It 'taint the worst part of the sports season

Each February I am reminded as to why I dislike the NBA. It isn’t the fact that I just don’t like professional sports much in general. I enjoy Major League Baseball and I enjoy the NFL, although not as much as college football. The NBA, however, will never be as entertaining to me as college basketball.

The biggest reason is the NBA draft.

Since December analysts, writers, radio hosts and blogs have been talking about the Celtics (and other teams, to a lesser extent, like the Sixers) intentionally losing so they can get the number one pick. (I’m looking at you, sports guy) As a former college athlete (not of any relevance, even on a small D-III basketball team) I can’t fathom losing on purpose. It was hard fathoming losing at all. It hurt too much. But losing on purpose to possibly get enough ping pong balls to earn the number one pick in the draft doesn’t make any sense to me.

In college sports there is no losing, especially in football and basketball. In football, where teams only play 12 games, a loss can ruin a team’s chances at making a bowl game of any meaning and two loses at most premier programs will effectively end a season, losing is not an option. In basketball, more than four or five losses can cost you several seeds in conference tournaments and if you make the tournament that many losses can leave you out, on the bubble or with a low seed. Every game means something.

When top teams are playing teams that are hungry and need a key win to get off the bubble games mean more for both teams. Florida can’t lose to Vanderbilt, Wisconsin can’t lose on the road to Michigan State and teams like Virginia Tech, Florida State and the University of Virginia can ruin Duke’s season. If the Pistons lose to the Celtics all people talk about is the Celtics winning a game ruining their chances of “winning” the Greg Oden Sweepstakes.

In college, every team has a player whether it be Collin Falls for Notre Dame or Drew Neitzel for Michigan State who can hit big shots and put a blemish on a great team’s season and boost their own team’s argument for making the tournament. Every game means something. Also in college, the atmosphere of a team’s gym can be the difference. Every time Neitzel hit a big three there were a thousand students in white jumping in the stands. Watching an NBA game is like watching an opera. “We paid $200 dollars to watch this, entertain us!” Unless Gilbert Arenas goes off for 50 the crowd is quiet, sipping their $9 beers and eating their $4.75 hot dogs and waiting for “Who let the dogs out” (is that still the anthem of choice in professional sports?) to play over the loud speaker.

So yea, the ballyhoo over the NBA and in some cases the NFL has always bothered me. At least college football fans can bitch and moan about how the BCS is crap which actually makes me watch the NFL more. Plus, football is only on twice a week. With 82 NBA games and a general lackluster, apathetic attitude from the players and fans, the NBA just doesn’t do it for me. The NFL has die-hard fans and it is America’s sport. College basketball? Greatest tournament in sports, rowdy, power hour-fueled fans in every gym and meaningful games all year long. February the taint of the sports year? Tell that to the Cameron Crazies.