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Fans Lose Another One
By Preetom Bhattacharya
for HOOPSWORLD.com
Nov 13, 2006, 16:06
David Stern's decisions of late have been real head-scratchers.
First the dress code. Then the PETA-friendly ball. Shortly thereafter the "put-up-or-pay" rules.
As the season leaves its infancy and moves towards toddlerhood, seemingly all of Stern's edicts have had some bizarre externalities just in the last week.
There was Shaq unable to join his teammates on the bench because he didn't have a coat to wear with his suit while he sat out with a bum knee. The league's crown jewel, LeBron James, came out and said he doubted he'd ever get used to the new ball. The technical-foul extravaganza league-wide is continuing and on Sunday, Jermaine O'Neal was fined $5000 for wearing an arm band around his elbow, the latest victim of zero tolerance because of his fashion faux pas.
Although he'd never admit it, David Stern's new rules are putting up a glass wall between the athletes and their fans. Prior to the dress code, when players came to the bench in the clothing they normally wear, fans could go to their local department store and literally find similar clothing styles. Ballers across the nation began wearing the Kobe-tights, Iverson arm-sleeves, and most certainly had the elbow covered with a sweatband as they practiced their crossovers, fadeaways, and (for the lucky ones) tomahawk dunks.
As debilitating as these actions have been towards the player-fan dynamic, Stern's latest decree may be the worst one. As reported at the end of last week's "The Biz" report, the NBA has decided to take all NBA-related video content off of the Internet. Highlights and game clips will now only be available in NBA.com's video library.
By far the biggest blow in Stern's destruction of the relationship between fans and the game, Stern has effectively removed an opportunity for fans to interact with basketball. These are the same fans that buy the tickets, jerseys, shoes, and posters, but they're being shut out on the 'net because David Stern's backside needed some extra cushioning?
Fans across the world watch short clips that others edit to make a highlight reel, often with music in the background and flashy graphics that these fans/video editors spend their free time putting together. Not only are they simply being fans and spending time on a hobby, but these people are damn good at what they do.
In fact, they're better than most arena video editors. They're better than NBATV's nightly Top Ten.
Don't believe me? Before it's too late and YouTube is forced to take down the video, check out "Birth of a New Age: History of Flight" over at YouTube. The mix was compiled by four amateur video makers and chronicles the slam dunk and its rise in popularity. It's an eight minute, power-packed reason as to why David Stern immediately needs to reconsider this decision.
After watching the video, you may have realized the sheer amount of work put into making something like this come together, which is precisely why that single mix has been viewed nearly 28,000 times in the last year. No, the creators weren't paid a dime for their hard work - they did it because they love the game of basketball.
At the same time, the work of these fans directly leads to profit for the NBA anyway. After watching these mixes, some of which are about specific players or teams, fans typically get energized, grow in their fandom and then mobilize themselves to generate income for the league with ticket and merchandise sales. That marketing is provided - again - for FREE.
The video mixes these fans have made aren't full games. They aren't NBA DVDs ripped and distributed on the Internet. The footage these editors use is primarily never going to be seen again. If someone made a Mickael Pietrus mix so his fans in France could get a glimpse of how he's doing this year, the mix would include the most fundamental of plays. For example, a head fake might be included in the mix .. would that make ESPN's Top Ten? How about NBA.com's?
Of course not. Most of the time, special things don't happen (that's what makes them special when they do happen). These mixes take the obscure, mundane parts of the NBA game and spawn thrill from them.
Moreover, in a time when the NBA is looking to go global, what better way to engender excitement than using the Internet and its viral videos? How can we already forget the impact new media (Internet blogs and video sites) had on Election Day just a week ago?
Sure, an event may happen once but the new media outlets constantly remind people of that event, ensuring that whatever emotion they felt at that very moment was captured, bottled, and released upon seeing the event again. Don't you think George Allen would've liked to find any way he could to get the now infamous "macaca" video off the web? How many times have Keith Olbermann's anti-Bush "Special Comments" been replayed (and, by the way, his ratings have gone up quite a bit lately, in no small part attributed to the Internet viewers who hadn't seen his work before)?
David Stern is already taking emotion out of the game with this zero tolerance nonsense; now he's starting to take emotion away from the fans, too. Just like the game won't end because players can't scream and yell, it won't end because videos won't be on the 'Net anymore. Surely, fans will continue to flock to games and buy jerseys.
But the fans that looked up to these players and emulated their games just lost about half of the footage they had saved on the laptops they take to the blacktop to practice their moves. All the while, from a strictly marketing standpoint, the NBA is taking away a medium through which they reached the international community.
Talk about shooting yourself in the foot just before the marathon .. a head-scratcher indeed.
Fans in general are losing another channel to enjoy, consume, and live the game that they love.
Now, whenever someone screams "I LIVE FOR THIS," they'll be doing so only on NBA.com with inferior videos and less content.
Nice, Mr. Stern. Real nice. What's next?
