Well said. I think this is very much related to something which is hurting all sports: championships are everything. This psychosis did not exist when I was growing up, it's very much a 21st Century phenomenon.
The point about the hollowness of the regular season and the players who dominate hits home. The media can't talk about greats like Barkley, Malone, or Iverson without mentioning their lack of "rings." Who cares?! They're great.
The vast majority of games any team plays will be regular season games. You can't demean them! I think this is also why so many of us enjoyed the Process years. We knew there would be no postseason but the games felt like referendums on Hinkie. I can vividly remember dozens of regular season games from that era. I can count on one hand the amount I've watched in the last year.
All the other points in this essay are really good and I agree with all of it. But until the NBA finds a way to make the regular season matter, it's pointless. And yet their approach will definitely be to come up with some gimmick instead of fundamental change.
Why isn’t this guy (MOC) writing for a national NBA platform. Always produces quality stuff, but this is one of the most thoughtful pieces I’ve ever read about sport fandom. Somebody get him an agent.
Can imagine how fans of some stagnant NBA teams might feel somewhat meaninglessness. Luckily all the roster moves that keep happening with this team, it do not imply existential thoughts of fan. This article is top.
Well said. I think this is very much related to something which is hurting all sports: championships are everything. This psychosis did not exist when I was growing up, it's very much a 21st Century phenomenon.
The point about the hollowness of the regular season and the players who dominate hits home. The media can't talk about greats like Barkley, Malone, or Iverson without mentioning their lack of "rings." Who cares?! They're great.
The vast majority of games any team plays will be regular season games. You can't demean them! I think this is also why so many of us enjoyed the Process years. We knew there would be no postseason but the games felt like referendums on Hinkie. I can vividly remember dozens of regular season games from that era. I can count on one hand the amount I've watched in the last year.
All the other points in this essay are really good and I agree with all of it. But until the NBA finds a way to make the regular season matter, it's pointless. And yet their approach will definitely be to come up with some gimmick instead of fundamental change.
Why isn’t this guy (MOC) writing for a national NBA platform. Always produces quality stuff, but this is one of the most thoughtful pieces I’ve ever read about sport fandom. Somebody get him an agent.
Well written and insightful! Amazing job articulating a hard-to-describe trend.
This is an excellent essay. Articulates things I was unwittingly feeling.
Perfectly captures what I’ve been feeling for a couple of years (as a former season ticket holder from the ‘80s to the near-present).
Can imagine how fans of some stagnant NBA teams might feel somewhat meaninglessness. Luckily all the roster moves that keep happening with this team, it do not imply existential thoughts of fan. This article is top.