PunBB

I've been reading all these posts about baseball and they've got me thinking about the evolution of sports just over the past 10 - 15 years.

What the hell happened?

I've never been a huge fan of basketball (especially the NBA) but I remember when the players were held in such high regard. Jordan, Bird, Magic... Everyone my age can relate to playing in their driveway whispering out to themselves"..3 seconds left on the clock... Bird for three... It's Good!!!"
Now what do kids whisper to themselves? ".... 3 seconds left on the clock... Iverson for 3... Oooh he gets stabbed in the chest! Muthafucka gonna pop a cap in kobe's ass..."
Basketball is now tied into the "gangsta - hip-hop" culture instead of being just a sport. I think that turns a lot of people off, especially in the older generations. I mean, who wants to take their kid to a game where a riot could break out and the trash talking is loud enough for people in the nosebleeds to hear?

Hockey?!?!
We all know that the NHL's biggest mistake was expanding to the South where just the sight of ice will close every school, gov't building and cause the grocery stores to run out of milk, toilet paper and bread. These kids don't grow up playing hockey. Christ - now that I live in Virginia I know people who honestley don't know what a puck is.

Baseball had died off for a while but seems to be on a steady incline back up to where it was in the late 80's - early 90's. I think more and more people are seeing it as "good clean fun"... The action the league is taking on the steriod situation seems to be putting baseball back in good standing with the American public, and it's gaining fans. You can go to any backyard in sprintime and see people having a game of catch.

Football will always be a great sport to watch live or on TV. The NFL has done such a great job over the years updating the game little by little to keep their die-hard fans and gain new ones. They put a lot back into the communities of the teams, and provide more than just a good game to their fans. Believe me, in Buffalo - the Bills are the glue that keep the Western New York together.

Nascar. What the F#$% is this crap? I can't get into it. I missed the boat on this one. Why or how this sport(?) became popular is beyond me, but it seems to be the biggest grossing sport behind football with the largest number of fans behind football. To all you Nascar fans out there, God bless ya', but I don't get it. I've tried... I've really tried.

Altright. My rambling is done for now. What are you guys & gals thoughts on the subject? Has sports in America (& Canada) evolved for the better or is it getting worse?

i agree with you, especially nascar its more entertainment than sport

Nascar and Baseball are great in High Definition, that is why i am watchin more baseball.

The evolution of pro sports to me seems to be more of an emphasis on the individual rather than the team.

I still watch the major pro sports, and I'll probably watch the NHL when it's back, but all these problems and episodes they have lead me to search for other things which are probably more worthy of my support.

It's part of the reason I enjoyed the Memorial Cup so much, and also why I love the CFL. They are (relatively) untainted by money and greed, and the players seem for the most part play for the love of the game.

Along j-monster's line of thought, I have to give a huge shout of praise to the sport of Football (soccer), this sport has the biggest following of any on the planet, its fans are second to none. Money is a big part of any sport, but soccer has for the most part not been the subject of greedy players and labour disputes in its very long history, and that's one of the reasons Im such a huge follower of the sport, not only is it fun to watch (laugh if you want) the fans are amazingly supportive of their teams and are the most knowledgeable about their sport I have ever seen. Growing up if you said one day Id like soccer more than hockey I would have laughed in your face, but the NHL with all its labour problems and on ice product and expansion over the last 10 years has dwindled down my list of favorite sports behind Soccer and the NFL. Im not as passionate about it as I once was, and I think Ken Dryden might have been right on this subject sadly to say. I still play road hockey in the winter and I will continue to watch most of the Saturday night games on CBC, and I will always support my Habs win or lose, but thats pretty much where my love for NHL hockey ends. Although the recent memorial cup run by my knights has lit my hockey fire a bit. I will always respect/support the CHL and grassroots hockey in Canada, and our National teams whether it be juniors or the olympics or world cup teams. I dont hate hockey but its definitely not my favorite sport anymore.

cferneyh Wrote:The evolution of pro sports to me seems to be more of an emphasis on the individual rather than the team.

Yeah, and I think the "evolution" of sports is due to the star system and endorsements that favour stand out individuals.

As far as the 'gangsta's' in the NBA, they've just figured a way to maximize their marketing potential, I actually think the level of play has actually improved of late. Their biggest marketing problem (If the NBA has one) is parity... Shaq, Kobe, Iverson, Lebron all seem incapable of standing above the way Jordan did.

But I've gotta say that at the core, while the style has changed, the sports remain the same. I'm sure our grandparents lamented the downfall of the game just as our parents did and just as we could now.

Yet it's still 60 minutes or 9 innings, it's still who has more at the end, and it's still the winners who are remembered. When it's out there on the field, it's still the same game, only the names have changed.

I've got no problems with the state of pro sports today. Pro athletes (and owners) might leave something to be desired... but I still get a kick out of walking through the tunnel into the stadium.

Stephen Dame Wrote:

cferneyh Wrote:The evolution of pro sports to me seems to be more of an emphasis on the individual rather than the team.

Yeah, and I think the "evolution" of sports is due to the star system and endorsements that favour stand out individuals.

As far as the 'gangsta's' in the NBA, they've just figured a way to maximize their marketing potential, I actually think the level of play has actually improved of late. Their biggest marketing problem (If the NBA has one) is parity... Shaq, Kobe, Iverson, Lebron all seem incapable of standing above the way Jordan did.

But I've gotta say that at the core, while the style has changed, the sports remain the same. I'm sure our grandparents lamented the downfall of the game just as our parents did and just as we could now.

Yet it's still 60 minutes or 9 innings, it's still who has more at the end, and it's still the winners who are remembered. When it's out there on the field, it's still the same game, only the names have changed.

I've got no problems with the state of pro sports today. Pro athletes (and owners) might leave something to be desired... but I still get a kick out of walking through the tunnel into the stadium.

With regards to the level of play in the NBA, I'm going to have to disagree; the biggest problem I see is the underclassmen and high schoolers coming in with very poor understanding of the fundamentals of passing and teamwork. I think, with certain exceptions, that most teams have changed their style of play to one on one matchups where the rest of the team stands there and watches. LeBron James is a phenomenal player but he suffers from having a poor supporting cast like Jordan did before they surrounded him with Scottie Pippen and Horace Grant.