It was a good run...

In the wake of the Carmelo Anthony trade, I was all fired up to write a post about one of the fundamental reasons I have trouble getting into the NBA, the fact that the individual player has been elevated so far above the team. One of my fundamental beliefs about sports is that you cheer for the name on the front of the jersey, rather than the name on the back. Sure I have certain players I enjoy watching, but in general it’s as simple as Us = Good, Them = Bad. If my favorite player on one of the current teams heads to a rival, they’re dead to me, plain and simple. Exceptions can be made in the case of a rare star stuck in a horrible situation, like Kevin Garnett, but typically our teams are in the running, so a guy leaving town is now a guy that could cost you the playoffs.

This emotional reaction is particularly strong when a franchise player forces his way off your team, driving down his value in the process. Although it may not be intended that way, it comes off as an ‘Eff you’ to every fan in town. Given the dynamics of the NBA, where one player can be the difference between contender and doormat, this situation is arising far too often lately. From LeBron’s circus to the recent development with Anthony, it’s clear that the old rules of building a team and being loyal to fans no longer exist in the NBA. Now I’m not so naïve as to say players in any sport truly care about the fans, a few do, most probably see us as a necessary evil. Frankly that’s fine by me, as long as you give 100% effort and sign a few autographs for the kids, I don’t give a rip what you think of me. But this thing that’s happening to professional basketball lately is about more than that, it’s about competitive balance and the ability of lesser teams to sign and keep players. This is troubling if you find yourself in a city that is not one of the few destinations that NBA players have deemed desirable.

Because at this rate, you’re basically down to five places that players are interested in playing: New York, Brooklyn (once the Nets move), Miami, Orlando, LA. Maybe Phoenix makes the cut. Beyond that, you are operating at a huge disadvantage, and the better a player on your team is, the less likely you are to keep him. To be clear, I’m not asking for a fix to this, and with 5 weeks left in one of the worst winters of my life, I totally get why no free agents would willingly come to Minnesota. I’m just asking the question: Why should I care about this league when the system is set up for my hometown team to fail? Sure it’s not an absolute, teams can beat the odds and find success, but every team that isn’t in one of the five places I just mentioned is operating with a degree of difficulty.

And how does it feel when you invest yourself in a team, then get told by its star to go to hell? Well for that, I will step aside and turn things over to Loserville reader Brent from Denver, and a comment he posted in the wake of Carmelogate:

MUST VENT:


Every kid finds out differently. You always know something doesn’t add up and you have your suspicions, but every kid has their moment where reality hits you so hard you can’t ignore it and go back to believing again. Mine happened when I rushed upstairs at my grandparents place to see what was so important that my uncle had to miss the visitor and all the presents. There he was pulling off the red suit and white beard.



Well, I had another one of those moments last night. You see, when I moved here, I quickly adopted the Nuggets as my number 2 team in the NBA. I told everyone who would listen that they were doing the right things and were on the way up. Most people laughed at me went about their day. But I love a rebuilding project (probably why I was actually enjoying this Wolves season for the first time in years), especially when I think they are being done correctly, so I kept watching and enjoying the rebuild while telling everyone “just wait, this team is going to be good”.



During that time, a certain 7-footer from the wolves had decided enough is enough and headed to Boston. I remember thinking, it is sad to see KG go, but this is for the best, the Wolves can rebuild and move on. But something isn’t quite right to see him go like this. Next, Pau Gasol was traded from Memphis to the Lakers to give Kobe a running mate for a Turkish goat herder and a Kia. That trade propelled the Lakers to beat the Nuggets in Western Conference finals in what turned out to be an entertaining year.



But how did Gasol get to the Lakers? That isn’t right. Then the Decision. Any even slight thoughts I had that my beloved small-market teams could make it should have gone out the window when his doucheyness took his talents to South Beach. But I decided that at least the one star that I like is more grounded and seems to like it here……………… WRONG. What are the Nuggets left with? They don’t know it yet, the fans here don’t know it yet, but they are the Timberwolves of 5 years ago. They will still win more games than the Wolves for the next year or so, but make no mistake, the organization has a long climb to get to where the Timberwolves are today. And yes, I realize how stupid that sounds, but it takes a lot of time and effort to get a roster full of young guys with talent.



This has all brought me back to one thought: What exactly do I have to cheer for in sports now days?



NBA: Do I cheer for my T-Wolves or Nuggets to find their next “stars”? Why? If they do find them, they will be gone. Let’s just say that Kevin Love turns out to be the next great PF in the league. I am sure the Portland native who played his college ball in LA would be headed west shortly thereafter. So you get to cheer for your team to be average. You cheer for your team to have players good enough to entertain you, but not good enough to force their way out, and therefore not good enough to actually win anything of meaning. That is the most you can hope for.



MLB: HA! If you think the NBA is unfair check this racket out. People may watch to see David beat Goliath, but the fact is 9.5 times out or 10, the rock glances harmlessly off Goliath’s shoulder and he goes about pounding David’s head into the ground again and again. Ask the Twins or the Rockies.



NFL: This is the only real possibility, but there are 2 problems with this. 1) My team is the Vikings. 2) They could very well mess up the balance for smaller market teams in the next CBA.



NHL: Sorry, love it when I have a rooting interest, but it’s the NHL. May be time to find some new past times I guess.



THERE IS NO SANTA

Have to disagree with the takes on the NHL and MLB (at least to a degree), but I certainly get the despair.

There will always be disadvantages associated with following a small market team, and limitations placed on it, but the degree of leverage exhibited by players in the NBA is reaching a startling degree. I’d like to give it more of a shot, but every time I turn around, there’s another reminder of how exceptional my hometown team will need to be to overcome their disadvantages. Look no further than a certain point guard we’ve been waiting on for two years, who my gut tells me would’ve been in a New York or LA uniform about a month after he’d been drafted.

We're not asking for your pity, just an understanding of where some of us are coming from with this league. I try to give everything a fair shake, but at some point, you get tired of beating your head against the wall. No doubt some Nuggets fans are now gone, never to return, fool me once…