USA through the eyes of Basketball

The most common path for the graduates of my college is to study further in USA. So there is a lot of interest (fascination ???) for life in USA. Some of my Seniors have been waking up early or staying up late to watch Basketball Games. I am having a general disillusionment with Organized sports. So a lot of these comments may seem negative.

Women and Blood sports: The gladiatorial contest of Rome definitely had half-full naked women dancing during breaks in action. There is too much synergy between cheer-leading and sports which work on Adrenaline (especially blood sports like NFL and Gladiatorial fights). Practically, this works in keeping the excitement high during lulls in fighting. Which brings me to the next point.

Cheerleaders:This has nothing to do with sports. Objectifying women seems okay as long as they are paid for it and we can claim skill enhancement.

TV Focus: US sports are focused on the TV viewing audience. USA has had many channels before cable TV. So there is always competition for TV rights for popular entertainment events like Sports. Sports which provide a lot of breaks for ads to be played are also lucrative. Hence, there are too many ads in a live sport event. This is magnified by the unlimited substitution of players Basketball allows. The advantage is that US sports are ahead in adopting new technology if it suites the TV audience. Since 2002, the NBA has Instant replay. there are also red light strips on both the backboard and the scorer's table that light up when time expires, to assist with any potential review.

Reset and give me the highlights: Most Indians do not get to watch complete games live as they happen. So watching highlights or the last few minutes is a popular way to consume the match. Unlike replays, one does not have to spend the full match duration. American sports seem to be designed as a series of highlights. Basketball has a shot clock that creates an artificial sense of urgency. No human can play complete games at the level of focus required by this highlight playing. Unlimited Substitutions are a necessity.

US Focus: For such a huge country, Americans are strangely Insular. Basketball is the only major US game that is popular globally. George W bush is reflecting the nation with his my way or highway attitude.

The focus on how things end: Teams play 84 games in Regular Season and a maximum of 28 games in Playoffs. 16 of the viable 29 teams reach Playoffs. So teams just have to tread water, be above average for most of the season. All that matters is in the later third. even then , they have an awesome method of recruiting new players called the draft. And like the military draft, these new prospects get paid peanuts till they are established.

No promotions and Relegation: As a country, Americans claim to focus only on talent, hard-work and similar virtues. However, unlike the is no possibility of an underdog team coming over and competing with the established teams. American sports are the biggest Old boy Clubs in the world. Horrible teams don't get punished, they are rewarded with better young players in the draft. So team with a low shot at playoffs () field weak teams so that they lose games late in the season just for a better shot at drafting . Teams in the bottom half of the standings must not play hard throughout the year as there is no threat of being demoted to a lower level. Also for a society that likes litigation, ticket playing public seem okay with the team owners for deliberately being bad.

Players: In spite of all the previous negatives, watching the real highlights for the games that matter is a big treat. Kevin Garnett catching rebounds and Shaquille O'Neal spinning like whirlwind are inspiring moments. They make us forget all the systemic problems are focus on the excellence we are witnessing.