By SAM MAXWELL
Staff Writer
PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 1, 2011
The NBA season is in jeopardy this season, as the players’ union and the owners cannot come to agreement on the collective bargaining agreement. All games between now and the end of November are cancelled, and Christmas day games are next. At this point, the season is definitely in jeopardy.
In my opinion, if the NBA loses more than half of the regular season games, it will take a very long time to re-gain the fans attention. While yes, there are die-hards out there that will come crawling back to the NBA once the opening tip-off occurs, there are many fans out there that will just not come back for a while- me being one of them.
One thing the NBA needs to realize is it’s not the NFL. When the NFL was in a lockout, it only made fans crave the game more, and want it to come back to us. The NFL lockout was like a bad break up: you want to be able to move on, and not care about your ex, but if they take you back, you go to them bright eyed and bushy tailed. If the NFL is the one that got away, the NBA is the one you are not broken up about leaving.
We watched the NBA because the teams in the big cities were good, and LeBron guaranteed the Heat will win every championship from now until 2027. Both of these factors made the NBA more popular than it ever was; we enjoyed watching it. However, if the season is cancelled, there will not be as many fans crying as there would have been if the NFL season was cancelled.
Another thing the NBA has to realize is the league was rising in popularity, and was the most popular it had been in years. An article on businessinsider.com sites statistics given from TNT saying it was their most watched season in their 27 years of NBA coverage. The NBA would be dumb to not come to a consensus, and take the league away from fans just when the popularity is rising again.
If the players and owners cannot come to a conclusion, and the season is indeed cancelled, it may take a long time to regain its fans. The NBA is not the most popular sport in America, and it will not be able to rebound like the NFL would.
