Open Letter to the NBA

[xmarkd400x]

Dear NBA,

I am a Celtics fan who has taken an interest in the NBA for the first time in my life. I am 23 years old and have lived in Massachusetts my whole life. This is the first time that the Celtics are truly relevant.

I am writing to say that you are throwing away the opportunity to turn a Celtic fan into a basketball fan. I will explain two areas that, in my opinion, are lacking.

ABC/ESPN's Broadcast:
-Time and time again I see things on the floor I would like to see a replay of. ABC then goes about 4 plays back to a clip of Ray Allen defending Kobe or Paul Pierce defending LeBron. Why does this happen?
-I feel like I am watching the game in KobeCam. Its as if ABC is solely there to promote the biggest star in the game (Kobe, LeBron, whoever). They constantly build up Kobe in a way I have never seen before. I'd bet even Giselle doesn't wash Brady's balls that often.

The Officiating:I am having a hard time becoming a basketball fan because I cannot fully subscribe to the integrity of the game. I watch different rules apply to different teams. I watch different rules apply to the same team in the 4th quarter than in the first 3 quarters. The game (and rules) should be a static bastion of integrity that the players and coaches work within to give themselves the best chance of winning. It's hard to watch the Finals and not question whether or not the NBA is "helping" one team or another so that the series will last longer.

Conclusion
Get your act together. Regain the integrity we all want to see in the NBA. At the risk of sounding corny, if you build it, they will come.

Sincerely,
A Celtics Fan

[TripleOT]

Dear NBA,

I am a Celtics fan who has taken an interest in the NBA for the first time in my life. I am 23 years old and have lived in Massachusetts my whole life. This is the first time that the Celtics are truly relevant.

I am writing to say that you are throwing away the opportunity to turn a Celtic fan into a basketball fan. I will explain two areas that, in my opinion, are lacking.

ABC/ESPN's Broadcast:
-Time and time again I see things on the floor I would like to see a replay of. ABC then goes about 4 plays back to a clip of Ray Allen defending Kobe or Paul Pierce defending LeBron. Why does this happen?
-I feel like I am watching the game in KobeCam. Its as if ABC is solely there to promote the biggest star in the game (Kobe, LeBron, whoever). They constantly build up Kobe in a way I have never seen before. I'd bet even Giselle doesn't wash Brady's balls that often.

The Officiating:I am having a hard time becoming a basketball fan because I cannot fully subscribe to the integrity of the game. I watch different rules apply to different teams. I watch different rules apply to the same team in the 4th quarter than in the first 3 quarters. The game (and rules) should be a static bastion of integrity that the players and coaches work within to give themselves the best chance of winning. It's hard to watch the Finals and not question whether or not the NBA is "helping" one team or another so that the series will last longer.

Conclusion
Get your act together. Regain the integrity we all want to see in the NBA. At the risk of sounding corny, if you build it, they will come.

Sincerely,
A Celtics Fan

Dear A Celtics Fan,

When you can pay us $2.4 billion over six years like ABC/ESPN did, you can make programming decisions.  Until then, just shut up and check out Game 4's halftime feature of Kobe playing with his two daughters as he reads to disadvantaged children displaced by Hurricane Katrina while simultaneously fixing up a hurricane house. 

Insincerely,
Herr David Stern

[Chris]

Dear A Celtics Fan,

When you can pay us $2.4 billion over six years like ABC/ESPN did, you can make programming decisions.  Until then, just shut up and check out Game 4's halftime feature of Kobe playing with his two daughters as he reads to disadvantaged children displaced by Hurricane Katrina while simultaneously fixing up a hurricane house. 

Thank god for Tivo...

[Andy Jick]

...that we know of.

[ma11l]

This really could be a great time for the NBA.  There is no excuse for the league and the sport not having a resurgence ala the Bird/Magic days.  They have a young star in LeBron ready to reach the stratosphere and become one of the best of all time.  They have one that's already there, and trying to add to the legacy.  They have big time markets with good teams, LA is back, Boston is back, Chicago is going to be back after this draft, the Texas teams are always good. 


We have great stars such as Garnett and Allen who are on the back nine of their careers chasing a ring.  We have young, explosive stars such as Dwight Howard ready for the torch to be passed.


It is a shame that Stern and the league's front office aren't handling it correctly.  The attention should be on LeBron and Kobe, but not at the rate that it is now, it truly is nauseating to watch your team play a game against them.  Don't be afraid to embrace all the young, entertaining future stars you have in this league.  Spread the "love" (for lack of a better term) instead of always being on these two.


Then again it comes back to the officiating.  Some are crooked, some just plain out suck at their job, they all seem to be too old and unqualified for their position.  How many potential Celtics fans like the OP have been lost because of how awful these guys have been this year, probably quite a few. 


I still love this team and love the game, so I will always watch the NBA, but I can see its flaws and where it is losing a lot of fans during this revival NBA Finals dream matchup.

[celticmaestro]

I'd bet even Giselle doesn't wash Brady's balls that often.

When you can pay us $2.4 billion over six years like ABC/ESPN did, you can make programming decisions.  Until then, just shut up and check out Game 4's halftime feature of Kobe playing with his two daughters as he reads to disadvantaged children displaced by Hurricane Katrina while simultaneously fixing up a hurricane house. 

tp's to both of you for those two hilarious lines. bravo.