In sixth grade a new kid named Paul moved to town and was put into my class. Back then, (kind of like now), my judgment of guys largely revolved around their interests in sports and Paul was a sports nut. So I was shocked at the response when I asked if he had watched the opening game of the Knicks season. He looked at me as if I asked if he still crapped his pants regularly. "NBA? How can you watch that garbage? Everyone knows its fixed."
That was roughly 19 years ago in the height of the Larry-Magic-early Michael years. In the years to follow the Dunk Contest became an event almost on par with the Super Bowl for me, I simultaneously stood in awe of and hated Michael Jordan, fueds with "Bulls fans" sometimes got physical, I owned a pair of Ewings and wore them to school until they fell apart, and the Knicks ripped my heart out when Starks kept clanging brick after brick.
My love of the Knicks continued into college. I sat in Howl at the Moon with only the bartender for company the night after everyone moved out junior year and screamed at the tv as the Knicks fought their way out of the Heat series in '97. Even after college we marveled at the greatest dunk contest ever won by Vince Carter in 2000.
The worm has turned since then. The Knicks have become persona non grata in my mind, and the fact that they suck isn't even why. First they hired a guy that I have hated with a passion my whole life, a man who has failed miserably at everything he has done off the basketball court. Then, the hated Dolans blocked the Jets from moving back to New York. This I cannot forgive, and I cannot possibly buy tickets/merchandise to financially support these men who prevented New York from having a football team, a Super Bowl, stadium concerts, and billions of dollars of revenue.
But these are all legitimate reasons to hate the Knicks, and this is supposed to be about hating the NBA. On that point, the way palming/travelling are called, the game more resembles European Handball than basketball. When Starbury drives he covers the ball up with both arms like a running back and takes three steps minimum. The quality of play has become a joke since everyone is drafted on potential instead of production unless they are taken by the Spurs. Additionally, all anyone ever talks about is contracts. The most valuable player on a team is usually the guy whose contract expires the soonest. Related to this, the meaninglessness of regular season games has gotten to the point where you'll see more effort in an over-30 half court league.
BUT these are all things that can be fixed (just call travels, adopt the NFL anti-Maurice Clarett rule and have non-guaranteed contracts). The hurdle I can't get over anymore is the now-proven orchestrated nature of the league. Don't let the Blazers beat the Lakers, the Blazers won't draw ratings. We need a squeaky clean young star, get Dwayne Wade to the line. The other night on PTI Wilbon was saying the NBA will be fine if they can prove it was just one guy involved. That's like saying if Bonds passes a test tomorrow he never did juice. I refuse to waste my time on the league and honestly hope it becomes less popular than the lowly NHL. Rest in Hell NBA. If they didn't know before, now everyone knows its fixed. Just like Paul told me.
No comments:
Post a Comment