How the NBA's First Outdoor Game in 36 Years Failed Me

As I sit here and watch the NBA's first outdoor game in 36 years, I desperately try and find something to keep me from changing the channel and watching the baseball playoffs on TBS. I actually just texted a friend of mine telling him that i thought this game had absolutely no outdoor aura to it, he replied, "I know, I'm watching MLB." So as i continue to struggle to even get through the first quarter of this game, I decided to gather my thoughts on it.

First and foremost, the NBA couldn't have selected two better teams to have play the outdoor game, so I must commend them on that. When I first heard that this game was going to be played, I thought to myself that it would be great to see sunlight, a blacktop and maybe an announcer running up and down the court with the players, handing out nicknames and hyping up the crowd. After I came to my sense and remembered that the NBA is a huge business I realized that the blacktop was out of the question in order to protect those million dollar pairs of knees running up and down and the announcer...well that would be just too ghetto for David Stern to allow.

But what about the sunlight? Where is the outdoor feel? That playground in the park feel. Instead the game is being played at 7pm west coast time and the court is at least 25 feet from what would be court side seats. The best basketball atmospheres are those where the fans seem in the game, this seems more like Mixed Martial Arts as if the game was being played inside a cage. Reggie Miller just told Charles Barkley on the air that he got a better education at UCLA than Charles did at Auburn and this led into a conversation about Barack Obama, so clearly even the announcers are having a hard time staying focused.

As nice as it is to hear Charles, Ernie, Reggie, Marv and the guys again, I must say that the league really shit the bed on this one. Other than a Mateen Cleaves sighting for the first time since Michigan State won the National title, there was nothing interesting to talk about or admire. Carmello and Iverson in street clothes and a quiet crowd of what seems to be honorary basketball fans. As if the real fans who initially had the tickets gave them away to their cousins from Europe who have no idea what game they are watching. Better promotion and a bit more of a street feel to the game itself without jeopardizing the health of any players and this idea could draw millions and be a huge success for the league.

Check out what fellow blogger Craig Kwasniewski had to say back in Febuary regarding this same topic : Click Here