  callers, for a few reasons. To me, they usually
  represent the worst of what sports fans can be:           
  short-sighted, obnoxious and very predictable.          
  They're like an angry jury that always comes to a
  hasty decision despite knowing few (or none) of        
  the facts. They are always living in the moment,   
  never taking the time to think about history or
  worry about the future.                              
                                                     
  When the NBA settled its labor dispute            
  Wednesday, and announced it will play an                 
  abbreviated 50-game season starting Feb. 5, the
  reactions in radioland were swift.                      
  Who cares about the NBA, anyway?               
                                                             
  I wish they had canceled the season.
                                                           
  A 50-game season isn't even worth                 
  playing.                                                   
  These guys are all in it for the money.           
  I'm never going to watch the NBA again.     
  I can understand the emotional response,
  the quick feeling of anger when an average person         
  with real responsibilities sees millionaires         
  bicker over how to divide the pie.                  
  But why does that mean that the product
  -- pro basketball -- is all of a sudden tainted?     
  And why did everyone latch on with such vigor to   
  any negative bits of information regarding the           
  dispute?                                               
  Personally, the internal doings of a             
  league are of no interest to me.                       
  Here's what is of interest:                 

     * The next month. There are a lot of things to      
       get settled before this season starts, the         
       kind of offseason roster shuffling that           
       usually gets spread out over months of time.
       There will be something to talk about every       
       day. And as an added bonus, we get to see            
       just how out-of-shape some of these guys.           
     * Hakeem Olajuwon posting up against Shaquille
       O'Neal in the playoffs.                         
     * The wacky world of Rick Pitino. If you don't         
       like the Celtics coach, fine. But you can't
       say that his teams aren't fun to watch, or          
       that it's not kind of enjoyable watching him       
       bend the truth a bit when he talks about his       
       plans. And it's always fun to watch the
       Celtics contend for a playoff spot.             
     * Reggie Miller hitting a 3-pointer from about
       40 feet out to win a game for the Indiana          
       Pacers. And coach Larry Bird's expression        
       never changing.                                     
     * Pat Riley's group of thugs in Miami getting
       everybody riled up but winning plenty of         
       games.                                     
     * The drama of the NBA draft. Who will go
       where, and where they fit in with their new         
       teams. Who will be a bust, who will be a
       steal, who will be the right man for the
       right job.
     * Trades. Football has given up on trades, and
       baseball is geared more toward free agency
       than dealing. But the NBA loves to deal, and
       what's more fun to talk about than a
       seven-player trade between two teams?
     * Allen Iverson's crossover move. Kevin
       Garnett's thunder slam. Stephon Marbury's
       no-look pass. Kobe Bryant's sheer ability.
       You want to trash these young players? Why
       don't you give them a chance to mature
       first? You know, Michael Jordan used to be a
       ball-hog, too.
     * And what about Jordan? Will he be back or
       won't he? And will the Bulls have what it
       takes to win even if he does come back?

  Maybe they won't admit it now, but those
  are all things a lot of people will enjoy
  watching as well.
  And like pro baseball, hockey and
  football have found before when they suffered
  through labor problems, fans have short memories.
  The same fan who says "never again" now will
  probably be parked in front of the TV for the NBA
  Finals in June. Why? Because it's easy to hate
  the NBA when all it consists of is arguing about
  money. It's not so easy to hate it when it
  consists of dramatic finishes, athletic moves and
  big games.
  So forgive me if I get a little chuckle
  when everyone gets all mad and self-righteous.
  Because I know that there will be a new subject
  for anger next week, and next month, and next
  year.
  And that's FAN-TASTIC!

       Jonathan Comey is a staff writer for
       The Standard-Times.


         Copyright © 1998 The Standard-Times.All rights reserved.