A friend sent me this article by Phil Taylor asking if the influx of foreign-born basketball players will help boost the popularity of the NBA.
I think the answer is no. I don't think casual basketball fans stopped watching the NBA finals because "they're too many black guys on the court".
Taylor hints at what I believe is the heart of the matter, which is the cultural divide between most NBA players and casual fans. The casual fan might not relate to, say, Allen Iverson, not because Iverson is African American, but because he has completely embraced hip hop culture. Hip hop culture IS youth culture whether you’re black, white, or anything else. Hip hop is not for old g's like me; it certainly isn't marketed for me, and it's not going to appeal to "middle America", whatever that means.
Now, if my assumption about NBA fans and culture is correct, I think the influx of foreign-born players might hurt the popularity of the game even more. Speaking with a foreign accent and having a hard-to-memorize name doesn’t exactly enhance one’s Q rating.
I think true fans like good players, plain and simple. Casual fans of anything are, by nature, fickle. Should the NBA marketing brass cater to these folks? Or should they wait for Lebron James to conquer the world?
Article comments
1 - Eric Olsen
Nice job Will, glad to see you see you back in the swim, or something.
2 - visualsimplicity
Well Yao Ming made the NBA popular for hordes of Chinese people, evidenced by the large number of Asians in attendence at Houston home games. Maybe the influx of foreigners will bring more foreign Americans to games. Oh and I believe people stopped watching the NBA Finals because, frankly, everyone knows the outcome, the West team will win.
3 - Seth Werkheiser
I think less people are watching cuz the games have become BORING. I mean, a 7-game series is lame. Look at the NFL playoffs, or even the NCAA tourney. THere's heart and passion in those games because its not just about "winning games 1 and 3" or something, its about winning so you don't go home. I know the NBA would NEVER cut back on their Best-of-7 format (heck, the 1st round this year was best of 7) but c'mon... people brag that they were at the SUPER BOWL... an EVENT - not game 3 of some eastren confrence semi-final... hehe
4 - Eric Olsen
I didn't mention, Will, I think you are right on about hip-hop (not sure if that's the right noun, but close enough) culture being the issue rather than race - the NBA is less black now than it was in the '80s when it was hugely popular, but there were hugely popular stars who "played the game the right way" and the '90s superstar MJ certainly didn't buy in to hip-hop culture. It is perceived as immature, selfish, thuggish and ghetto - not sure what to do about it, not sure who will conform to whom.