VS
NBA?! For a hockey fan it doesn't exist, while their counterparts see the NHL as some weird sport given us by Elven Lords(Canadians) as a generous sign of friendship(we did invade once). Granted there's certainly fans who appreciate both sports, but for the most part you're on one side of the fence or the other, either watching the NBA on primetime or settling for the obscurity of the Vs channel and the few games that NBC chooses to pick up( always the 'if necessary' games). But as for NBA fans who, like fervent supporters of the other "top three" sports, choose to discredit the NHL by speaking of ratings, I don't think there's any sense of "competition" since hockey fans could care less about ratings or market shares. Some of the most passionate fans in all of sports, they love the game for its skill, intensity, emotion, speed, and near seamless action. One of the more astute rule changes in recent NHL history was to put the puck back into play as quickly as possible after any stoppages as well as altering the rules so as to encourage the goalies to keep the puck in play as much as possible. Basketball, and especially baseball, has too many stoppages in comparison. Hockey, like soccer, is a game that harshly punishes simple mistakes while demanding much of one's effort and courage in order to create something beautiful, the desired goal that, in basketball, is diminished by the back and forth, back and forth, back and forth scoring. What percentage of baskets has the same crowd effect as a hockey goal? Do NBA fans have short attention spans(ADD)? Granted, its nice to see a team create turnovers and fight back from a 17 point deficit, but mostly the high scoring seems like incessant Pavlonian wish fulfillement for the viewer. I can appreciate the finer points of the NBA-especially when San Antonio is playing- but can't watch it consistently. To each their own.
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