constant crises

an interesting blog entry by mark cuban, owner of the dallas mavericks regarding the playing of music during timeouts, stoppages of play, and even during play at nba games. i was disturbed the first time i heard music being played at nba games DURING game action. i found it to be a strange acceptance (or even resignation?) by the franchises that the nba game is not entertaining enough by itself. i've been to several nba games since i first saw this and i've become a little more accustomed to it. i still do find it strange, especially considering back in high school no artificial noisemakers were allowed to be used during play. i always find myself contrasting the nba situation to that of college basketball games, which are infinitely more energetic (save for nba playoff games). the difference, to me, seems to derive from the relative lack of importance in a single nba game. fans subsequently care less about the outcome of a game than they do in just having a fun time. this phenomenon is even more potent in a mlb atmosphere, where one game is generally meaningless. even my local nba team, the golden state warriors, has shoved the idea of "Warriors Basketball: It's a Great Time Out" down our throats, as opposed to "Warriors Basketball: We Could Win This Year!" i'm more inclined to believe that the warriors' popularity boost is due to their players and style of play rather than the crazy 80's cover band they have playing during the game. if playing music during nba game action gets the fans excited and and energetic, then more power to mark and the other owners. it's certainly better to do that than to not care about the fans. it is certainly a good business decision. i just find it a little strange, as a "purist" of the game. maybe i'm the only one.

technorati tags: sports, basketball, nba, mark cuban