A Question for the Sports Heads

[omnifax]

Hoping this hasn't been posted before. I made this thread because I just noticed something when talking sports with other guys particularly white guys. I'm not trying to make this a race thread so I'll keep the racial part to a minimum. I am pretty much primarily an NBA sports watcher. I can watch other sports in passing but I don't get as excited about them as I do the NBA. I don't have problem with other sports it's just how I am I like what I like. Lately though whenever I've talked with white guys about sports I noticed a common opinion among them when I state that I primarily watch the NBA. Most of them will say something along the lines of "Oh I used to like the NBA but I can't stand the ego's/arrogance" or something about how much money the players make. What bothers me is that I don't really see a difference in the ego's or the amount of money any of the top tier athletes make. Some of these guys are a$$holes some aren't, but why is that qualifier along with the money always applied when speaking on the NBA. I made note of white guys cause I only get this opinion when I talk to them. Anyone else had this experience? Is it deeper than race? Are they on to something? Sorry for the long story.

 

[Danny Up]

Basketball players are more visible. Basketball stars are pushed above the team. It's not really like that in any other sport. Basketball players are also more likely to be recognized due to not wearing any head gear.

 

[MercuryHayes]

Haven't heard that excuse from a cac since Iverson era. You get a bit of it with the Lebron thing but they weren't watching anyway.


NBA is better now than last decade and it's not even close, and thats coming from a Pistons fan.


They're missing out but fukk em anyway

 

[omnifax]

Basketball players are more visible. Basketball stars are pushed above the team. It's not really like that in any other sport. Basketball players are also more likely to be recognized due to not wearing any head gear.

I get what you are saying here but a sports head or even a casual sports watcher who watches ESPN or other news networks that cover sports would be familiar with a lot of athletes faces particularly the stars no matter what covers their faces when they play. I do agree that the basketball stars are held in higher status in regard to the team by comparison to football and baseball.

 

[MikeBrownsJob]

white opinions

 

[Captain Crunch]

NBA will never be on the level as MLB or NFL, because this sport demonstrates many blacks in prominence and a lot of Americans can't stand it. It's one thing in the NFL, but players aren't that visible, where in the NBA brothers are in the lights. Not too mention, you have black NBA stars dictating where they want to play; dudes being known off the court, and it makes it a sport tough pill for your average American to swallow.

 

[godkiller]

I've experienced the same thing you have. In fact, I was trolling a hockey forum a few days ago, asking them whether they think NHL players are athletic compared to NBA players. Lo and behold many gave the exact same reason for not liking the NBA as your cacs did. At base I think it comes down to racial bias, familiarity and visibility.

I think what they mean is basketball culture encompasses too much of what they consider to be black culture and/or else they see too many black faces. I think they associate black people and culture with vulgarity, animosity and classlessness--or else they simply don't like blacks and think of reasons not to like the NBA after the fact. I think it also has something to do with the sheer number of black stars in the NBA too.
In football, fans can't really see player's heads or faces beyond the helmet. In other words, fans don't get a constant glimpse of a player's profile. Thus I imagine some cacs see football players as faceless representations of their clubs. NBA players meanwhile can't be seen so cleanly because their profiles are far more visible on the court, which oftentimes features a noticeable lack of traditional white star people. While the NFL isn't majority traditional white, at least 40% of it is and the stars are usually white or white-acting.

 

[omnifax]

I've experienced the same thing you have. I think what they mean is basketball culture encompasses too much of what they consider to be black culture and/or else they see too many black faces. In football, fans can't really see player's heads or faces beyond the helmet. In other words, fans don't get a constant glimpse of a player's profile. Thus I imagine some cacs see football players as faceless representations of their clubs. NBA players can't be seen so cleanly as such because their profiles are far more visible alongside a noticeable lack of traditional white people.

Makes more sense as I think about it. I just didn't want to think it was me being over sensitive and reacting just based off of race. Part of me says when I hear those statement is that you like those other sports more because the players held up the highest are white quarterbacks (in my opinion) and pitchers in baseball who while you have a significant afro-latino representation you still have a large amount of top white players.

 

[godkiller]

Makes more sense as I think about it. I just didn't want to think it was me being over sensitive and reacting just based off of race. Part of me says when I hear those statement is that you like those other sports more because the players held up the highest are white quarterbacks (in my opinion) and pitchers in baseball who while you have a significant afro-latino representation you still have a large amount of top white players.

Admittedly I could be oversimplifying the issue and attributing more to familiarity, visibility, culture and ethnicity because these are low-hanging fruit. It could be that cacs are more attracted to other sports because of different reasons like respect, lack of egos, etc. The issue might actually involve a combination of factors rather than just one or two. The numbers say the NCAA is at least as popular as the NBA.

I think the Iverson era was the lowest point for basketball interest and the Euroball era brought them all back. A recent market study poll concluded that the most "trustworthy" players in the NBA are Steph Curry and Tim Duncan. Moreover these two scored highest in the likeability, influence, endorsement impact and trend-setting areas. So Steph Curry is doing something right. When people look at Steph Curry and Duncan they clearly don't see "thug" Blake Griffin is also very popular among cacs I've noticed.

I think some cacs associate dark skin, tattoos and black(er) features as "thuggish".

 

[omnifax]

Admittedly I could be oversimplifying the issue and attributing more to familiarity, visibility, culture and ethnicity because these are low-hanging fruit. It could be that cacs are more attracted to other sports because of different reasons like respect, lack of egos, etc. The issue might actually involve a combination of factors rather than just one or two. The numbers say the NCAA is at least as popular as the NBA.

I think the Iverson era was the lowest point for cac basketball and the Euroball era brought them all back. A recent market study poll concluded that the most "trustworthy" players in the NBA are Steph Curry and Tim Duncan. So when people look at Steph Curry and Duncan they clearly don't see "thug". But I imagine when they look at other players they might see things different. Blake Griffin is also very popular among cacs.

The thug thing crossed my mind as well but in my opinion the off the field antics of football players has been much more frequent and outlandish then basketball players. Iverson definitely ruffled some folks feathers cause Stern went ham with the different rules and regulations after he saw the influence he was having on players and the culture overall.

 

[godkiller]

The thug thing crossed my mind as well but in my opinion the off the field antics of football players has been much more frequent and outlandish then basketball players. Iverson definitely ruffled some folks feathers cause Stern went ham with the different rules and regulations after he saw the influence he was having on players and the culture overall.

PS: I edited my post. You might want to read it again.

As regards your post, I think you have a point. I don't know why some people complain about basketball yet watch football, a sport where athletes commit more crime. It might have something to do with the fact football watching is more traditional and more Republican in a way. I imagine crime and criminal factors might have something to do with the NBA versus NFL's popularity too. That said, I think another non-bias reason for the disparity in popularity between the two come from the fact most people aren't 6'0+ tall. One of the reasons I don't watch as much basketball as I should is because I can't relate to basketball player's sheer size. I'd rather watch football where guys are more normal-sized.

 

[omnifax]

PS: I edited my post. You might want to read it again.

As regards your post, I think you have a point. I don't know why some people complain about basketball yet watch football, a sport where athletes commit more crime. It might have something to do with the fact football watching is more traditional and more Republican in a way. I imagine crime and criminal factors might have something to do with the NBA versus NFL's popularity too. That said, I think another non-bias reason for the disparity in popularity between the two come from the fact most people aren't 6'0+ tall. One of the reasons I don't watch as much basketball as I should is because I can't relate to basketball player's sheer size. I'd rather watch football where guys are more normal-sized.

Really? I've never really compared the height of the players in their respective sports I mean obviously you are only going to find 7 footers in the NBA but I always figured most of the NFL guys were 6ft+ and very burly dudes. They have some short guys, or should I say regular guys?

 

[godkiller]

I think this situation explains perfectly what I'm talking bout:

First SBNation comment (take everything in from the avatar to the comment to the username):

not even once
This type of “play” does not belong on NBA hardwood. If you enjoy that type of basketball, buy a Ghetto Street Basketball League pass and leave the sport I love to true professionals.

by bazzaretta on Nov 11, 2013 | 9:21 PM reply

Replies:

michael jordan did that move all his career, nobody ever called him ghetto
these are grown men, if you think palming a ball in someone’s face is going to hurt their feelings, they shouldn’t even be playing in theNBA. True professional my ass, the game needs more lance stephenson’s of the world that make the league more interesting.

by latrell spreewel on Nov 11, 2013 | 9:32 PM up reply
/sarcasm

by supern1nja on Nov 11, 2013 | 10:40 PM up reply

 

[omnifax]

Lol. Yeah I see what you mean. He went straight to the ghetto talk too when he could have just said the low key "taunting" or whatever you want to call it was unnecessary.

 

[GoddamnyamanProf]

They're either racists or they just legit lost interest at some point and just repeat this reason as its become very popular over the years. It seems like the go-to from casual sports fans that dont follow the NBA, Ive even heard it from non-whites and older folks.

Im white and the NBA is the only league I love

Next time youre talking to someone and they give that thug/no fundamentals excuse, ask them "like who?" and watch as they frustratingly search for an answer like "Iverson" or "shyt you know, all of em"