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because the double decker taco just wouldn't cut it, we had to witness the ultimate battle of crunchy vs. soft.
Please settle this for me and "ManInBlack":
Why do you believe the 1995 finals (ORL/HOU) had more viewers than the 1994 finals (NY/HOU).
Why did more people tune in to watch this series?
No prejudices. Just looking for your take.
because the double decker taco just wouldn't cut it, we had to witness the ultimate battle of crunchy vs. soft.
It honestly surprises me that the 95 finals had higher ratings than the 94 finals. Not because of market size but because the 94 finals was a 7 game series not a sweep like the 95 finals.
Did you have to drive 900 miles to witness the ultimate battle?
Shaq and Penny were huge and Orlando was seen as the next great NBA team, whereas the Knicks had absolutely no viewer appeal despite being located in the nation's biggest media market.
So to boil it down: Magic > Knicks in terms of ratings.
So you credit it to the Shaq/Olajuwon rivalry?
Well said.
To be fair, I'm biased. I hated those Knicks teams.
This is much too informal.
If this was a court of law, there would be instruction on how a jury would need to see the evidence.
Why is it...you don't provide one?
If you don't give anyone a point of reference, then you're relying on a hazy memory from events that happened 18 & 17 years ago respectively.
Give them facts...perhaps we should even give them choices.
Be factual...not cir stantial.
Make it a Court in Session and let's see how this plays out.
As did most people.
Man in Black attributes the rise in ratings to Michael Jordan.
He believes Jordan's "Mini comeback" brought back casual viewers.
I personally believe that any casual viewers that Jordan might have brought back probably stopped watching when the Bulls got eliminated in the second round.
The fact that Houston was a known commodity and going for a repeat in '95 might have had something to do with it as well.
Why did you hate the Knicks ????
I thought they nicely swept the Cavs in 95
I can see maybe in a small way how Jordan would affect the ratings, since maybe the casual Jordan fan stuck around even after he got eliminated once they got a taste of Shaq and Penny. But any ratings bump due to that would be minimal. To think Jordan really affected ratings in a series he didn't play in is pretty dumb.
Well said.
True. Drexler also might have given that Houston team more appeal than the 94 team.
The playoff losses didn't bother me because I know the Price-Daugherty-Nance teams in their prime would have handled the Knicks in any series. Check the records, those Cavs teams always beat New York.
I just thought the Knicks practically ruined the game with their style of play. If I want to see fights I'll watch hockey.
To me the Knicks-Heat games of the late '90s were the absolute nadir of the sport. Just awful basketball.
You also still hear announcers (Van Gundy specifically) talk about how even though he spent his entire career in NY, Patrick Ewing was one of the most unmarketable superstars in the NBA.
There was a ton of hype that year for the NBA playoffs -- the Jordan comeback, the defending champion Rockets playing possum then coming back to win tough series against Utah and Phoenix, the Olajuwon MVP game, the rise of Shaq and the Magic in the east.
The Jordan comeback certainly wasn't the only big story, but I think it definitely contributed to the overall buzz that year.
To recap in even further, my initial point was that the Magic/Rockets got a better rating than the Knicks/Rockets, which shows that small market teams can still be incredibly popular (considering New York is ten times the size of Orlando).
ManInBlack thought this was an unfair comparison considering Jordan was "back" in 95 and not in 94.
Simple: Casual fans bandwagon after the 1st win and those who bought the merchandise watched the 2nd season Finals because they are "die hard fans".
Also, Shaq had a load of press around him, he was a monster when he entered the league. Many people don't recall how dominant Penny Hardaway was.
Now the real question: Which Suns' championship seasons was the most dominant?
Except for the jab at the Suns, I agree with everything you just said.
Jordan returning helped the sport a great deal, even if his team was eliminated. Also, dat Clutch city fever. We were big time being the defending champs, as opposed to a 6th seed that fluked their way in. Shaq was a huge draw as well.
People hated Riley for his brand of thug ball. Ratings tanked even worse with Miami. Save for Ewing that New York team had nothing to market. Plus, there was a ton going on during the 94 series, including the Rangers winning the cup, which may have stolen some of the NY market, and in game 7, the OJ Simpson chase, which was airing on like every channel and was my generations "where were you when..." moment.
Factor all this in with the Magic being an exciting up-n-coming team led by Shaq and the fact that the Rockets had Hakeem at his absolute devastating prime in 94-95 going for the repeat, and I think a lot wanted to see that matchup.
No OJ chase in 1995.
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