Just a quick post tonight, as I have to my affairs in order to so I can sit back and enjoy the fifth day of India vs Australia – and what a treat that test has been, eh?
(And by “affairs” I mean, “watch an episode of Downton Abbey.”)
On Sunday afternoon, I took my nephew and brother to see the Minnesota Timberwolves play the Golden State Warriors in a basketball game at the Target Center in Minneapolis. For those unaware, the Timberwolves play in the National Basketball Association, or NBA, which is the Premier League of professional basketball.
I had gotten the tickets as a Christmas present for my nephew, though I bet he would have preferred something like a Lego, but I want to get to know him better and I thought a Sunday afternoon sporting event would be a great way to do so, but that is neither here nor there.
So while we had a nice time drinking sodas and chatting, the game itself was everything I hate about American sports. There was loud pop music ALL THE TIME, even during gameplay, the focus was on the spectacle instead of the game, there were more TV time outs than I thought reasonable, it was a basically meaningless regular season matchup despite the fact that there are eight weeks left in the season, the crowd was maybe, MAYBE, half paying attention, the quality of the game was poor, most of the players, with the exception of the phenomenal Ricky Rubio, who really is the real deal, looked bored and utterly lacked passion and commitment, and no one, and I mean no one, played anything resembling what could reasonably be called defense.
I could go on, but I won’t.
It reminded me why I dislike the NBA, and why all of my attempts to like it in the past have failed – and I have actually tried to like it, as part of me really wants to be an NBA fan.
It reminded me why I like Test cricket, why I like Premier League football, and for the most part, why I like baseball.
I know all of those sports have their serious flaws, and some of those are the same as the ones specifically mentioned above, and I know therefore it sounds like I am being unfair to the NBA, but honestly this is all just my opinion – a matter of taste rather than right or wrong. I don’t think you are ignorant if you prefer the NFL to the EPL, the former is just not my cup of tea, that’s all.
But we probably can’t be friends.
(Just kidding about that last part.)
Here’s the deal: If you put yesterday’s NBA game on a wall next to tonight’s India v Australia Test match, one of them screams MATT BECKER WILL LIKE THIS – and the other, simply, does not.
And yesterday’s action at the Target Center drove that point home. Again.
Here’s a picture I took during the game.
Take note of: Howl-o-Meter on the center screen, the woman in front of us not even slightly paying attention, and the half empty arena.
As I was saying…
*
Limited Overs 
Not to mention, most NBA arenas are characterless and feel claustrophobic, IMHO. Though I was a Bulls fan for a long time, when it was easy to be a Bulls fan.
It may not have been the same if you had been rooting for a home team with a winning record, like the Spurs. Given that the Wolves have been struggling over the last few seasons, the fans involvement must be limited. Even during the current season, Wolves did pretty well till Kevin Love got injured. Maybe a Spurs match or a resurgent Rockets may offer a better reflection of a NBA match. In India most Ranji trophy matches are fairly boring and “unwatchable”