94: Superthread 9 II

[Bazal]

Basketball sucks...Boring-arse excuse for a sport

 

[Stranger]

You are a hussy baz

Go eat a turd

 

[The Preacher]

You are a hussy baz

Go eat a turd

Doesn't he play cricket.......a nice Pommy game??

 

[Bazal]

You are a hussy baz

Go eat a turd

Yes to the first, no to the second I just ate ffs...

An American family friend put it best...the major spectator sports in America are about simplicity, so that drunken Yanks (who, generally, are already fairly dumb to begin with) can spend a night/afternoon soaked in Budweiser and still understand wtf is going on...Basketball? Simple. NFL? Simple. Baseball? Unbelievably simple.

 

[Stranger]

And you could say that about the simplest sport out... Soccer/Football

Its only in the past 12 months that ive really become a big Basketball fan. Watching over DVD's of big Shaq in his prime, its one big Highlight reel.

Basketball is a sport for the fans. Its about the show first and winning second. Thats one of the main reasons why i love the sport.

 

[Bazal]

And you could say that about the simplest sport out... Soccer/Football

Its only in the past 12 months that ive really become a big Basketball fan. Watching over DVD's of big Shaq in his prime, its one big Highlight reel.

Basketball is a sport for the fans. Its about the show first and winning
second. Thats one of the main reasons why i love the sport.

I do tbh...it bores me as well. It's good that you mentioned it actually, because it's much the same as basketball...blokes running end to end and back again with relative ease. Only in basketball they score basket after basket whereas in soccer they struggle to hit the goal. If anything basketball is even simpler than soccer

 

[Stranger]

But as a sport it allows for great highlights. Which is what people want to see.

People want to watch and be brought to their feet and cheer, which is what a sport like Basketball allows. A big defensive block or a massive 2 handed gorilla jam brings people to their feet and makes them want to cheer. Thats why i hate cricket/netball/Union.... They are just so... boring :|

 

[Bazal]

But as a sport it allows for great highlights. Which is what people want to see.

People want to watch and be brought to their feet and cheer, which is what a sport like Basketball allows. A big defensive block or a massive 2 handed gorilla jam brings people to their feet and makes them want to cheer. Thats why i hate cricket/netball/Union.... They are just so... boring :|

See, cricket is a good example...for some, it's boring, and with good reason. But it's not what I'd call for the sake of this discussion an Americanised sport. It's a game that's about the match or even the series as a whole, and not about the odd highlight. People watch cricket for the strategies, the little complexities, the conflicts between individual players, the ebbs and flows and the variables that the game offers. And it still offers the highlights too. On the other hand, people watch basketball for the odd slam dunk, they watch baseball for the odd home run and they watch NFL for the odd big hit or long touchdown throw. The game in between that is not at all absorbing like Cricket is....they are games about single moments, and between those moments it's pretty much the sporting equivalent of filler

 

[Jobdog]

Cricket FTW dammit

 

[DownUnder]

What's going on merkins

 

[Bazal]

What's going on merkins

Had a job interview yesterday

 

[DownUnder]

I know you did

 

[Stranger]

See, cricket is a good example...for some, it's boring, and with good reason. But it's not what I'd call for the sake of this discussion an Americanised sport. It's a game that's about the match or even the series as a whole, and not about the odd highlight. People watch cricket for the strategies, the little complexities, the conflicts between individual players, the ebbs and flows and the variables that the game offers. And it still offers the highlights too. On the other hand, people watch basketball for the odd slam dunk, they watch baseball for the odd home run and they watch NFL for the odd big hit or long touchdown throw. The game in between that is not at all absorbing like Cricket is....they are games about single moments, and between those moments it's pretty much the sporting equivalent of filler

But for a non-crazy fan, the highlights of a sport like cricket... just aren't that great. I mean i can stand up and applaud a catch here and there but a big 6 just isn't that impressive to a non-cricket fan like me. Add to that, i can never get in the moment of a game because i find it very monotonous. As you said, Cricket is about the subtle strategies and is more about the game itself.

On the other hand, Basketball is more about the fans, putting on a show. LeBron James doesn't have to do a 360 windmill dunk, but for the sake of putting on a show, he will try when he gets the chance. Cricket doesn't allow for those sorts of highlights. That sort of entertainment.

Then you look at the athlete involved in the sports as part of entertainment. Would you rather listen to an interview with Brett Lee or Shaq O'Neil... You know Shaq is going to say something entertaining where as Brett Lee will have the normal "played hard got the wickets well done to the boys" kinda talk.

As entertainment value, which is really what sport is all about, i can't go past a sport like Basketball. You always know something great is just around the corner. Where as a 'war of attrition' that can be a 5 day cricket match is not what i call entertainment.

 

[Stranger]

Bling Bling to smash the jets this week .

 

[Bazal]

But for a non-crazy fan, the highlights of a sport like cricket... just aren't that great. I mean i can stand up and applaud a catch here and there but a big 6 just isn't that impressive to a non-cricket fan like me. Add to that, i can never get in the moment of a game because i find it very monotonous. As you said, Cricket is about the subtle strategies and is more about the game itself.

On the other hand, Basketball is more about the fans, putting on a show. LeBron James doesn't have to do a 360 windmill dunk, but for the sake of putting on a show, he will try when he gets the chance. Cricket doesn't allow for those sorts of highlights. That sort of entertainment.


As entertainment value, which is really what sport is all about, i can't go past a sport like Basketball. You always know something great is just around the corner. Where as a 'war of attrition' that can be a 5 day cricket match is not what i call entertainment.

For me, the highlights are way too few and far between, and that results in a game with little substance and the odd flash here and there of something vaguely entertaining. And tbh, even a 360 windmill dunk isn't something I see as overly entertaining...it's a skill, sure, but at the end of the day it's just an overly flashy way of achieving the same result the guy could achieve normally, and because the situation would have to really allow it for it anyway it's not a great feat...Whereas, sticking with the cricket example, a Michael Clarke full stretch dive to his wrong side for a one handed catch after the ball has passed him is much more of a brilliant athletic achievement

 

[Stranger]

For me, the highlights are way too few and far between, and that results in a game with little substance and the odd flash here and there of something vaguely entertaining. And tbh, even a 360 windmill dunk isn't something I see as overly entertaining...it's a skill, sure, but at the end of the day it's just an overly flashy way of achieving the same result the guy could achieve normally, and because the situation would have to really allow it for it anyway it's not a great feat...Whereas, sticking with the cricket example, a Michael Clarke full stretch dive to his wrong side for a one handed catch after the ball has passed him is much more of a brilliant athletic achievement

Its the same thing as you were saying before. You get into a game of basketball and you feel the excitement of a 360 windmill dunk. You can really appreciate the skill of it. Or have Kobe throw down dunks on a big man you can feel the hype of it and you can see the embarrassment on the big man. It just gets the blood pumping when you see a big man put on a massive block. You don't want to just beat your opponents you want to humiliate them.
It is however an overly flashy way of achieving the same result, but its those things that keep the crowds coming back. Thats the reason the NBA is a success and the NBL is falling to bits.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EfHnG-e-vE
You watch that and you think, yeah he doesn't need to do that but f**k that was good. Its all for the show, the entertainment.

Each to their own for sure. You like the subtle changes in cricket, like a massive game of chess. Where as i like the really fast in your face type of sports.

Although i will say the 20/20 matches for me personally are alot more enjoyable than any other form of cricket.

 

[McLovin]

Basketball >>> daylight >>> more daylight >>> cricket

watching grass grow >>> daylight >>> cricket

 

[McLovin]

lol at the live scores page without Noocastle, Pawa, ect...

 

[Monk]

i agree with both baz and stranger.

NFL ftw

 

[Stranger]

lol at the live scores page without Noocastle, Pawa, ect...

Too mean