thedoper wrote:Its hard to argue that the NBA hasnt as a whole been better for fans, players and owners generally. The only people getting screwed are the fans who grew up rooting for a regional team. The culture is changing, the NBA may not be ready for a roller derby style traveling roadshow of teams, but it is so much more about rooting for players. So when players leave a team, they dont even think they are doing the fans a disservice, since collectively/globally their fanbase loyalty and their brand increase in stature. I was just thinking about this when I woke up, but the local sports team may end up being the dinosaur in all of this. Because big picture, what or who does it matter to that the Wolves suck? And why should a player who has the majority of the world telling them that they're amazing stay loyal to a jersey with a wolf on it when that team has done very little to increase fandom?
I personally hate the "player empowerment era" but that is because Im romantic to an era of local franchises being the key builder of fame for these players. Its just not that way anymore. Every other industry people are free to follow where the most opportunity is, as long as there is this much money in it, basketball will only get worse. Fighting it is a losing battle. The Wolves wont last forever, I just cant see how they matter. The organization has been a laughing stock since they've been in the league apart from the 10 years they had a top 20 all time player. And even then they tried everything they could to fuck that up.
thedoper wrote:Its hard to argue that the NBA hasnt as a whole been better for fans, players and owners generally. The only people getting screwed are the fans who grew up rooting for a regional team. The culture is changing, the NBA may not be ready for a roller derby style traveling roadshow of teams, but it is so much more about rooting for players. So when players leave a team, they dont even think they are doing the fans a disservice, since collectively/globally their fanbase loyalty and their brand increase in stature. I was just thinking about this when I woke up, but the local sports team may end up being the dinosaur in all of this. Because big picture, what or who does it matter to that the Wolves suck? And why should a player who has the majority of the world telling them that they're amazing stay loyal to a jersey with a wolf on it when that team has done very little to increase fandom?
I personally hate the "player empowerment era" but that is because Im romantic to an era of local franchises being the key builder of fame for these players. Its just not that way anymore. Every other industry people are free to follow where the most opportunity is, as long as there is this much money in it, basketball will only get worse. Fighting it is a losing battle. The Wolves wont last forever, I just cant see how they matter. The organization has been a laughing stock since they've been in the league apart from the 10 years they had a top 20 all time player. And even then they tried everything they could to fuck that up.
Bah humbug!
[Note: But you're right.]
Haha. Yes my Christmas gift to everyone. What a downer.
