Alright, time for me to take a stand.
Recently, I re-watched Tim Duncan's No. 21 Spurs jersey be retired to the rafters. The ceremony, originally in December, was a grand celebration of Duncan's contributions on the court and how, in turn, he transformed the San Antonio Spurs, San Antonio and the entire NBA.
Duncan is probably the second-greatest player I have seen with clarity. (My first live NBA game was at nine: a Clippers-Spurs clash and Duncan couldn't miss.) His impact on the game is set in stone: he's the greatest forward to play this sport.
He's also a product of nurturing by a small market (San Antonio), a wise coach (Gregg Popovich) and an underrated Good Career Move (not joining Orlando in 2000 with Tracy McGrady and Grant Hill).
Tim Duncan made the Spurs elite. The Spurs' continued post-Duncan excellence proves my point: Small markets saved the NBA. When the NBA was fringe in the 1960s and '70s, expansion to unforeseen lands -- Milwaukee, Portland and Seattle chief among them -- helped fire up interest in the sport (and league) in those markets.
Examples abound.
The New Orleans Jazz, floundering in a football state and a fun, distracting city (New Orleans), relocated to fun's polar opposite (Utah) in 1979 -- taking the name with them, one of sports' cutest mismatched identities. (Oh, and they went to two NBA finals in the '90s, losing to Jordan's Bulls each time.)
When the ABA folded in 1976 after a nine-year span, the NBA took the four strongest teams with them. Notable among them were the Spurs, modern basketball's benchmark of greatness, and the Indiana Pacers, whose apex in the 1990s and early 2000s was produced by legendary sharpshooter Reggie Miller.
The Portland Trail Blazers' 1977 NBA championship set the franchise into total bedlam, with its fanbase becoming (and remaining) one of the most passionate in the NBA. Even with the Jail Blazers of the early 2000s and the rise of the Timbers, nobody doubts Portland is a Blazer town.
Seattle was a Sonics town, as it was the city's first sports team. Two instances confirm this belief: the 1979 NBA title was Seattle's first title (and its only when the Sonics left in 2008). The 1990s Sonics remain one of Seattle's most beloved sports teams, even if they lost the Finals to Jordan's Bulls.
When you look to Oklahoma (population 4 million) or Memphis and the mid-South (population 2.5 million), you learn that not much exciting happens in these areas. The addition of NBA basketball has allowed the sports fans of those regions to channel SEC-level enthusiasm to the league. Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant helped basketball boom in the state of Oklahoma, making an NBA finals in 2012 (losing to LeBron's Heat). Despite the fact the Grizzlies have never been a serious contender, just being there has been a source of pride for Memphians. They tell me playoff time in Memphis makes everything more meaningful.
This is why I sympathize with Indiana fans when Paul George, a Californian like Miller, continues to flirt with the Lakers. I cry with Oklahoma City fans when Kevin Durant trades oil country for Oracle Arena. I sway with Utah fans when Gordon Hayward is constantly linked to the big-name Celtics. Kevin Garnett retired a Timberwolf. Ray Allen should have never left Milwaukee.
In today's NBA, money talks, but the ability to live comfortably and play in a chic city does matter. So we celebrate Russ, for sticking around with Oklahoma when nobody else would.
For Thunder and Grizzlies fans, just the ability for lil' ole Memphis or poor Oklahoma to stand toe to toe with the Golden States and Clevelands of the world is worth more than a million pretty pennies. Just like Portland, Indiana, Sacramento, Seattle, Utah and San Antonio before them, the NBA's impact on small markets is profound and meaningful, and ultimately the NBA should realize it is the small market that has made them what they are today.
Wednesday, April 26, 2017
LAYOFF DAY: WHY HAS ESPN FALLEN?
Wednesday morning, in an effort to cut costs yet again at ESPN, the network quietly laid off nearly 100 employees in what has been alternatively described as a "bloodbath" and a "dark day" for sports media.
ESPN, the sports titan, still is the sports titan in the Americas. (Note that ESPN layoffs are not limited to its main U.S. stations.) The fact the network has gone about its cuts is because they have to pay for their obscenely pricey NFL and NBA rights, as well as to prepare to re-up for a slew of future sports rights in the coming years.
However, that's not hot news. Populists will chalk ESPN's moves to two pet projects of scorn:
- A declining subscriber base (due to)
- Being overly political.
The declining ESPN subscriber base has been ballyhooed as a rebuke of the SJW-infusion that said right-wing media has gleefully pounced on. Again, fake news. Cable channels everywhere -- including brands like Fox News and Disney Channel -- have seen their numbers sink as the broadcasting world has digitized. Individual sport league channels and strong home-team media, among other factors have fractured the entire TV market. Some people have gradually given up on individual sports teams, sports, leagues or even networks as they hyperfocus on the things they care about most.
Gone are the potpourri of TV channels that provided news, sports and scripted programming on rigid time blocks. Even millennials have chopped down enough that they largely only watch sports at bars, online or through bare-bones cable subscriptions. Netflix and other streaming services have changed the game, often for the better.
ESPN is still very robust on the digital sphere, but the fact that people lost interest in First Take-style programming or don't care for, say, Colin Kaepernick's national anthem stance doesn't mean ESPN has taken the piss in terms of turning left. While there is a level of foolishness in sports personalities being openly political (no matter how unprecedented Trump is), the point is this: fans like small, individualized and local -- and they're getting closer to it.
Monday, February 27, 2017
2016-17 NBA FAN REPORT
The NBA has changed a whole lot in the past year.
LeBron James became a Cleveland champion. The Philadelphia 76ers are embracing the Process. European big men are a hotter buy than Moonlight tickets right now. Kevin Durant is a snake.
Last season, I chronicled my completely unscientific ranking of the NBA's 30 best fanbases, based off gut feelings, attendance ratings and personal anecdotal evidence. I thought I had a good grip on this stuff but, exactly one year later, I had to re-organize some groups whose true colors are showing (for good and bad).
For one, OKC fans are really sticking with this Thunder team (thanks, Westbrook!) The Rockets are getting out of hand with James Harden playing guard. The Jazz (!) are going to make the playoffs. The Lakers still suck, and Kobe's gone, but their jerseys still sell like hot cakes.
Just like last year, everything is off the top of the dome, so if you got beef, let me know.
THE LIST
30. Brooklyn Nets. The Nets are expansion-level bad, play in a city where all basketball attention is focused on the recalcitrant Knicks and have surrendered what little future they had to the Boston Celtics. Whoopsies! No wonder why people don't watch them: they're the New York Clippers.
29. Atlanta Hawks. To be a cultural observer in Georgia is to be a racial observer in Georgia. The only white Atlanta Hawks fan I know is Craig Sager's daughter (a killer Twitter follow). The sad part? She's the only white Atlanta Hawks fan she knows. White Georgians don't follow basketball; black Georgians watch other NBA teams; the Falcons blew a 28-3 lead. The NBA has too much invested in Atlanta with Grant Hill as the owner and Turner managing NBA TV, so the Hawks will never move.
28. New Orleans Pelicans. I said this last year, and it warrants screening again: New Orleans and Louisiana have time for only one sport and that's football. If the Pelicans want to make noise, they have to...well, try and be good. (I am skeptical about DeMarcus Cousins.)
27. Charlotte Hornets. The Hornets are abysmal and as anonymous as they were as the Bobcats. Kemba Walker, a newly minted All-Star, is fun as hell to watch.
26. Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks are abysmal and as anonymous as they were 10 years ago. Giannis Antetokounmpo, a newly minted All-Star, is fun as hell to watch. (The Wisconsin basketball team is probably more popular, and less racially ingratiating, as today's NBA is for Wisconsinites.)
25. Detroit Pistons. Michigan has always, for racial and sociocultural reasons, been hot and cold on the NBA. They're frozen on the NBA right now. (Will that be amended by moving with the more socially palatable Red Wings downtown?)
24. Indiana Pacers. Indiana has always, for racial and sociocultural reasons, been hot and cold on the NBA. They're lukewarm on the NBA right now. (Will that be amended by trading Paul George, the last good star the team has had since Reggie Miller left?)
23. Minnesota Timberwolves. Minnesota has never been truly warm on the NBA, but not for racial or sociocultural reasons like Milwaukee, Detroit or Indiana. They just suck. Thirteen consecutive years without a playoff berth, and nobody will care if they're thugs or angels -- they just don't win. The future is bright, however.
22. Washington Wizards. D.C. is transient. The Redskins are the word of D.C. sports. The Nationals have sped to second place. The Capitals routinely outdraw the Wizards with a more receptive crowd. The Wizards call their arena, Verizon Center, "The Phone Booth" -- yeah, for good reason. Nothing here to latch onto.
21. Philadelphia 76ers. Philadelphia has always had racial animus to the NBA's existence. A few black Philly sports stars have been embraced by the fans. Most have been Sixers: Dr. J; Moses Malone; Chocolate Thunder, RIP; Allen Iverson. Will Joel Embiid be next? In a town where they get outdrawn by the NHL's Flyers, they've managed to climb back into Philadelphia sports relevance.
20. Los Angeles Clippers. The Verizon Center "Phone Booth" can be replaced with Staples Center's "The Office" for the level of mind-numbing, sterile quality of fan interaction with the Clippers themselves. They're arguably the only NBA team with a winning record that can have the Staples Center overrun with Spurs (!) fans.
19. Orlando Magic. Orlando once boasted "the best fans in the NBA." I don't even think they have the best fans in Florida now. People around the Central Florida area still love their Magic, but happier days have existed and maybe happier days will come again.
18. Denver Nuggets. The Clippers and Nuggets hold the record for fan sterility, in my opinion. The Nuggets are super neutral, much like the Colorado Rockies in baseball: there's no real digestable fan culture. Their 2000s rise was racially toxic, with malcontents such as Carmelo Anthony and JR Smith turning off the safe, white fanbase. They also play uphill with how popular the Broncos are and can even get overrun by the Avalanche at the box office -- as our president would say, "Sad!"
17. Houston Rockets. Houston is not a great sports town. The Rockets are fun, as any Mike D'Antoni team with competent management is (why is it that the coastal teams are incompetent?) but the seats are still empty and always will be empty. Houston's very corporate, just like any city in America, but its most egregious corporatization shows when Astro and Rocket seats are acres of emptiness.
16. Memphis Grizzlies. It's a basketball town and in the postseason, Memphians put it upon themselves to make the FedExForum hell for any visiting opponent. However, two major sketch-outs for me: there are a lot of empty seats in the regular season (though they're gonna win 48-53 games again) and they're one of only two American teams (Utah) to not release season ratings to the public. Is it surface level fandom, or is the Memphis Tiger brand a lot stronger than I thought?
15. Phoenix Suns. The Suns are "averaging" around 17,000 fans a night. But every sports team greases attendance figures -- not sure I believe that, Cotton. For decades the Suns led the league in competent management, with stars like Barkley, Kidd and Nash. Now, they're in a rut, hopeless and with a fanbase that once was the bedrock of the NBA and Arizona chipping away. The population dynamics of the past decade will make the Suns sweat buckets, with the Bulls and Laker contingencies becoming bigger problems to control in their home arena.
14. Sacramento Kings. At one point, you could really call Kings fans the best in the NBA. (Did you know they averaged a sellout every year until 2009?) However, even the most blue-blood King fan thinks his team is incompetently run. Vlade Divac is losing credibility as a GM and Vivek Ranadive could be sports' worst owner. They built a new arena thanks to a mayor/ex-NBAer who's also an alleged child molester. I don't blame Kings fans from walking away, but man there are tons still around.
13. Miami Heat. We famously piled on them for leaving Game 6 of the Finals before Ray Allen went on a barrage, but hear me out: Miami Heat fans are underratedly good. Yeah, buddy: the Heat are probably the only competent pro sports franchise in the state right now. YEAH BUDDY. The Heat take care of their own (unless you're Dwyane Wade -- whoops!), listen to their fans, average 19,000 a night and, despite almost no literal talent, are fifth in NBA local TV ratings. Loyalty.
12. Toronto Raptors. Canada saw how far this fanbase can go if they go far -- over 2 million a night for Raptors-Cavaliers playoff action this past spring. Even if Toronto, and Canada, is the home of hockey, basketball can make loud inroads into the sports market. Vince Carter's legacy is just as positive as negative -- the current Canadian basketball player boom has been at the feet of the man once declared "Air Canada." The youth, diversity and connectedness of the fanbase is impressive and can carry this team to new heights.
11. Utah Jazz. In an NBA as brash and politically leftist as today's, I give credit to you, Jazz fan. Utah is very conservative in more ways than just "political," and the Jazz have always been a release valve for Mormons to start cussing at random strangers. They average over 19,000 every season, have high fan retention and attention and have always adapted to an expanding wallet from local Utah sports fans. This is a quietly competitive sports dollar: Utah, BYU, Utah State, Real Salt Lake...the Jazz keep it moving every season.
10. Dallas Mavericks. I said last season, "Maverick fans are yuppies, just like Mark Cuban." I stand by it. While ratings are way down, the Mavericks have managed some semblance of relevance in one of America's toughest sports markets. The fanbase is still urban, split on tanking (at least this year) and still a bunch of yuppies. The Mavs may or may not make the playoffs, but the fact they still average a high attendance total in a bad, bad year is testimony to the power of rings -- and even with a super-political owner like Cuban.
9. Boston Celtics. The Celtics are good again. The NBA rejoices. Boston rejoices, too. Diminutive guard Isaiah Thomas has become just the latest Celtic hero, which bodes well for a fanbase which resonates past New England or even the United States. The Celtics are cultural currency for the NBA. Colin Cowherd put it best: "I'm a traditionalist. I like it when the powers are good...the Celtics are a power." We do, too.
8. Golden State Warriors. Have the Warriors jumped the shark? Stephen Curry delivered a long-awaited title to the franchise in 2015, only to spectacularly blow a 3-1 lead in 2016 and set the internet awash with memes to last a lifetime. Next, they go out and acquire the only man who can usurp Curry in popularity in Kevin Durant. Is it now cool to hate on Steph and love LeBron? It sure feels like it. The fanbase is now secondary to the tragic befalling of their once plucky little franchise -- true S.F. gentrification, if you ask me.
7. Portland Trail Blazers. Although they don't do much on the court, Portland fans are still among the NBA's best. There's always 19,000-plus in the arena, the ratings are always high and competitive, Oregonians still consider it their only pro team (the Timbers' brows furrow)...it's not bad to be a Blazer. However, the lack of appeal to urban-reared free agents will show why a LaMarcus Aldridge will willfully leave the trees for the plains of his native Texas.
6. Cleveland Cavaliers. LeBron did it. He broke the demon of Cleveland sports. The fans used to rock the barn but now they sit on their hands like Bulls fans did post-Jordan. If LeBron wins two more rings the Cavs will forever be on a pedestal in Cleveland. Notice, even if it was Kyrie Irving that delivered the title on the last made shot of Game 7, that I said "LeBron" -- Cleveland can't be told anything anymore. Those fans will have that title written on their graves.
5. Oklahoma City Thunder. No KD, no problem: ratings are slightly down, but ironically LEAD the NBA this year. Westbrook is fun times. Thunder fans are still as passionate, still as loyal, still as honest to themselves as they ever were. It helps that Westbrook is going to get them a playoff berth, even if it feels like "Jordan playing by himself in the late 1980s." Interesting to see how far they can go...everyone in Oklahoma is behind them almost unconditionally.
4. San Antonio Spurs. Living in Texas, I encounter them daily and they are everywhere. They don't really move past Texas, but in the state they'll invade Dallas' or Houston's arenas. I will caution Tim Duncan's retirement and legendary coach Gregg Popovich getting controversially political in blood-red Texas has contributed to their recent ratings declines, but I guess Spurs fans are -- as our president would say -- "tired of winning"? They still have a lot to cheer for, with a sixth ring in sight if the Warriors' three-headed monster collapses this season, but this feels like Meryl Streep's lifetime achievement awards: Spurs fans are always grade-A. Duncan fan, Trump fan or not.
3. Chicago Bulls. The Chicago Bulls are a hallowed franchise in the NBA. What is almost mind-numbing to many people is loyalty: how could you keep following a team that continues to have no quantifiable plan of success? Jimmy Butler, as engrossed in Chicago as ever, is on the perpetual trading block. They already traded Rose. But hey, Jordan. Loyalty is a premium and the Bulls have had one of sports' stickiest fanbases, and incredible luck with the ability to maintain stars (or pseudo-stars) year after year. Bravo...I think.
2. New York Knicks. The New York Knicks are not a hallowed franchise in the NBA. What is almost mind-numbing to many people is loyalty: how could you keep following a team that continues to have no quantifiable plan of success? Carmelo Anthony, as engrossed in New York as ever, is on the perpetual trading block. Luckily for them, Porzingis and the ability to draft a relevant player in the top-six of a loaded draft. The fanbase is one of sports' stickiest, Madison Square Garden is a cathedral and road attendance has always been high: so when will the Knicks match their fans' demand for success and passion?
1. Los Angeles Lakers. This is not debatable: biggest fanbase; most spoiled fanbase; most knowledgeable fanbase; most basketball-savvy city; most overbearing fanbase; most over-hyped fanbase...best fanbase. You probably hate the Lakers. You probably hate Laker fans. Neither care much. The fans stretch far from Southern California or the U.S., are as sticky as any in sports and have remained steadfast despite nine professional sports teams and a plethora of college programs. The Lakers are L.A.'s greatest sports currency, an international brand almost expected to be brought up in a conversation around the world. Not many NBA teams have that going for them.
LeBron James became a Cleveland champion. The Philadelphia 76ers are embracing the Process. European big men are a hotter buy than Moonlight tickets right now. Kevin Durant is a snake.
Last season, I chronicled my completely unscientific ranking of the NBA's 30 best fanbases, based off gut feelings, attendance ratings and personal anecdotal evidence. I thought I had a good grip on this stuff but, exactly one year later, I had to re-organize some groups whose true colors are showing (for good and bad).
For one, OKC fans are really sticking with this Thunder team (thanks, Westbrook!) The Rockets are getting out of hand with James Harden playing guard. The Jazz (!) are going to make the playoffs. The Lakers still suck, and Kobe's gone, but their jerseys still sell like hot cakes.
Just like last year, everything is off the top of the dome, so if you got beef, let me know.
THE LIST
30. Brooklyn Nets. The Nets are expansion-level bad, play in a city where all basketball attention is focused on the recalcitrant Knicks and have surrendered what little future they had to the Boston Celtics. Whoopsies! No wonder why people don't watch them: they're the New York Clippers.
29. Atlanta Hawks. To be a cultural observer in Georgia is to be a racial observer in Georgia. The only white Atlanta Hawks fan I know is Craig Sager's daughter (a killer Twitter follow). The sad part? She's the only white Atlanta Hawks fan she knows. White Georgians don't follow basketball; black Georgians watch other NBA teams; the Falcons blew a 28-3 lead. The NBA has too much invested in Atlanta with Grant Hill as the owner and Turner managing NBA TV, so the Hawks will never move.
28. New Orleans Pelicans. I said this last year, and it warrants screening again: New Orleans and Louisiana have time for only one sport and that's football. If the Pelicans want to make noise, they have to...well, try and be good. (I am skeptical about DeMarcus Cousins.)
27. Charlotte Hornets. The Hornets are abysmal and as anonymous as they were as the Bobcats. Kemba Walker, a newly minted All-Star, is fun as hell to watch.
26. Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks are abysmal and as anonymous as they were 10 years ago. Giannis Antetokounmpo, a newly minted All-Star, is fun as hell to watch. (The Wisconsin basketball team is probably more popular, and less racially ingratiating, as today's NBA is for Wisconsinites.)
25. Detroit Pistons. Michigan has always, for racial and sociocultural reasons, been hot and cold on the NBA. They're frozen on the NBA right now. (Will that be amended by moving with the more socially palatable Red Wings downtown?)
24. Indiana Pacers. Indiana has always, for racial and sociocultural reasons, been hot and cold on the NBA. They're lukewarm on the NBA right now. (Will that be amended by trading Paul George, the last good star the team has had since Reggie Miller left?)
23. Minnesota Timberwolves. Minnesota has never been truly warm on the NBA, but not for racial or sociocultural reasons like Milwaukee, Detroit or Indiana. They just suck. Thirteen consecutive years without a playoff berth, and nobody will care if they're thugs or angels -- they just don't win. The future is bright, however.
22. Washington Wizards. D.C. is transient. The Redskins are the word of D.C. sports. The Nationals have sped to second place. The Capitals routinely outdraw the Wizards with a more receptive crowd. The Wizards call their arena, Verizon Center, "The Phone Booth" -- yeah, for good reason. Nothing here to latch onto.
21. Philadelphia 76ers. Philadelphia has always had racial animus to the NBA's existence. A few black Philly sports stars have been embraced by the fans. Most have been Sixers: Dr. J; Moses Malone; Chocolate Thunder, RIP; Allen Iverson. Will Joel Embiid be next? In a town where they get outdrawn by the NHL's Flyers, they've managed to climb back into Philadelphia sports relevance.
20. Los Angeles Clippers. The Verizon Center "Phone Booth" can be replaced with Staples Center's "The Office" for the level of mind-numbing, sterile quality of fan interaction with the Clippers themselves. They're arguably the only NBA team with a winning record that can have the Staples Center overrun with Spurs (!) fans.
19. Orlando Magic. Orlando once boasted "the best fans in the NBA." I don't even think they have the best fans in Florida now. People around the Central Florida area still love their Magic, but happier days have existed and maybe happier days will come again.
18. Denver Nuggets. The Clippers and Nuggets hold the record for fan sterility, in my opinion. The Nuggets are super neutral, much like the Colorado Rockies in baseball: there's no real digestable fan culture. Their 2000s rise was racially toxic, with malcontents such as Carmelo Anthony and JR Smith turning off the safe, white fanbase. They also play uphill with how popular the Broncos are and can even get overrun by the Avalanche at the box office -- as our president would say, "Sad!"
17. Houston Rockets. Houston is not a great sports town. The Rockets are fun, as any Mike D'Antoni team with competent management is (why is it that the coastal teams are incompetent?) but the seats are still empty and always will be empty. Houston's very corporate, just like any city in America, but its most egregious corporatization shows when Astro and Rocket seats are acres of emptiness.
16. Memphis Grizzlies. It's a basketball town and in the postseason, Memphians put it upon themselves to make the FedExForum hell for any visiting opponent. However, two major sketch-outs for me: there are a lot of empty seats in the regular season (though they're gonna win 48-53 games again) and they're one of only two American teams (Utah) to not release season ratings to the public. Is it surface level fandom, or is the Memphis Tiger brand a lot stronger than I thought?
15. Phoenix Suns. The Suns are "averaging" around 17,000 fans a night. But every sports team greases attendance figures -- not sure I believe that, Cotton. For decades the Suns led the league in competent management, with stars like Barkley, Kidd and Nash. Now, they're in a rut, hopeless and with a fanbase that once was the bedrock of the NBA and Arizona chipping away. The population dynamics of the past decade will make the Suns sweat buckets, with the Bulls and Laker contingencies becoming bigger problems to control in their home arena.
14. Sacramento Kings. At one point, you could really call Kings fans the best in the NBA. (Did you know they averaged a sellout every year until 2009?) However, even the most blue-blood King fan thinks his team is incompetently run. Vlade Divac is losing credibility as a GM and Vivek Ranadive could be sports' worst owner. They built a new arena thanks to a mayor/ex-NBAer who's also an alleged child molester. I don't blame Kings fans from walking away, but man there are tons still around.
13. Miami Heat. We famously piled on them for leaving Game 6 of the Finals before Ray Allen went on a barrage, but hear me out: Miami Heat fans are underratedly good. Yeah, buddy: the Heat are probably the only competent pro sports franchise in the state right now. YEAH BUDDY. The Heat take care of their own (unless you're Dwyane Wade -- whoops!), listen to their fans, average 19,000 a night and, despite almost no literal talent, are fifth in NBA local TV ratings. Loyalty.
12. Toronto Raptors. Canada saw how far this fanbase can go if they go far -- over 2 million a night for Raptors-Cavaliers playoff action this past spring. Even if Toronto, and Canada, is the home of hockey, basketball can make loud inroads into the sports market. Vince Carter's legacy is just as positive as negative -- the current Canadian basketball player boom has been at the feet of the man once declared "Air Canada." The youth, diversity and connectedness of the fanbase is impressive and can carry this team to new heights.
11. Utah Jazz. In an NBA as brash and politically leftist as today's, I give credit to you, Jazz fan. Utah is very conservative in more ways than just "political," and the Jazz have always been a release valve for Mormons to start cussing at random strangers. They average over 19,000 every season, have high fan retention and attention and have always adapted to an expanding wallet from local Utah sports fans. This is a quietly competitive sports dollar: Utah, BYU, Utah State, Real Salt Lake...the Jazz keep it moving every season.
10. Dallas Mavericks. I said last season, "Maverick fans are yuppies, just like Mark Cuban." I stand by it. While ratings are way down, the Mavericks have managed some semblance of relevance in one of America's toughest sports markets. The fanbase is still urban, split on tanking (at least this year) and still a bunch of yuppies. The Mavs may or may not make the playoffs, but the fact they still average a high attendance total in a bad, bad year is testimony to the power of rings -- and even with a super-political owner like Cuban.
9. Boston Celtics. The Celtics are good again. The NBA rejoices. Boston rejoices, too. Diminutive guard Isaiah Thomas has become just the latest Celtic hero, which bodes well for a fanbase which resonates past New England or even the United States. The Celtics are cultural currency for the NBA. Colin Cowherd put it best: "I'm a traditionalist. I like it when the powers are good...the Celtics are a power." We do, too.
8. Golden State Warriors. Have the Warriors jumped the shark? Stephen Curry delivered a long-awaited title to the franchise in 2015, only to spectacularly blow a 3-1 lead in 2016 and set the internet awash with memes to last a lifetime. Next, they go out and acquire the only man who can usurp Curry in popularity in Kevin Durant. Is it now cool to hate on Steph and love LeBron? It sure feels like it. The fanbase is now secondary to the tragic befalling of their once plucky little franchise -- true S.F. gentrification, if you ask me.
7. Portland Trail Blazers. Although they don't do much on the court, Portland fans are still among the NBA's best. There's always 19,000-plus in the arena, the ratings are always high and competitive, Oregonians still consider it their only pro team (the Timbers' brows furrow)...it's not bad to be a Blazer. However, the lack of appeal to urban-reared free agents will show why a LaMarcus Aldridge will willfully leave the trees for the plains of his native Texas.
6. Cleveland Cavaliers. LeBron did it. He broke the demon of Cleveland sports. The fans used to rock the barn but now they sit on their hands like Bulls fans did post-Jordan. If LeBron wins two more rings the Cavs will forever be on a pedestal in Cleveland. Notice, even if it was Kyrie Irving that delivered the title on the last made shot of Game 7, that I said "LeBron" -- Cleveland can't be told anything anymore. Those fans will have that title written on their graves.
5. Oklahoma City Thunder. No KD, no problem: ratings are slightly down, but ironically LEAD the NBA this year. Westbrook is fun times. Thunder fans are still as passionate, still as loyal, still as honest to themselves as they ever were. It helps that Westbrook is going to get them a playoff berth, even if it feels like "Jordan playing by himself in the late 1980s." Interesting to see how far they can go...everyone in Oklahoma is behind them almost unconditionally.
4. San Antonio Spurs. Living in Texas, I encounter them daily and they are everywhere. They don't really move past Texas, but in the state they'll invade Dallas' or Houston's arenas. I will caution Tim Duncan's retirement and legendary coach Gregg Popovich getting controversially political in blood-red Texas has contributed to their recent ratings declines, but I guess Spurs fans are -- as our president would say -- "tired of winning"? They still have a lot to cheer for, with a sixth ring in sight if the Warriors' three-headed monster collapses this season, but this feels like Meryl Streep's lifetime achievement awards: Spurs fans are always grade-A. Duncan fan, Trump fan or not.
3. Chicago Bulls. The Chicago Bulls are a hallowed franchise in the NBA. What is almost mind-numbing to many people is loyalty: how could you keep following a team that continues to have no quantifiable plan of success? Jimmy Butler, as engrossed in Chicago as ever, is on the perpetual trading block. They already traded Rose. But hey, Jordan. Loyalty is a premium and the Bulls have had one of sports' stickiest fanbases, and incredible luck with the ability to maintain stars (or pseudo-stars) year after year. Bravo...I think.
2. New York Knicks. The New York Knicks are not a hallowed franchise in the NBA. What is almost mind-numbing to many people is loyalty: how could you keep following a team that continues to have no quantifiable plan of success? Carmelo Anthony, as engrossed in New York as ever, is on the perpetual trading block. Luckily for them, Porzingis and the ability to draft a relevant player in the top-six of a loaded draft. The fanbase is one of sports' stickiest, Madison Square Garden is a cathedral and road attendance has always been high: so when will the Knicks match their fans' demand for success and passion?
1. Los Angeles Lakers. This is not debatable: biggest fanbase; most spoiled fanbase; most knowledgeable fanbase; most basketball-savvy city; most overbearing fanbase; most over-hyped fanbase...best fanbase. You probably hate the Lakers. You probably hate Laker fans. Neither care much. The fans stretch far from Southern California or the U.S., are as sticky as any in sports and have remained steadfast despite nine professional sports teams and a plethora of college programs. The Lakers are L.A.'s greatest sports currency, an international brand almost expected to be brought up in a conversation around the world. Not many NBA teams have that going for them.
Monday, April 25, 2016
ASSESSING THE AMERICAN SOCCER PROBLEM
The United States has become the unlikely final frontier of soccer, the world's most powerful game finally becoming a cultural concern to millions on these shores. A demographic and cultural shift has allowed the game to thrive, for hundreds of clubs -- foreign and domestic -- to become a part of the greater sports community.
The eyes of the soccer world at the American developmental level have laid on Major League Soccer, the burgeoning 21-year-old league which relies on an NFL-style conference format and a retrograde, iron-fisted unitary system which allows the league to compete without inter-competition.
This spirit has taken root from the tokenism of the pitch -- teams are allowed three key contributors, titled Designated Players in league parlance -- and has been a source of controversy due to the extremely low salary budget the league allows for teams to spend on their overall squad, a point of concern for soccer fans who have rejected overtures to bring MLS into their daily sport fandom.
That dedication to limiting quality through stringent salary budgets, advertised by the league as "cost control," has been a pressing concern for everyone who envisions greater visions for American soccer, as it seems that MLS is content with overglossed 20,000-man stadiums and significantly less concerned with players who can finish six passes in a row, let alone coaches who value such a style of play.
One issue MLS has never been bashful about is its plan to take over the American professional soccer landscape, essentially becoming the single-entity Bundesliga with two professional divisions tightly controlled by its cadre of caballeros, with their ironclad dedication to low-cost player acquisition.
While noble, Major League Soccer continues to rut in the American sport ratings department, a stagnation which becomes a further point of consternation as imported foreign football leagues -- the Premier League of England, Mexico's Liga MX, the Spanish La Liga or the German Bundesliga -- not only arrive, but thrive in the minds of soccer fans (and non-fans) nationwide.
As an observer of the game in the U.S. since childhood, I have decided to write out a five-point plan to assist Major League Soccer, seemingly afraid of going under through a severely tight-knit professional setup which limits the individual teams' potential, in ascending its franchises -- and the domestic quality of the sport in general -- to a stable, potentially beneficial and kingly state in American sports, as well as global football.
1. Get rid of the salary cap
MLS' greatest concern has been cost control, so much so that the most minute details its franchises engage in require a heads-up from the league office. The model of the league has been based on what some call collective collusion, but others has seen as close-knit partnership. Whatever it may be, it has done nothing for American soccer other than maintain the existence of the league and first-division soccer in the U.S.
With 20 teams and a potential growth between 24-28 teams, MLS has to let the training wheels off once and for all. The very first step, which should come anywhere between this summer and the 2018 World Cup, is the allowance for teams to be great.
The attraction of playing in an unfettered U.S. professional soccer system attracts any footballer, let alone the best players. The intelligent play, so as to reduce the impact of expensive star-chasing, would to be self-sufficient: to know who and what to target so as to fit the vision of a team.
There are many skillful, soccer-smart players plying their trade in MLS, warts and all, big star or Argentine no-name. The problem is their teammates are likely not even at their level, trained by an American soccer system which, frankly, doesn't know how to craft enough quality players to justify their proliferation. In short, Sebastian Giovinco doesn't look more impressive playing alongside, say, Justin Morrow.
To alleviate this problem, teams should, once and for all, control their own roster destiny. The intelligent organizations will realize the value of mining talent in places such as football-mad South America, where the economic turbulence of those nations makes something like playing in the U.S. both attractive and palatable -- and at a cheap, tasteful price. MLS teams are already weary of paying millions in transfer fees, which is the global norm in a country like France, but for the league to take a major step in beating out the superior Mexican and South American leagues (not to speak of Europe), it's to do business like them -- and then beat them at their own game.
The value of getting more than three special players is far greater than another 7-0 thrashing from a so-called MLS power against a middling Liga MX team in another CONCACAF competition.
2. Destroy single-entity
Major League Soccer has a desire to become a world league, respected by millions across the globe. Steven Gerrard and David Beckham surely got the word out, but not in a flattering manner: aging, slow-footed Anglo icons plying a last multi-million paycheck in a footballing backwater isn't impressive; it reeks of desperation.
That travels further than quality.
The league's main goal was survival. This is why single-entity existed in the first place: the collective Hand of MLS, ensuring that things didn't get out of hand (pun intended), has now gone limp and outdated, the system harder to defend from even the most strident fans of its constituent franchises.
Ask any fan of an MLS team, nominal or diehard, and they will largely express this opinion. The unfortunate pessimism behind their eventual hope that MLS becomes an "open" league -- one that has to answer to global standards of quality considering the size and influence of the country it inhabits -- is a major hindrance to progress. What is there to play for if it feels like we're in a box? they lament.
Don Garber, for his insistence in keeping single-entity alive and sneering at promotion and relegation within the confines of either his league or the U.S. Soccer Federation, has to be given a boatload of credit for keeping MLS alive when no other businessmen believed in the sport. This goodwill, combined with the uptick in soccer interest from core groups such as Anglophone millennials and non-Anglophone immigrants (re: Hispanics), has given Garber an impenetrable shield from mainstream criticism, at least within wide-ranging soccer media.
The ultimate downside of MLS -- its desire to become the NFL of soccer when they don't even have the constituent franchise productivity to justify such a claim -- would be a harm if Garber's recent declaration of a 28-team league was to come to fruition.
The tie between dismantling single-entity and the allowance of teams to control their own destinies would rise the quality of football among every single team, and that would include anything ranging from jersey deals to the mirage of "parity" pro-MLS defenders continue to bandy about while chiding those in opposition. The parity of results on the pitch should not compromise the parity of quality on the pitch, and MLS' format clearly does, to the detriment of fan enjoyment.
3. No drafts and no caps on development.
The MLS SuperDraft, the league's American-pro-sports-like college player mechanism process, has long been winded and unnecessary, boxing an unboxable sport such as soccer into the same tropes the NFL and NBA had long been associated with: strength, speed, height and athletic potential.
The result has been one of the most brutally physical, athletically sound leagues on the planet -- but none of this translates into "watchability" or "quality." The non-soccer-related physicality which stems from the collegiate game, combined with the lack of tactical nous from most of the players at that level and an emphasis on non-soccer-related attributes to just win, baby, creates players who perpetuate America's ultimate soccer problems: technical skills, first-touch issues, interlocking play, etc.
MLS is full of lesser and lesser of these players (thank you, USL II teams) but eventually they will have their say in MLS, warts and all. College is not a negative in terms of player development, but to rely on it as your bedrock will result in the quality we currently see in MLS today -- rough stuff.
Conversely, MLS must leave teams alone (in general, but especially for this) when it comes to player development. I was led to believe there were no caps on signing homegrown players per MLS rules, but apparently there is a cap on how much they can make, which is again overregulation from a soccer league which continues to flounder on TV and grow painfully slowly in terms of on-pitch quality. (Darlington Nagbe has to take a knee from former Dutch legend Nigel de Jong before we get it straight.)
Teams need to dedicate infinite amounts of resources of finding players, identifying their role within the team, producing tons of academy talents (free of charge to them - unlike most development academies) from literally anywhere they can find them, and ultimately debuting them to a first team. Former players have to learn how to keep an eye on elite talent and raise them up to a level commensurate with their own development, regardless of age. Keeping youth coaches young allows for camaraderie between the growing players and keeps the young coach around the game, perhaps at a higher salary than before.
Ultimately, increased scouting among clubs across the entire soccer spectrum in the U.S. -- not just MLS -- will increase quality throughout the system, rooting out the unworthy and promoting the worthy.
Speaking of which...
4. Stop rejecting promotion and relegation.
This is the biggest issue currently running across the world of American soccer: Should the federation adopt promotion and relegation?
In a word, yes.
However, the federation can't merely flip a switch and say "promotion and relegation!"
To effectively undertake promotion and relegation, the U.S. Soccer Federation must establish what the pyramid is. Where is the bottom? From that point, they can begin to build up and ultimately, the American soccer system becomes more intimate, more connected to the clubs you follow and less on the amount of money your team can pony up for expansion.
Sacramento Republic, Detroit City, Nashville FC and San Antonio FC are classic examples of lower-division clubs which have thrived in the minors, waiting on the nebulous system to crystallize and begin to take a definitive shape. At what point is there support for naught, as their club folds due to MLS's disinterest and the lack of breathing room for the lower leagues?
The federation's most dramatic proclamation can prove to be the key that unlocks the pro/rel gate: mandate that the American soccer pyramid is to be used for promotion and relegation -- and no divisions can be a single-entity league. This might be the fastest way for MLS to give up the ghost and become an open league.
The natural benefits of promotion and relegation are numerous: keeps top clubs on their feet, lest they slip up and meet the trapdoor; gives meaning to lower-level support; rewards winning and punishes losing; forces players to play under pressure. These are all net positives and can help alleviate any concerns over quality which may keep fans at arm's length.
MLS thinks it has the answer to the domestic soccer lull through the system of over-expansion. This couldn't be any further from the truth; to embrace the global madness and the near financial surety of promotion and relegation gives more meaning to MLS and its teams, more meaning to American soccer development and creates more fans of teams who dream to become big. The same amount of financial support that Republic or San Antonio or Minnesota United have gotten would continue at a possibly even more lucrative financial level, since teams moving to the top division attract interest from moneyed interests who want to be great.
In conjunction with an unfettered MLS, the league could rise as high as they could dream, and with the power of the American soccer fanbase, this could be nothing but positive for the future of the league and the domestic popularity of the sport.
Saturday, February 27, 2016
BEST FANS IN THE NBA, RANKED
Moreso than any other American professional sports league, the NBA caters to a unique brand of sports fans: the good casuals.
Inside the arena, the makeup and fervor of the fans can change dramatically based on the outcome and the perception of the team. There's a reason why Heat and Lakers fans are consistently derided for being "bandwagoners", mainly for the porous showings of empty seats at home games.
What this claim loses in scope is that NBA tickets are expensive and many NBA teams are located in markets where there are LOTS of activities to do unrelated to sports. Not every fanbase can be Oklahoma City or Portland or even Utah.
Taking that out of the equation, I have undergone the painstaking process of ranking all 30 NBA fan bases based on things such as local buzz, TV ratings, social impact within the city or region, histories of success and the NBA's perception in those markets. Some towns are virulently anti-NBA, mainly for sociocultural or racial reasons. Others can't get enough of the stuff and wrap themselves in their team's colors come playoff time.
This is totally unscientific and entirely subjective; yell at me in the comments section.
THE LIST
30. Atlanta Hawks. The NBA is not popular at all in Atlanta. White Georgians, who make up the most significant portion of sports fans, have ignored the Hawks en masse since their relocation to Atlanta in 1968. A college football and Braves-centric market through and through, nothing -- not winning, not Dominique Wilkins, not a civic renaissance via transience -- can get butts (of any race) in the seats, and new Atlantans are going for their home teams. However, the NBA's digital enterprise is held here, including TNT and NBA TV, so Atlanta is central to the NBA's business success and the Hawks won't be moved.
29. Brooklyn Nets. This is a new team parked in an established borough hoping to get fans from an island with roughly the population of Houston and the presence of an NBA power nearby. Knick-Net games have always had a "Knicks fans get cheap tix" aura, even in Jersey, and it continues in super-glitzy Barclays Center, which also costs a metric ton. Nope.
28. New Orleans Pelicans. It's a Saints town and a football world. The NBA won't move the needle here, but watch this space - I might be wrong and they end up being hot in Louisiana.
27. Minnesota Timberwolves. Minnesota, the U.S. hockey capital, and the cultural makeup of NBA players doesn't mix. They also can't make the playoffs for nada. At least they have Wiggins and Towns!
26. Milwaukee Bucks. Declining region, cold weather, incompatible with the cultural makeup of modern NBA players (unlike Atlanta or Brooklyn)...and Bulls fans invading the place last year? This once-proud Wisconsin institution is now the scourge of the state, and Badger hoops reigns supreme.
25. Indiana Pacers. Malice in the Palace, dying region, already the basketball hotbed of America.
24. Detroit Pistons. See above, but add "hockey hotbed" to the list.
23. Washington Wizards. Their most famous fan is Wolf Blitzer. Also, Caps fans always outnumber Wizards fans every time ever, despite Abe Pollin - who Caps fans swear cared more about the Wizards - trying to promote the Wizards/Bullets. Oh, and the Nationals are probably more palatable to DMV residents (and that's with John Wall! And the Nats are only 11 years old!!)
22. Philadelphia 76ers. They'll never be bigger than the Flyers - and that's hockey. Racism plays a huge role in their lack of popularity and always will. Go read comment sections about the 76ers on message board. Similarly, they cheered on Iverson, the so-called consummate "NBA thug" for a decade. Never been a huge hit in Philly, even with Moses and Dr. J.
21. Charlotte Hornets. Cam Newton runs that town, sorry. White light of the matter? They brought back those sick colors, appropriated by Newton in his Under Armour cleats. Unsure if he stopped wearing them, because if he did it'd be tragic. Fanbase is also under attack because of a huge diaspora from the North, so watch this space.
20. Orlando Magic. Small fanbase but still very vocal in their support of their team. The team is a complete mess and I can't tell you how they'll fix it. No pull for free agents; they just have to find a way to matter again. Haven't had a big transcendent star that left this time around, after Shaq, T-Mac and Dwight Howard all left.
19. Houston Rockets. As low as I could pull them. Houston is not a sportsy town and most Houstonians I know are very casual about sports. Lots of people who watch sports don't watch the Rockets; cultural (re; racial) dissonance a big reason why. Astros being good is Rockets fans' biggest threat, which is wild considering everybody still calls Houston "Clutch City", a great reminder of the Rockets' fall from civic cultural grace. Only team in city that pulls big-time now: Texans.
18. Los Angeles Clippers. Clippermania is there, but muted: people on LA radio talk Lakers, Dodgers, USC and now will talk lots of Rams. Clips might have to fight for attention in non-sportsy L.A., but loyal fans are enjoying their Man City-like ascent to success. If they win a title, it will solidify a good base of people who don't go for the Lakers, which I think is desperately needed for their sake. Hard to tell if that bandwagon will keep rolling forever.
17. Miami Heat. Good fanbase. Gets dogged often for late-arriving crowd (see: Lakers). Three titles did something to city that people forgot: Miami natives now LOVE the Heat more than they have before. Even if the team lost LeBron, they didn't lose a single iota of care for the team - kind of a pulling together to remind people they still matter. People who dog the Heat for their crowds don't realize the real winner is youth Heat fandom, which is very high and probably beats the Dolphins' at this point. Can still be overrun in-arena by Chicago, Boston, New York etc fans.
16. Denver Nuggets. Worse fanbase than Heat, in my opinion. Broncomania can avalanche (no pun intended) this team if they stink, which they kinda do now. Nuggets fans are classier than Broncos' because they lack the swaggering attitude of a Bronco fan, though most can be both. NBA dynamics from 2000s still affect perception of the team in Colorado, even if unlikeable crew like Carmelo Anthony and post-prime A.I. are gone. Also a huge diaspora from North and West is coming in, leaving traditional Nugget fans under pressure. Often get outdrawn by Colorado Avalanche hockey (like this year), but always a solid No.2 behind the Broncos.
15. Toronto Raptors. Canada underrates this fanbase because they're obsessed with hockey full-time and that includes Toronto. Lot bigger than you think. Diversity is the buzzword used to describe Raptors fanbase, especially considering very white Leafs fandom. Drake's presence only helps, though I am apprehensive of hip-hop stars hijacking a pro team in a non-hip-hop-centric region.
14. Memphis Grizzlies. Great in the playoffs, very average in the regular season. Must improve in that area for them to move up. Memphis is taking Grizzly fandom seriously, which is great for them. Probably more cosmopolitan than the college team (Tigers) they share the arena with; NBA fans are yuppies and the NBA will probably win the battle between city and suburbs as millennials continue to repopulate inner cities. People from Memphis are now really falling for this team, including - from my experience - lots of women.
13. Phoenix Suns. So much better when they're good! Arizona natives are dealing with the influx of Northern/Western Sports Fans which will affect Suns' attendance. Phoenix is a hotbed (no pun intended) and the Suns, once an ironclad rod of support from all Arizonans for years, are going to be looking at Northern Fan Invasions if they don't find a way to win - and fast. Cardinals' popularity is fleeting and not really the heart of the state, even if they play football. (Diamondbacks have a World Series and still get outdrawn when the Dodgers or Cubs come to town.)
12. Sacramento Kings. Once the best fans in the NBA, the Kings fell off for a while but are coming back fan-wise. I admire the fight to get their team back even if their mayor, a good guy I thought, is a known sexual predator. Kings fans love Sacramento and love the Kings' role in Sacramento's place in American culture and fame. They care a ton, which is why even as the attendance was low they saved the team from being moved.
11. Utah Jazz. An anomaly, considering how conservative and Mormon they are and how glitzy and liberal the NBA has become. Still manage to follow BYU or Utah in both football and basketball to add to their Jazz fandom. Loyal and rabid, it's almost an expectation you love and follow them if you're from Utah. They don't let up, even if I think their team will never be relevant outside of the Draft again.
10. Cleveland Cavaliers. If LeBron James wins a ring here, he might leave a huge fanbase in Ohio similar to what we saw with the Bulls when Jordan left (highly unlikely considering the NBA's position in American culture then and now, but could happen still). More behaved than Browns fans, Cavs fans are everywhere in Ohio, even after LeBron left for Miami the first time. Almost can usurp the Browns in popularity, which is almost blasphemy considering Ohio is a big-time football state.
9. Boston Celtics. Described in 1990 as basically yuppies in direct contrast to Patriots and Bruins fans, Celtics fans are smart and well-behaved yet classically Boston. Young people like the Celtics. Racism has always been part of Boston's Celtic support, rather it be the backlash and rabid hockey-centricity of the 1960s (when the Bruins stunk and the C's were champions), or the Bird/Magic dynamic of the '80s (the Celtics were very white and blue-collar, the Lakers very black and flashy). Seemingly a wash now with cultural shift of NBA, which I'm sure lost them fans but they're still relevant in Boston.
8. Dallas Mavericks. I love Mark Cuban even as a Laker fan; he took a team with a splintered image and was perceived as the joke of the league in 2000 and made them hip and modern. The fanbase takes his lead: Mavs fans are yuppies, basically. They're businessmen, bankers, tech people, models, well-mannered and well-heeled. The Mavs engender lots of loyalty among millennials and urbanites regardless of political affiliation; lots of Republicans and Christians too. Extremely female-friendly, in direct contrast to Cowboys fans. Ironically more classically Dallas than either Cowboys or Rangers because both of those teams market to more than just DFW (Cowboys fans are too mainstream and Rangers fans are pan-Texan).
7. Golden State Warriors. They were already a great, ironically underrated fanbase before Stephen Curry became "Steph Curry" to the world. They're now gonna be the new Chicago Bulls and the key to the NBA's cultural renaissance. They've managed to shine atop the Bay Area sports world, one of the toughest cookies to crack (ask the San Jose teams). A traditionally baseball/football area has gone gaga for this clean yet flashy squad, everyone's second-favorite NBA team. Warriors fans are also highly Asian-friendly and come across as incredibly smart, given Silicon Valley's reputation.
6. Oklahoma City Thunder. Oklahoma as an entire state has embraced Thundering Up. Their playoff crowds are world-class. The atmosphere is collegiate. If the Thunder win a title, I swear they will become as rabid and irrationally passionate as Spurs fans, and they're already starting down that road...everyone from Oklahoma is telling me about how much they love the Thunder. This development means too much to these people and they don't want to screw it up.
5. Portland Trail Blazers. If Austin had a basketball team, it'd have to be on the level of the Trail Blazers. The Blazers are quintessential emblems of Oregonian pride especially amidst the big Hipster Boom blooming in the Rose City (or Rip City to locals). Their fans are passionate and know everything about every player before you can even ask. I recall one woman who moved from Portland to Austin and how, growing up, she cried over the 2000 NBA playoffs as a young girl. I asked her how big a deal it was ... she said "I lose friends over this." She also loves Lillard, as they all do. Blazers fans are all across Oregon and they care too much.
4. San Antonio Spurs. They could be No.1 if I wanted to. Living in Texas since 2010 and attending a major university within the state, I'm sure most people in my shoes have seen the same stuff I have in regards to the overarching love San Antonians and Spurs fans have for their professional basketball team. You can tell someone's from San Antonio or South Texas by how they react if you have anything that remotely reminds them of the Spurs. They are loyal. They are overbearing. They watch every play, argue every move, love every player and hate every player that's not theirs. Go Spurs Go is part of their identity. There's no chill in their thrill. They are admirable; their team is emblematic of their city, region and themselves.
3. Chicago Bulls. Bulls fans are OK in Chicago. They're a solid, above-average group that watches the game and chills out. Then we play in Indianapolis or Milwaukee and the crowds start picking up...the roars of LET'S GO BULLS infiltrate the road venue. This is a residual of the post-Michael Jordan era, in which Bulls fans were made in more than just Chicago. It stuck, to say the least; the Bulls have been a top-10 team at the gate every year since Jordan nested up in '98. Bulls fans are loyal, powerful, caring and cheer literally any player who can remotely score in bunches: Elton Brand; Ben Gordon (or "Ben Jordan" to some); Derrick Rose; Jimmy Butler. Their fandom is all over the place and the Chicago diaspora means you'll see more Bulls fans in your hometown sometime in the near future -- they'll be cheering hard too.
2. New York Knicks. Porzingod? A rising rookie (Kristaps Porzingis) has become the No.4 bestselling jersey in the NBA, speaking to the power of the Knick brand. To become famous as a player on the most overly scrutinized team in the NBA -- a roundball Dallas Cowboys, if you will, sans the history of success -- is a golden ticket to success. Allan Houston isn't an all-time great, but being a Knick rose his career profile. John Starks is an OK guard, but Knicks fans rose him to prominence. New Yorkers know that the Yankees may be the legs that drive the city and the Giants may be the torso that moves the city, but the Knicks are truly in the heart and soul of New York City. A basketball town in the purest sense of the word, fans are wide and diverse and extremely nagging, but they'll jump on the first guy to remotely show any promise on their beloved Knicks.
1. Los Angeles Lakers. You're rolling your eyes right now. "They arrive late...they don't actually care...bandwagons...celebrities...yada." Have you looked inside of L.A.? Visited someplace not a tourist attraction? Gotten out of Hollywood?
Los Angeles is the entertainment hub of the world and Hollywood is seen as the center of global cinema. The Lakers knew to sell themselves to a wishy-washy, non-sportsy town they had to align with the stars.
The Lakers make stars: Magic. Kareem. Worthy. Kobe. Shaq. Maybe DeAngelo Russell or Julius Randle. The team is immensely popular in L.A., much so that people canceled cable packages just to get the Time Warner channel the Lakers were on.
Locals hold the Lakers near and dear to their heart, wearing it like an international badge of honor. Poor Latino kids who speak no English align with the Purple and Gold. Gang members, literally divided by colors, unite thanks to the Lakers. It connects the continuously divisive riches split between those in, say, Laguna Beach and the impoverished communities in Inglewood and South Central.
And don't get me started on the Lakers' national and international following. A fan map created by the New York Times proved that when there was no NBA team to support in certain markets, most fans went for the Lakers. The brand is strong, baby, and with the continued diaspora of Californians to places like Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Texas and Georgia, NBA teams in these areas will be looking over their shoulder for a potential Laker Invasion -- Kobe or no Kobe.
The Lakers are the biggest team in the league and definitely are the best fans in the league.
You think I'm crazy? Biased? Out of control? Let us know on Twitter: @PhillyBeach93
Inside the arena, the makeup and fervor of the fans can change dramatically based on the outcome and the perception of the team. There's a reason why Heat and Lakers fans are consistently derided for being "bandwagoners", mainly for the porous showings of empty seats at home games.
What this claim loses in scope is that NBA tickets are expensive and many NBA teams are located in markets where there are LOTS of activities to do unrelated to sports. Not every fanbase can be Oklahoma City or Portland or even Utah.
Taking that out of the equation, I have undergone the painstaking process of ranking all 30 NBA fan bases based on things such as local buzz, TV ratings, social impact within the city or region, histories of success and the NBA's perception in those markets. Some towns are virulently anti-NBA, mainly for sociocultural or racial reasons. Others can't get enough of the stuff and wrap themselves in their team's colors come playoff time.
This is totally unscientific and entirely subjective; yell at me in the comments section.
THE LIST
30. Atlanta Hawks. The NBA is not popular at all in Atlanta. White Georgians, who make up the most significant portion of sports fans, have ignored the Hawks en masse since their relocation to Atlanta in 1968. A college football and Braves-centric market through and through, nothing -- not winning, not Dominique Wilkins, not a civic renaissance via transience -- can get butts (of any race) in the seats, and new Atlantans are going for their home teams. However, the NBA's digital enterprise is held here, including TNT and NBA TV, so Atlanta is central to the NBA's business success and the Hawks won't be moved.
29. Brooklyn Nets. This is a new team parked in an established borough hoping to get fans from an island with roughly the population of Houston and the presence of an NBA power nearby. Knick-Net games have always had a "Knicks fans get cheap tix" aura, even in Jersey, and it continues in super-glitzy Barclays Center, which also costs a metric ton. Nope.
28. New Orleans Pelicans. It's a Saints town and a football world. The NBA won't move the needle here, but watch this space - I might be wrong and they end up being hot in Louisiana.
27. Minnesota Timberwolves. Minnesota, the U.S. hockey capital, and the cultural makeup of NBA players doesn't mix. They also can't make the playoffs for nada. At least they have Wiggins and Towns!
26. Milwaukee Bucks. Declining region, cold weather, incompatible with the cultural makeup of modern NBA players (unlike Atlanta or Brooklyn)...and Bulls fans invading the place last year? This once-proud Wisconsin institution is now the scourge of the state, and Badger hoops reigns supreme.
25. Indiana Pacers. Malice in the Palace, dying region, already the basketball hotbed of America.
24. Detroit Pistons. See above, but add "hockey hotbed" to the list.
23. Washington Wizards. Their most famous fan is Wolf Blitzer. Also, Caps fans always outnumber Wizards fans every time ever, despite Abe Pollin - who Caps fans swear cared more about the Wizards - trying to promote the Wizards/Bullets. Oh, and the Nationals are probably more palatable to DMV residents (and that's with John Wall! And the Nats are only 11 years old!!)
22. Philadelphia 76ers. They'll never be bigger than the Flyers - and that's hockey. Racism plays a huge role in their lack of popularity and always will. Go read comment sections about the 76ers on message board. Similarly, they cheered on Iverson, the so-called consummate "NBA thug" for a decade. Never been a huge hit in Philly, even with Moses and Dr. J.
21. Charlotte Hornets. Cam Newton runs that town, sorry. White light of the matter? They brought back those sick colors, appropriated by Newton in his Under Armour cleats. Unsure if he stopped wearing them, because if he did it'd be tragic. Fanbase is also under attack because of a huge diaspora from the North, so watch this space.
20. Orlando Magic. Small fanbase but still very vocal in their support of their team. The team is a complete mess and I can't tell you how they'll fix it. No pull for free agents; they just have to find a way to matter again. Haven't had a big transcendent star that left this time around, after Shaq, T-Mac and Dwight Howard all left.
19. Houston Rockets. As low as I could pull them. Houston is not a sportsy town and most Houstonians I know are very casual about sports. Lots of people who watch sports don't watch the Rockets; cultural (re; racial) dissonance a big reason why. Astros being good is Rockets fans' biggest threat, which is wild considering everybody still calls Houston "Clutch City", a great reminder of the Rockets' fall from civic cultural grace. Only team in city that pulls big-time now: Texans.
18. Los Angeles Clippers. Clippermania is there, but muted: people on LA radio talk Lakers, Dodgers, USC and now will talk lots of Rams. Clips might have to fight for attention in non-sportsy L.A., but loyal fans are enjoying their Man City-like ascent to success. If they win a title, it will solidify a good base of people who don't go for the Lakers, which I think is desperately needed for their sake. Hard to tell if that bandwagon will keep rolling forever.
17. Miami Heat. Good fanbase. Gets dogged often for late-arriving crowd (see: Lakers). Three titles did something to city that people forgot: Miami natives now LOVE the Heat more than they have before. Even if the team lost LeBron, they didn't lose a single iota of care for the team - kind of a pulling together to remind people they still matter. People who dog the Heat for their crowds don't realize the real winner is youth Heat fandom, which is very high and probably beats the Dolphins' at this point. Can still be overrun in-arena by Chicago, Boston, New York etc fans.
16. Denver Nuggets. Worse fanbase than Heat, in my opinion. Broncomania can avalanche (no pun intended) this team if they stink, which they kinda do now. Nuggets fans are classier than Broncos' because they lack the swaggering attitude of a Bronco fan, though most can be both. NBA dynamics from 2000s still affect perception of the team in Colorado, even if unlikeable crew like Carmelo Anthony and post-prime A.I. are gone. Also a huge diaspora from North and West is coming in, leaving traditional Nugget fans under pressure. Often get outdrawn by Colorado Avalanche hockey (like this year), but always a solid No.2 behind the Broncos.
15. Toronto Raptors. Canada underrates this fanbase because they're obsessed with hockey full-time and that includes Toronto. Lot bigger than you think. Diversity is the buzzword used to describe Raptors fanbase, especially considering very white Leafs fandom. Drake's presence only helps, though I am apprehensive of hip-hop stars hijacking a pro team in a non-hip-hop-centric region.
14. Memphis Grizzlies. Great in the playoffs, very average in the regular season. Must improve in that area for them to move up. Memphis is taking Grizzly fandom seriously, which is great for them. Probably more cosmopolitan than the college team (Tigers) they share the arena with; NBA fans are yuppies and the NBA will probably win the battle between city and suburbs as millennials continue to repopulate inner cities. People from Memphis are now really falling for this team, including - from my experience - lots of women.
13. Phoenix Suns. So much better when they're good! Arizona natives are dealing with the influx of Northern/Western Sports Fans which will affect Suns' attendance. Phoenix is a hotbed (no pun intended) and the Suns, once an ironclad rod of support from all Arizonans for years, are going to be looking at Northern Fan Invasions if they don't find a way to win - and fast. Cardinals' popularity is fleeting and not really the heart of the state, even if they play football. (Diamondbacks have a World Series and still get outdrawn when the Dodgers or Cubs come to town.)
12. Sacramento Kings. Once the best fans in the NBA, the Kings fell off for a while but are coming back fan-wise. I admire the fight to get their team back even if their mayor, a good guy I thought, is a known sexual predator. Kings fans love Sacramento and love the Kings' role in Sacramento's place in American culture and fame. They care a ton, which is why even as the attendance was low they saved the team from being moved.
11. Utah Jazz. An anomaly, considering how conservative and Mormon they are and how glitzy and liberal the NBA has become. Still manage to follow BYU or Utah in both football and basketball to add to their Jazz fandom. Loyal and rabid, it's almost an expectation you love and follow them if you're from Utah. They don't let up, even if I think their team will never be relevant outside of the Draft again.
10. Cleveland Cavaliers. If LeBron James wins a ring here, he might leave a huge fanbase in Ohio similar to what we saw with the Bulls when Jordan left (highly unlikely considering the NBA's position in American culture then and now, but could happen still). More behaved than Browns fans, Cavs fans are everywhere in Ohio, even after LeBron left for Miami the first time. Almost can usurp the Browns in popularity, which is almost blasphemy considering Ohio is a big-time football state.
9. Boston Celtics. Described in 1990 as basically yuppies in direct contrast to Patriots and Bruins fans, Celtics fans are smart and well-behaved yet classically Boston. Young people like the Celtics. Racism has always been part of Boston's Celtic support, rather it be the backlash and rabid hockey-centricity of the 1960s (when the Bruins stunk and the C's were champions), or the Bird/Magic dynamic of the '80s (the Celtics were very white and blue-collar, the Lakers very black and flashy). Seemingly a wash now with cultural shift of NBA, which I'm sure lost them fans but they're still relevant in Boston.
8. Dallas Mavericks. I love Mark Cuban even as a Laker fan; he took a team with a splintered image and was perceived as the joke of the league in 2000 and made them hip and modern. The fanbase takes his lead: Mavs fans are yuppies, basically. They're businessmen, bankers, tech people, models, well-mannered and well-heeled. The Mavs engender lots of loyalty among millennials and urbanites regardless of political affiliation; lots of Republicans and Christians too. Extremely female-friendly, in direct contrast to Cowboys fans. Ironically more classically Dallas than either Cowboys or Rangers because both of those teams market to more than just DFW (Cowboys fans are too mainstream and Rangers fans are pan-Texan).
7. Golden State Warriors. They were already a great, ironically underrated fanbase before Stephen Curry became "Steph Curry" to the world. They're now gonna be the new Chicago Bulls and the key to the NBA's cultural renaissance. They've managed to shine atop the Bay Area sports world, one of the toughest cookies to crack (ask the San Jose teams). A traditionally baseball/football area has gone gaga for this clean yet flashy squad, everyone's second-favorite NBA team. Warriors fans are also highly Asian-friendly and come across as incredibly smart, given Silicon Valley's reputation.
6. Oklahoma City Thunder. Oklahoma as an entire state has embraced Thundering Up. Their playoff crowds are world-class. The atmosphere is collegiate. If the Thunder win a title, I swear they will become as rabid and irrationally passionate as Spurs fans, and they're already starting down that road...everyone from Oklahoma is telling me about how much they love the Thunder. This development means too much to these people and they don't want to screw it up.
5. Portland Trail Blazers. If Austin had a basketball team, it'd have to be on the level of the Trail Blazers. The Blazers are quintessential emblems of Oregonian pride especially amidst the big Hipster Boom blooming in the Rose City (or Rip City to locals). Their fans are passionate and know everything about every player before you can even ask. I recall one woman who moved from Portland to Austin and how, growing up, she cried over the 2000 NBA playoffs as a young girl. I asked her how big a deal it was ... she said "I lose friends over this." She also loves Lillard, as they all do. Blazers fans are all across Oregon and they care too much.
4. San Antonio Spurs. They could be No.1 if I wanted to. Living in Texas since 2010 and attending a major university within the state, I'm sure most people in my shoes have seen the same stuff I have in regards to the overarching love San Antonians and Spurs fans have for their professional basketball team. You can tell someone's from San Antonio or South Texas by how they react if you have anything that remotely reminds them of the Spurs. They are loyal. They are overbearing. They watch every play, argue every move, love every player and hate every player that's not theirs. Go Spurs Go is part of their identity. There's no chill in their thrill. They are admirable; their team is emblematic of their city, region and themselves.
3. Chicago Bulls. Bulls fans are OK in Chicago. They're a solid, above-average group that watches the game and chills out. Then we play in Indianapolis or Milwaukee and the crowds start picking up...the roars of LET'S GO BULLS infiltrate the road venue. This is a residual of the post-Michael Jordan era, in which Bulls fans were made in more than just Chicago. It stuck, to say the least; the Bulls have been a top-10 team at the gate every year since Jordan nested up in '98. Bulls fans are loyal, powerful, caring and cheer literally any player who can remotely score in bunches: Elton Brand; Ben Gordon (or "Ben Jordan" to some); Derrick Rose; Jimmy Butler. Their fandom is all over the place and the Chicago diaspora means you'll see more Bulls fans in your hometown sometime in the near future -- they'll be cheering hard too.
2. New York Knicks. Porzingod? A rising rookie (Kristaps Porzingis) has become the No.4 bestselling jersey in the NBA, speaking to the power of the Knick brand. To become famous as a player on the most overly scrutinized team in the NBA -- a roundball Dallas Cowboys, if you will, sans the history of success -- is a golden ticket to success. Allan Houston isn't an all-time great, but being a Knick rose his career profile. John Starks is an OK guard, but Knicks fans rose him to prominence. New Yorkers know that the Yankees may be the legs that drive the city and the Giants may be the torso that moves the city, but the Knicks are truly in the heart and soul of New York City. A basketball town in the purest sense of the word, fans are wide and diverse and extremely nagging, but they'll jump on the first guy to remotely show any promise on their beloved Knicks.
1. Los Angeles Lakers. You're rolling your eyes right now. "They arrive late...they don't actually care...bandwagons...celebrities...yada." Have you looked inside of L.A.? Visited someplace not a tourist attraction? Gotten out of Hollywood?
Los Angeles is the entertainment hub of the world and Hollywood is seen as the center of global cinema. The Lakers knew to sell themselves to a wishy-washy, non-sportsy town they had to align with the stars.
The Lakers make stars: Magic. Kareem. Worthy. Kobe. Shaq. Maybe DeAngelo Russell or Julius Randle. The team is immensely popular in L.A., much so that people canceled cable packages just to get the Time Warner channel the Lakers were on.
Locals hold the Lakers near and dear to their heart, wearing it like an international badge of honor. Poor Latino kids who speak no English align with the Purple and Gold. Gang members, literally divided by colors, unite thanks to the Lakers. It connects the continuously divisive riches split between those in, say, Laguna Beach and the impoverished communities in Inglewood and South Central.
And don't get me started on the Lakers' national and international following. A fan map created by the New York Times proved that when there was no NBA team to support in certain markets, most fans went for the Lakers. The brand is strong, baby, and with the continued diaspora of Californians to places like Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Texas and Georgia, NBA teams in these areas will be looking over their shoulder for a potential Laker Invasion -- Kobe or no Kobe.
The Lakers are the biggest team in the league and definitely are the best fans in the league.
You think I'm crazy? Biased? Out of control? Let us know on Twitter: @PhillyBeach93
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
THE KLIFF EFFECT, YEAR III: IT'S NOT WORKING
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| Kliff Kingsbury, for all his pizzazz, hasn't done much to radically change Texas Tech football. (photo: USA Today/Gannett) |
I exited Jones AT&T Stadium on Halloween evening with a directly opposite demeanor which I had entered the same building with. What could have been a day full of optimism, growth and a chance to chop down the Oklahoma State Cowboys' College Football Playoff hopes had melted before my eyes.
Up 14 points at one point and stopping the high-flying Cowboy drive thrice in a row, the Texas Tech Red Raiders could not muster anything offensively in the second half -- a big fat zero in the third quarter -- and allowed the still-No. 12 ranked Cowboys to walk away with a much-deserved win, 70-53.
Monday, I turned back to my radio program and listed out the same ol' problems: can't stop anybody, allowed a team to hang 70 on you after letting Oklahoma and Baylor score 63, you scored 52 and still lost to TCU on a miracle snag, etc.
But wouldn't you believe, three years in with a somewhat stamped identity of what Texas Tech football is -- air raid, passing attack, swashbuckling and all that "fearless" marketing gunk they sell you -- that a preventable defense, a passable Division I FBS defense would be nice for once?
I covered recruiting for three seasons, so I'm fairly aware of the dearth of talent the Red Raider football program has accumulated on the defensive side of the ball. Of the players Texas Tech acquired between 2013 and right now, I can probably count one game-changer on defense: Nigel Bethel, a well-regarded recruit from Miami who should've been a Hurricane.
Yes, I'm aware of Breiden Fehoko. No, he's not ready to burst out into a period of domination; he's only a freshman.
Eyes turn to the front and wonder: does Kliff Kingsbury's so-called "swag factor" work anymore?
Fans were beside themselves when Fehoko or Jarrett Stidham or Tristen Wallace or Collin Wilder or Donte Coleman initially committed to Texas Tech. Swagger! Badass! Talent! Star! Showcase!
2014 came. 4-8. Only Fehoko remains after Coleman, the most recent decommit, de-committed. And that's fine, Coleman's right, the Red Raiders might have not been what he believed they were going to be.
Kids are fickle. They like the "swag" stuff: "Johnny Football." "Kenny Trill." Kevin Sumlin's "Swag Copter." "The U." The people USC hired after Pete Carroll being basically Pete Carroll Lite. Our obsession with Oregon's jerseys or silly football-as-war templates for uniforms. Texas Tech wore gray -- that's not even in their template -- enough times in 2013 that I almost thought we were becoming UNLV.
Kingsbury came rolling in on Will Rogers' horse and proclaimed this was going to be the one. We raved at his work with Johnny Manziel, turning a stumpy 5-foot-11 three-star recruit from a cowtown called Kerrville into America's favorite Spoiled Rich White College Kid. Kliff had IT! He was attractive. He was alumni. He was Mike Leach's first Super-QB and set records in his time at the university, which was well before I even knew Texas Tech existed.
He started rounding up his old teammates for coaches and began assembling what could have been college football's great seismic change. He surely can sell a five-star receiver from Dallas on Lubbock, students, alumni and fans alike said to each other. Texas Tech now had a guy who could go viral with silly dance-offs, be all buddy-buddy and impose his will and his face upon the most Wild West program in the Wild West.
Now, for the more sobering stuff: the actual production.
- Texas Tech has not beaten a ranked opponent in nearly 23 months (Arizona State, Holiday Bowl).
- Texas Tech has not won a home game against a Power Five team which finished the season over .500 since October 13, 2012 (No. 5 West Virginia), months before the Kliff Era started.
- Texas Tech has not won a home game against a ranked opponent since No. 24 TCU fell 20-10 to the Red Raiders on September 12, 2013.
- Texas Tech hasn't beaten the following teams in the Kliff Era: Baylor, Texas, Oklahoma State, Kansas State or Oklahoma. He's now 1-2 against TCU thanks to the last-moment win earlier this season.
- Iowa State, Kansas, West Virginia and TCU are the only Big 12 teams Kingsbury has defeated as a head coach. As mentioned above, he defeated TCU once, in 2013.
- Did I mention Baylor tacked 63 on Tech? Twice?
The past three seasons have marked by turbulence, decommitments, irate transfers, parental lashing-out and a fairly solid attempt to unite the fanbase which had been broken from the Leach firing and Tuberville's posh dismissiveness of Lubbock.
At what point does the fanbase realize that not much has changed about Texas Tech football since 2009, other than the Native Son being bathed in love and patience as mediocrity creeps all around him? The offensive talent, both in the man's head and on the field, is passable and a force to be reckoned with in the Big 12 (and the country): Grant, Amaro, Ward. The quarterbacks have been above and beyond expectations: Mayfield, Webb, Mahomes. The offensive line has been surprisingly sturdy for the most part.
But still, the problem remains in the fact that recruiting suffers with the continued sloshing through Big 12 season -- I laud that I didn't see many cupcakes come in this year (Sam Houston State being a notable exception) -- along with some sobering reminders (think of indoor facilities) that no matter how special you think Texas Tech University is, it's not enough to get that five-star kid from Dallas to dedicate five hours to drive out to Lubbock.
Not when College Station is closer, with their SwagCopters and their perfect rendition of the air raid, keeping them competitive amidst the 'Bama-dominated SEC West.
Not when Austin, even if the program suffers from performance anxiety and a secret idea of mutiny against Charlie Strong, is more attractive.
Not when Fort Worth is literally an hour away from Oak Cliff. Not when Coach Morris, the Texas high school football legend, is getting SMU somewhere closer to 1985 than they were in 1989.
Not when Waco just built the world's largest toilet bowl and continues to bathe in RGIII money. Not when Houston just built a stadium so magnificent, nobody goes to it even when SEC programs come to town.
Not when Oklahoma and Oklahoma State continue to effectively recruit and populate their squads with Texan talent, under five-star facilities and ridiculous oil sugar daddy benefactors.
Athletics department is trying to rectify these things with a sort of fundraising campaign. This is very noble, on the surface. Perhaps, Kingsbury will be able to wrestle with bigger fish -- somehow, Baylor and TCU, 10 years ago a below-average program and a mid-major, are bigger fish than Tech -- and be able to punch at the weight one would purport a school the size of Texas Tech should.
Internal swagger can only go so far. But if Tuscaloosa can be football heaven...if Starkville, Mississippi, can (briefly) have the No. 1 team in America ... if South Bend can house the biggest college football team in the land ... if people in Pullman, Washington, can build a half-decent program ... if Hawaii can make a power bowl game ... if Tucson, Arizona, or Provo, Utah, can have wonderful athletic departments ... Lubbock could take you somewhere.
But whatever it is now isn't taking them far.
Philip Arabome is a fourth-year sports media student at Texas Tech University. He's written in print for the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal and on websites such as Scout.com, 247Sports.com and KTXT-FM 88.1. He's the co-host of The Overreaction on 88.1 in Lubbock, Mondays from 3-4 p.m. CST.
Follow Philip on Twitter: @PhillyBeach93.
Follow The Overreaction on Twitter: @Overreaction881.
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