There were guaranteed to see the Spurs v. Heat and they saw that. That's what the ticket said. I can almost guarantee that.
It didn't say Tim Duncan & Co. on the ticket.
I'm not missing the point here at all.
TP
This is a spot-on assesment.
If you buy a ticket to a specific game expecting a guarantee to see certain players, you are a fool.
Also isn't there some fine print on the ticket somewhere saying something like dates, times, participants subject to change...
Even beyond that, aren't home players typically advertised on tickets? NBA teams don't try to intentionally hurt their fan base. Pop only does this at the end of long ROAD trips. The ticket probably had a picture of LeBron or Wade on it.
Teams always advertize when superstars are coming to town. COME WATCH LEBRON TAKE ON TIM DUNCAN and the SPURS, etc. It is okay if TIM cannot go for a compelling reason, but not just because his coach scatches him. There is also the larger issue of TV. They pay BILLIONS of dollars. Many of you have said you turned off TV when you learned the Spurs stars would not play. That means lower ratings and TV loses. The brass did not pay for that. Stern has to keep the brass at the TV stations happy for their investment in the NBA
That's fine, I suppose. If the NBA decides it's business interests are more important than legitimate basketball interests, they have that right.
I would argue, for the league to have any teeth in pursuing action against the Spurs, they would have had to have established specific, concrete precedent, in advance.
Also, by taking this course, I would submit, the league would be taking another step towards becoming more of a "WWE-type" league, than a "real" sports league. I hope this does not happen.