Uncertainty mars the opening night of the NBA season – A fan’s take: Part 1
Last season, when the NBA campaign kicked off in late October, the league was abuzz with the formation of the new power nucleus at the South Beach and as to how the trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh will fare in
their quest for multiple championships with the Miami Heat. And then there was the quest of a three peat from the Los Angeles Lakers.
As the season went on, the NBA witnessed popularity of unimaginable magnitudes and by the time, the Dallas Mavericks knocked out Miami Heat in the NBA Finals, the league saw the highest ever TV ratings and a fan following of proportions
not witnessed during the last decade.
However, with the start of the NBA Lockout – a dispute in which the greedy owners are fighting over money with the greedy players – all the hard work of the last season fell apart.
November the 1st – the date on which the 2011-12 NBA season was supposed to start; the day on which, we the fans, were supposed to fill the arenas country wide to see our favourite players in action and more importantly,
to live the game, which has over the years become the integral part of our lives and sporting culture.
However instead of the hoops frenzy, all what we are witnessing at the moment is a dreaded battle in which the millionaires are at loggerheads with the billionaires for little percentages. The architect-in-chief of this dispute,
NBA commissioner, David Stern, had this to say last Friday night.
“It’s not practical, possible or prudent to have a full season now.” He said. “We held out that joint hope together, but in light of the breakdown of talks, there will not be a full NBA season under any circumstances. I say that
with apologies to the municipalities in which we play our games, to the workers who earn their living in our buildings, and from businesses around the buildings.”
The thing to note is this statement is that there is not even a single mention of the fans in this rather formal statement. But then, who cares about the people who are the source of the revenue on which these greedy parasites
thrive upon.
The most intriguing thing about this so called labour dispute is that the parties responsible do not seem to have a unanimous directive about the issue.
After the latest rounds of talks broke down, there have been reports of unrest among players. Apparently the players are not happy about the ‘walking out’ act of ‘Billy the Hunter’ and they want to ensure that the executive director
of their union doesn’t display this sort of audacity ever again.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article do not represent Bettor.com’s editorial policy.
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