David Stern has had his fair share of clashes with the "modern culture" of the NBA. He recognizes the disparity between his generation and that of the fans and players and tries to keep his hands off of it. Okay, that's not exactly true. He intercedes where he feels he can do the most good and then says he doesn't want to interfere. But even then he's unlikely to criticize things a team would do, particularly as part of their entertainment for the fans. Well, apparently, tonight was that rare exception (that's becoming less rare) where Stern decided to just fire from the hip. Before Game 4 in Cleveland, following yet another extended pregame fireworks show, Stern spoke to the press, and said, quote,
"I think they're ridiculous. I think that the noise, the fire, the smoke is a kind of assault that we should seriously consider reviewing whether it's really necessary given the quality of our game. It may be that these are the maniacal rantings of a fan from a different era, and I recognize that ... But I think it's time for us to say, 'Hey guys, let's look at it one more time.' And then we can talk about entertainment as well, but that's a subject for another day."All this interlaced with concerns for the "babies in the building," requests for more Simon and Garfunkel, and how future generations might be embarrassed by the pregame rituals and in-game entertainment. As someone who's consistently annoyed by the leftover smoke from Boston and the constant bombardment of music into the basketball game, I find Stern's comments both hilarious and righteous. We'll see what the owner say.
(HT: National Post)
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-13-2008 @ 1:41AM
dave said...
I'm relatively young and I'm with Stern on this one. I don't think turning the lights out and having all this smoke and fire is necessary for a basketball game. The Celtics, when they played at the old Garden, had a simple introduction of the starting lineups and left the lights on. That was all they needed to do.
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5-13-2008 @ 1:57AM
Cory said...
I think it was funny they actually telecasted the Jazz opening introduction with one of the Laker games, and there were no fireworks. Not even the lights turned out.
It's nice to know the 'Mormons' can get hopping after an exciting Jazz play instead of having to be scared awake by deafening explosives.
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5-13-2008 @ 2:11AM
Mr.G said...
I'm 53. It doesn't bother me either way. Find a babysitter and leave the babies at home where they belong.
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5-13-2008 @ 3:36AM
bobaganoush said...
David Stern is absolutely right! The smoke and other crap just takes away from what is the best sports show in the world - NBA basketball. There is not another sport that can touch it, the NFL has way too many commercials, hockey is well, hockey and baseball is too sloooowwwww! I have watched the Celtics on Hi-Def and it looks as if they are playing in the London fog for most of the first quarter. I predict that the league will start to curtail the unnessary pregame B.S. and get down to doing what they do best - playing basketball.
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5-15-2008 @ 12:03AM
William said...
I'm 41. A very young 41. And I agree with Stern. In fact, I've been saying it to my buddies everytime we go see the CAVS. You can't even hear the dribble of the ball or the squeak of the sneakers anymore. It's absolutely insane. In fact, I think the darkened arena, with the announcer screaming and all the fireworks are embarassing sometimes. Even the cheerleaders are becoming less and less involved because you have to sit through the street dancers break dance routines, all the junk being thrown into stands. Seriously, it's like a Barnum & Bailey Circus. I feel like I'm under the Big Top. Don't be surprised if the scoreboard catches fire during one of the pregame fireballs that shoot from the scoreboard. It'll be mayhem... just like the nightclub fire in Providence RI a few years ago when Great White performed. I'm glad I've got aisle seats. It's the closest thing I have to a fire escape.
They're doing it so it'll attract the casual fan to the arena hoping to catch a junky t-shirt or plastic ball, but can't name more than two players on the court.
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5-25-2008 @ 12:07PM
... said...
Teams just don't have faith in their fans to be loud on their own. Even the Chicago Bulls, the innovators of the player introductions, have the same cookie-cutter stuff like fireworks, mascot waving the flag, etc etc. Before, all the intros were at the United Center was just the darkening of the lights, the roar of the crowd, and a simple laser show and video. In the Chicago Stadium, they just blacked the arena and let the crowd work itself up to a frenzy on their own.
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