I live in Utah and we love the Jazz here.
That being said, I don’t have a lot of sympathy for these NBAcompoops. Any of ‘em. Not the players, and not the owners.
It appears the NBA has cancelled another two weeks of the season. With the chance that the Christmas Day games can be salvaged.
In April Fox Sports reported that the average basketball star gets 4.79 million dollars per year, which comes out to just over 92 thousand dollars a week. An article by Steve Aschburner on NBA.com had the salary at 5.15 million per year.
According to the Hoops.com websites, Plunkett Research figures that in 2010-2011, 4.1 billion dollars in revenue was generated by the NBA, with an operating income of 183 million, and an average NBA team value of 369 million.
Compare that to the cost for a family of four to attend an NBA game during the same season. According to Business Insider, it was about $290 for one night of entertainment. That includes tickets, parking, soda for the kiddoes and a couple of cold ones for mom and dad who will need one especially after plunking down more money for ball caps, jerseys, a stuffed animal team mascot or whatever other tchotchkes their kids absolutely cannot live without.
Ask the average person if the 4.1 billion in revenue is a lot of money and they will say yes. Ask them if spending something in the neighborhood of 300 clams for one night of fun is a lot of money, and when they stop laughing at your ridiculous question, they will say yes again. And I am willing to bet there will be far fewer people interested in coughing 300 bills for a night of fun this season than in seasons past. Why? Because everyone I know has better things to do with 300 bucks right now than watch a bunch of guys chase a ball up and down the court.
Quoting Players Association rep Billy Hunter from ESPN.com: "They (the players) are principled individuals and I think that they realize the struggle that they are incurring," he said. "They may be paid at a higher level but it's the same issue that we see that is endemic right now, not only in our country but around the world -- it's about folks at the top who have the leverage and power who need to impose upon the workers of the world.”
Seriously? Are we down to Occupy Madison Square Garden?
Players? Owners? Newsflash: You’re luxury items. We don’t need you. If you all went away tomorrow we would mourn for a while, but the world would go on. NBA Basketball is not critical to the survival of the free world. Don’t get me wrong. I was among the first and loudest to cheer in back in ‘98 when the Jazz went on to face the Bulls in the Championship. And what a series that was. But the bottom line is, basketball does not make the world go ‘round.
And while you guys are arguing over a 50-50 revenue split and salary caps, remember the one factor that you seem to be forgetting: Us. The Fans.
We pay to see the teams play. We buy the posters, the jerseys the shoes, the pennants, and whatever else the NBA is hawking, We visit the websites, draft the fantasy leagues, and tune in to watch the games when they can’t come up with $300 to go to the arena. We line up for your autographs, and call you on sports radio.
I’ve said before that capitalism works when there is a product that appeals to the buying public. Right now you hothouse orchids who have locked yourselves out of the owners boxes and locker rooms don’t look all that appealing to us. Especially in this day and age when more and more families are taking a scalpel to the budget and seeing what they can do without. When it comes right down to it, you are grown men who in some cases make obscene amounts of money to host, manage, market and play a kid’s game.
We love you, but we can learn to live without you.
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