This is not like going to a concert... this is a TEAM sport, meaning there are multiple players on a team, they are there to step in when a player is out (w/e the reason)... when you buy tickets to see a band/singer there are no guys waiting in the wings to step in for them!
You, as fans/businessmen of basketball KNOW going into every game there is a chance that you may not get to see your favorite players AHEAD of time! There are no guarantees (said or unsaid) on who you will see at a basketball game, that's why the team is named San Antonio Spurs and not Duncan, Manu, and Parker. If the fans are upset then that's on them for not knowing what sport they are watching!
If I go to see Usher in concert I am guaranteed to see him on stage, if I go to a Spurs game, I am guaranteed to see the Spurs play, not individual players... if I don't see Usher, I get a refund, if I don't see the SPURS play (if it's their fault), I get a refund. Duncan and Parker are NOT the Spurs, they are just players (who can change at any time) on the Spurs team!
I cannot say I totally agree witht his post.. Teams do not exist in a vaccum nor are teams faceless. To say you pay to watch a team and not individuals is a non sequitor because the team is made of individual players. These franchises have faces and they do market individual players. If I go to watch the Clippers I expect to see CP3 griffin and DeAndre, and there better be a good reason if they are scratched from the lineup. If players did not matter then teams would not market them and put them in ad campaigns to lure people to buy season tickets or even individual tickets.
I also disagree that the NBA is about chips. That is only for the fanatics (fans). Believe it or not there are alot of spectators that go to games just for entertainment and dont give a bleep who wins the chip. The real fans could probably not care less if their team rests players because real fans has their eye on the prize, but think about the coporate executive that invites his business associates from china to a game at in his box because Lakers are in town and he knows the chinese like Kobe, but kobe is a scratch not because of injury but ;just because' that will p--- him off. I remember when we had Olowokandi on the Celtics and the Cs came to town to play the Clippers I went to that game but I was not happy because Pierce was a scratch - and in that particular case the Cap was a scratch due to injury. Imagine how upset I would have been if he was scratched on a coache's choice.
Believe it or not but NBA tix are expensive and some families plan for some of these games some scrape money together to make someone's day or dream (special days). Think about the father that maybe put some money together to get his child a ticket to the game because though he lives in Miami is youong child is a huge Duncan fan. That kid would be crushed. That is not what the NBA wants. I am sorry to say but Pop was wrong on this one, and I can see how moves like this can set the league up for litigation.
1) Players come and go for many reasons but who is still there? The fans. That should tell you that the majority aren't there for the "stars" but are there for the players as a collective for what they do for the team. When KG retires, a few of his fans will probably latch on to another player or w/e but watch the stadium still fill up without him!
Yes, you need the elite players to actually win but to get fans in the seats? Sure for some of the fans, but when I look at terrible teams w/ terrible players who still have stands full of people (maybe not sellouts but a lot of fans)... teams that are filled with players you wouldn't want on the bench of yours, it leads me to believe that the vast majority pay to see their team and the players as a collective, not as individuals.
I bet if you go to the average fan wearing a jersey or shoes of one of Sterns hyped up players, the majority of them couldn't tell you much of anything about that player, except for probably that their good and if they have won a championship lately. I bet if you ask the majority of people who wear Jordans about him they probably can only tell you he won some championships and was a great player and the most they probably saw of him was an old clip in a commercial or online.
I can find you 5 people right now who can only tell you LeBron is a good player and that he won them the chip AND they have his jersey in their closet. The only reason they have the jersey is b/c the Heat won the chip. They didn't buy it b/c they like him or even care about him, they just know that he is one of the best players on the team (b/c they hear his name a lot and saw him a few times) but I can tell you that before Mia won none of them owned anything with Lebron on it and could care less about him... they just know that "their team" won, so they bought one of the popular jerseys from the Heat. If it was fashionable to wear a Heat jersey with no name on it they would have bought that instead! Matter of fact I can even introduce you to a few people who hate the Bulls who are "fans" of the Celtics who wear a jersey from players on the Lakers b/c it matches their shoes, pants, and hat... it something I would never do b/c to me that's not a real fan but I hold my judgements to myself. So I asked one (my cousin), and he said I just wear it b/c it matches my fit (and I'm sure b/c it's "popular"). A lot of people wear/buy merchandise of the "star" players but not b/c they like those players it's because it's pushed through marketing and it's fashionable.
2)Did I say the NBA was only about chips? I don't think I did, I said people go to the games of bad teams like Bobcats and Wizards (teams that rarely win 30+ games much less championships)... so I'm fairly sure I didn't say that. Of course some are there for entertainment that's obvious. Even I go to a game of teams I have never even heard of b/c it's the only thing to do around here sometimes... I never thought I was the only one. As cheap as some tickets are... cheap entertainment! But those are usually the people the furthest distance from the action or are the rich people (I'm talking about the ones there solely for entertainment purposes).
3) I have been to many sporting events, I am aware that tickets can be costly.
About the people scraping up money to see those players, honestly, it's a nice thought but they would still be in the same predicament if those players were hurt... there are NO GUARANTEES a certain play will be there/play! A dad could buy tickets for a game the same day and the best players can come down with a virus or something and be out, all after being just fine the day b4 and playing bball. While it's sad for the kid, it's life, you don't always get what you want! What are you saying, they deserve a refund? Pfft.