Kill Dat Noize
Banned
Everyone knows the NFL is head and shoulders the most popular professional sports league in America, that's not really up for debate. Their product produces higher ratings and generates more revenue than MLB, the NBA and the NHL combined. In fact some are even arguing that football has become our new national pastime.
However I propose the following theory. That football is NOT our country's most popular sport. I propose that the NFL is on top because of - all the professional sport leagues - the NFL offers the best product.
So what do I think is really the most popular sport? Basketball. When basketball is played at it's highest level, it captivates audiences more than any other sport.
Who were the biggest sports icons of the 80's? Magic and Bird. Basketball players.
Who was the biggest sports icon of the 90's? Michael Jordan. Basketball player.
Who's the biggest sports icon NOW? LeBron James. Basketball player.
No other sport has produced AS MANY transcendent stars as the NBA has in recent memory. Not football. Not baseball. Not hockey. Not boxing. If you round up the most popular american athletes of the last 20 years, the majority of them are basketball players.
So then the question remains, if basketball is so popular and so loved... then why is the NBA so clearly and obviously getting destroyed by the NFL?
Because the NFL offers a superior product.
Almost half of the NBA's regular season plays like an exhibition. Games simply don't start mattering until you find yourself fighting for a playoff spot... and seeing as how more than HALF of the league makes it into the playoffs... what you're left with is a bunch of teams coasting all season and going through the motions pretending like these games actually matter when they don't. For fukk sakes you have coaches BENCHING STARTERS so that they could get some rest. Remember when Pop pulled that shyt with the spurs? Can you blame him? Why is he gonna risk the health of his best players in a bunch of games that DON'T MATTER. His team is 6 games ahead in first place and he's on the second night of a back to back in a game that will amount to absolutely nothing. You don't see this in the NFL because EVERY GAME MATTERS. And because of that, fans are more invested in their teams and their games. The stakes are high each and every sunday. In the NBA... there are no stakes. That super duper hyped up christmas game between LeBron and Kobe? Yup, it means nothing for both teams. We are literally watching exhibition basketball from November all the way up until around March.
So how do you make these games matter? Simple. You reduce the length of the regular season. There's no need for 82 games. The only reason we have 82 games is because that's all we've ever known.
Newsflash, we don't need 82 games. It's oversatuation at it's finest. It's too much.
Instead of playing 82 games from November to April... how about they only play 56 from November to April. Less games means more rest. More rest means less chance for injury in meaningless regular season games. More rest and less injuries means better quality basketball. Less games and higher quality means MORE OF A REASON TO WATCH.
But I know what you're thinking. What makes you think less games is gonna automatically translate into a superior product? Okay so guys will be more rested and we don't have to sit through as many meaningless games? So what? How does this translate into better basketball?
Well simple, you copy the NFL model. The NFL succeeds because EVERY TEAM has a fair shot to compete. So long as you make the playoffs, anything can happen. The Giants shocked the world by creeping into the post season and setting the world and fire by winning it all. That don't happen in the NBA. The NBA is the most predictable fukkin shyt in the world and that's why it can't hold a candle to the NFL. If you're not a fan of 4-5 teams.... congratulations you're wasting your time. You have no shot. Because even if by the grace of god the milwuakee bucks make it in as an 8th seed... now they gotta beat the 1st seed Heat in a best out of 7. In other words... never gonna happen.
So what's the solution? How can we make it so that all the teams have an actual shot at competing? How do we make it so that these teams scrape and CLAW for a playoff spot during this much improved regular season? How do we amp up the excitement level?
You change the playoff format from 7-7-7-7 to 3-3-3-1.
From now on the playoffs up until the championship game would be a best of 3. Now every series matters because literally anything can happen. And not only that but the ratings for these games would be THROUGH THE ROOF because every single game would feel like a can't miss. You wanna prove your a champion? Prove it. No more of this best of 7 bullshyt where you have all this room for error. In this format you gotta bring it and bring it when it counts. You know... PLAYOFF BASKETBALL!!!!! The team with the best regular season record gets home court advantage throughout the playoffs and into the championship game.
Can you imagine a fukkin CHAMPIONSHIP GAME between LeBron and Kobe? Or LeBron and Durant? After a few years of conditioning the fans to this new system, there's no doubt in my mind it would be bigger than the superbowl. Simply put, basketball is a more inviting game to watch for people of all ages and it has the biggest stars. So if you up the stakes to the max and capitalize what the NFL did for football... but bring that over into the NBA.... there's no way it fails.
Now you have what the NFL has. Now the fukkin fans over in Denver can actually get behind their team for once. Why? Cause they could win. Now the fans in Golden State could get behind their team. Why? Cause they could win. All they gotta do is make the playoffs.
Here was your reaction when you first heard the Warriors got Andre Iguodala in the offseason.
Know why? Cause it don't mean dikk. They ain't winnin shyt. It's all a circle jerk until Miami or whoever plays in the finals and smashes em. The offseason acquisition of Iggy was almost 100% inconsequential.
But with this system, if you heard the Warriors got Iggy your reaction would be like
Know why? Cause now that could be enough to put them over the top. Now a guy like Andre Iguodala has real VALUE and isn't relegated to being some mid tier talent. Now you don't have to be a superstar to have an impact on the season.
CLIFF NOTES FOR YOU LAZY ASS nikkaS
- Shorten the regular season by about 1/3
- Change the playoff format to 3-3-3-1
- Bring the NFL structural model over to the NBA
However I propose the following theory. That football is NOT our country's most popular sport. I propose that the NFL is on top because of - all the professional sport leagues - the NFL offers the best product.
So what do I think is really the most popular sport? Basketball. When basketball is played at it's highest level, it captivates audiences more than any other sport.
Who were the biggest sports icons of the 80's? Magic and Bird. Basketball players.
Who was the biggest sports icon of the 90's? Michael Jordan. Basketball player.
Who's the biggest sports icon NOW? LeBron James. Basketball player.
No other sport has produced AS MANY transcendent stars as the NBA has in recent memory. Not football. Not baseball. Not hockey. Not boxing. If you round up the most popular american athletes of the last 20 years, the majority of them are basketball players.
So then the question remains, if basketball is so popular and so loved... then why is the NBA so clearly and obviously getting destroyed by the NFL?
Because the NFL offers a superior product.
Almost half of the NBA's regular season plays like an exhibition. Games simply don't start mattering until you find yourself fighting for a playoff spot... and seeing as how more than HALF of the league makes it into the playoffs... what you're left with is a bunch of teams coasting all season and going through the motions pretending like these games actually matter when they don't. For fukk sakes you have coaches BENCHING STARTERS so that they could get some rest. Remember when Pop pulled that shyt with the spurs? Can you blame him? Why is he gonna risk the health of his best players in a bunch of games that DON'T MATTER. His team is 6 games ahead in first place and he's on the second night of a back to back in a game that will amount to absolutely nothing. You don't see this in the NFL because EVERY GAME MATTERS. And because of that, fans are more invested in their teams and their games. The stakes are high each and every sunday. In the NBA... there are no stakes. That super duper hyped up christmas game between LeBron and Kobe? Yup, it means nothing for both teams. We are literally watching exhibition basketball from November all the way up until around March.
So how do you make these games matter? Simple. You reduce the length of the regular season. There's no need for 82 games. The only reason we have 82 games is because that's all we've ever known.
Newsflash, we don't need 82 games. It's oversatuation at it's finest. It's too much.
Instead of playing 82 games from November to April... how about they only play 56 from November to April. Less games means more rest. More rest means less chance for injury in meaningless regular season games. More rest and less injuries means better quality basketball. Less games and higher quality means MORE OF A REASON TO WATCH.
But I know what you're thinking. What makes you think less games is gonna automatically translate into a superior product? Okay so guys will be more rested and we don't have to sit through as many meaningless games? So what? How does this translate into better basketball?
Well simple, you copy the NFL model. The NFL succeeds because EVERY TEAM has a fair shot to compete. So long as you make the playoffs, anything can happen. The Giants shocked the world by creeping into the post season and setting the world and fire by winning it all. That don't happen in the NBA. The NBA is the most predictable fukkin shyt in the world and that's why it can't hold a candle to the NFL. If you're not a fan of 4-5 teams.... congratulations you're wasting your time. You have no shot. Because even if by the grace of god the milwuakee bucks make it in as an 8th seed... now they gotta beat the 1st seed Heat in a best out of 7. In other words... never gonna happen.
So what's the solution? How can we make it so that all the teams have an actual shot at competing? How do we make it so that these teams scrape and CLAW for a playoff spot during this much improved regular season? How do we amp up the excitement level?
You change the playoff format from 7-7-7-7 to 3-3-3-1.
From now on the playoffs up until the championship game would be a best of 3. Now every series matters because literally anything can happen. And not only that but the ratings for these games would be THROUGH THE ROOF because every single game would feel like a can't miss. You wanna prove your a champion? Prove it. No more of this best of 7 bullshyt where you have all this room for error. In this format you gotta bring it and bring it when it counts. You know... PLAYOFF BASKETBALL!!!!! The team with the best regular season record gets home court advantage throughout the playoffs and into the championship game.
Can you imagine a fukkin CHAMPIONSHIP GAME between LeBron and Kobe? Or LeBron and Durant? After a few years of conditioning the fans to this new system, there's no doubt in my mind it would be bigger than the superbowl. Simply put, basketball is a more inviting game to watch for people of all ages and it has the biggest stars. So if you up the stakes to the max and capitalize what the NFL did for football... but bring that over into the NBA.... there's no way it fails.
Now you have what the NFL has. Now the fukkin fans over in Denver can actually get behind their team for once. Why? Cause they could win. Now the fans in Golden State could get behind their team. Why? Cause they could win. All they gotta do is make the playoffs.
Here was your reaction when you first heard the Warriors got Andre Iguodala in the offseason.
Know why? Cause it don't mean dikk. They ain't winnin shyt. It's all a circle jerk until Miami or whoever plays in the finals and smashes em. The offseason acquisition of Iggy was almost 100% inconsequential.
But with this system, if you heard the Warriors got Iggy your reaction would be like
Know why? Cause now that could be enough to put them over the top. Now a guy like Andre Iguodala has real VALUE and isn't relegated to being some mid tier talent. Now you don't have to be a superstar to have an impact on the season.
CLIFF NOTES FOR YOU LAZY ASS nikkaS
- Shorten the regular season by about 1/3
- Change the playoff format to 3-3-3-1
- Bring the NFL structural model over to the NBA
