From: vreddy@das.harvard.edu (Venkatesh Reddy)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.basketball.pro
Subject: Re: Who made the NBA prosper? (Re: All North Carolina team)
Date: 21 Aug 92 19:49:21 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Aiken Computation Lab, Harvard University

In article <55811@olivea.atc.olivetti.com>, rsmith@strobe.ATC.Olivetti.Com (Russ Smith) writes:
|> In article <1992Aug21.144110.12531@cbnewsk.cb.att.com> lor@cbnewsk.cb.att.com (edward.lor) writes:

|> Which was my point, it was Stern's marketing and cable tv that caused
|> the NBA boom, not the mere presence of Magic and Bird, and I think
|> Stern would have taken advantage of cable whether Bird and Magic existed
|> or not. They helped , without question, but they didn't make the NBA
|> and allow Mike to become what he is.
|> 
|> If Bird and Magic made the NBA(as the original post suggested), then
|> how come so many people were complaining that the game of the week was
|> always LA/Boston or one of them against the Knicks, prior to the advent
|> of the NBA on cable? If people wanted to see them so much, they wouldn't
|> have complained.
|> 
|> 
|> 
|> 
|> Russ Smith
|> *******************************************************************************
|> "I have a limo, I ride in the back. I lock the doors in case I'm attacked".
|> I live in hotels, tear out the wall. I have accountants pay for it all".
|> 
|>                                    -"Life's Been Good" - Joe Walsh
|> ********************************************************************************

Hmmm... where shall we begin. Perhaps by repeating the quote given at Bird's 
retirement... "The NBA will see another Michael Jordan long before it will ever
see another Larry Bird" (or Magic Johnson for that matter). You see, there are 
gonna be plenty of NBA players in years to come who can juggle a ball in mid-air
and can slam it so hard into the hoop that the coliseum rattles, and those
playeers have every right to be considered great athletes and all-stars, but
you just ain't gonna see another Bird or Magic come as often as another Jordan.
Jordan is undoubtedly the best athlete in the NBA, but what MADE the NBA wasn't
just great athletes (there were plenty of those back before Bird and Magic, plenty
who did things people thought were spectacular, like we see Jordan today). What
MADE the NBA was the spectacular non-scoring plays, by men such as Bird and
Johnson. Sure, getting the points was cool, but to see some of the unprecedented
passes and other non-scoring plays these guys made gave a whole new light to the
NBA. Anyone can dunk (or miss one embarassingly in a playoff game against NY. ha!)
but it takes a SMART player to make the passes that Magic and Larry did that 
convinced us that they both had eyes all around their head. They could see every
corner of the court at every second in every game. Honestly, although I know many
people don't agree, I am NOT impressed by dunking... many can do it. Some better
that others, of course, but to me, dunking is dunking (with the exception of
Ceballos's All-Star blind dunk and Jordan's missed dunk against NY - those two,
I loved). But, the smart players made the game what it is today, Bird and Magic
leading the group. And there were far more people watching Magic and Bird than
complaining, and those who were complaining were the few NBA pre-Bird/Magic
fans, who had teams they wanted tosee. The large majority of fans, who got into
it because of Bird and Magic waited on the edge of their seats for the LA/Boston
games... And besides, Bird and Magic were two of the first POPUlar people to give
franchises an identity... Even Wilt the Stilt was a trade, but Bird and Magic 
began (and will/have) ended their careers with the same franchise. They MADE
basketball, and there's no question about that. Otherwise, Jordon wouldn't be
the multi-millionaire (billionaire) he is... and that is part of what made him
popular... he became HUGE after the 90-91 season, quite a while after he
entered the NBA, and due to his increasing ad campaigns... but you think Nike
and Gatorade would advertise basketball much at all if it wasn't made popular 
by Bird and Magic... I think not.
And, finally, I must say, being a Southerner, there is only one thing I know
about professional hockey... Wayne Gretsky.

-- Venk Reddy --

Born`n' bred in Georgia and the Carolinas, and damn proud of it!
Go Hornets, Braves, Falcons, and Gamecocks! :)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.basketball.pro