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The Spurs play in a small market and none of their stars have raped anyone. Who would want to watch them play?
"AJ (Atlanta, GA): Do you realize that it's you media guys that say the Spurs are boring and everyone buys it. They are fantastic to watch with their crisp passing and solid defense. Did you watch Manu Ginobili with all his assists in the first two games? I blame the media for selling the "boring" angle. The same "fans" of basketball love the NCAA for the exact same style of play from the Spurs. It boggles the mind.
J.A. Adande: Trust me, every columnist that cares about basketball has written the "The Spurs are good, you should watch" story. I did it before the '05 Finals. The public isn't buying it. And part of the problem is that the Spurs don't try to sell themselves. Tim Duncan is smart and funny, but he doesn't open up to the media. So people would rather watch stuff like "Sunset Tan." I've given up trying to explain or understand it. This is just the way it is. The ratings don't lie."
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailyd...ge=dime-071105
AJ knows the deal, but JA misses the point - for every story that they write that says "you should watch the Spurs", 20 others come out saying they are boring.
Screw the mainstream media. They are the root cause of so much that is wrong with society.
The Spurs play in a small market and none of their stars have raped anyone. Who would want to watch them play?
Indeed.
It's certainly got nothing to do with the beautiful basketball they often play...
The Spurs are everything North American sports fans claim to desire. And they are the least popular of the dynastic NBA teams since 1980. Go figure.
People have become blase, the market saturated with sports coverage, and many more sports. Would the 80s Lakers and Celtics and their rivalry be as watched now as they were then?
There are too many NBA teams, not enough talent in players, coaches, GMs.
How much of America really GAF about the 60s Celtics? College basketball was much bigger back then than NBA.
I blame the gawdawful isolation type of basketball, where Wade/Kobe/Melo/Bron grab the ball, wave all of their teammates off, and throttle towards the basket throwing off some ridiculously bad shot and flopping wildly so they can go to the line. And the media tells us that is exciting. I'd much rather watch Chicago, San Antonio, Detroit, Dallas, or Phoenix any day of the week.
We wouldn't have this problem if one of the big 3 committed a felony
I actually think Adande is right - it's that most sportswriters really just don't understand basketball - good or bad.
Does anybody really think Woody Paige could tell you if a team was even in a zone or a man defense?
I know what the Spurs' perception is here in the United States. I wonder how the Spurs are perceived internationally?
Internationally, we are free from the intoxication from the media of Spurs being "boring" so we bring along our own thoughts when we watch games. Meaning if i like the style of play of Spurs i like the style of Spurs no one here will really say oh Spurs boring, oh Suns pure excitement, we perceive our own teams no "help" from our media here.
Most of those guys write those "Spurs are good, you should watch" stories like somebody has a gun to their head, forcing 'em to do it (otherwise known as winning 3 out of the last 5 championships)... and they still usually try to come from a, "they may be boring, but it is good basketball" angle... so what JA said means to me... as usual.
Last edited by Dro210; 11-06-2007 at 04:49 AM.
That's a good point.
the city of san antonio is irrelevant to the west and east coast so that makes us boring by default.........can't anybody understand that or articulate it.... IT NOT THE TEAM ITS THE LOCATION.
San Antonians are not boring. That's all that counts.
Amen, brother from another mother (well, team, anyway).
I've been having this debate with friends over here who keep calling the Spurs boring... my reply is to point out that the Spurs pass, move, screen for each other, defend with grit, etc. ie fundamental basketball at its finest. Their response? "Boring". My response: "you guys are not fans of the game of basketball". Then they get ty! Screw them, they don't know what good basketball is.
Yup, I've always laughed at that one too. Just goes to show how hypocritical people are. What most of them really want is a game consisting entirely of dunks and facials, and off the court they want gangsters and es causing scandals, but they won't admit to that...
It's pretty silly for anyone to think that sports writers are influencing decisions to watch or not watch games. I don't imagine that too many fans are making up their minds based on what JA Adande and others might write. To the extent that writers have any influence at all, those who write in old school newspapers and magazines are readily disregarded in favor of those who write in glossy, more-focused-on-the-splashy-highlight periodicals.
But I think, ultimately, that the damage for the Spurs was done years ago when there was some sort of quasi-coordinated offensive to label them boring. In 1999, they might have been boring to a vast majority of basketball fans. But from 1999-2003 or so, all we heard about was how boring the Spurs were. In the meantime, as Parker and Ginobili and others have taken flight here, the Spurs have become one of the more aesthetically-pleasing teams to watch in some ways, but the pervasive view of the Spurs as boring was long ago instilled and isn't easily re-thought. Even if the Spurs implemented a Doug Moe-style attack tomorrow, there would still be fans who think they're boring because they were told that the Spurs were boring.
Curiously, it's the same phenomenon in reverse for the Mavericks. People still, somehow, see the Mavericks as the running-and-gunning team that they were under Nellie. The Mavs haven't been that for years -- last year they played the game at a slower pace than the Spurs while having (I think) fewer true stars. At the very least, the Mavs' style is a reasonable facsimile of the Spurs' style. Yet, if you listen to chatter among NBA fans, it's clear that a significant portion of NBA fandom still views the Mavs as a running team that's closer to the Suns in terms of style than the Spurs. A reputation can be a hard thing to beat.
People hate the Spurs because the Spurs have exposed them as hypocrits and idiots.
The majority of people (and therefor the media) claim to want well-played team basketball by quality individuals like David Robinson, but what they really want is a Jerry Springer dunk-fest played by serial rapists (ok...slight exaggeration). It bugs the out of them to realize that they actually are the sort of people that enjoy purile crap instead of quality sport.
To use their argument against them - the ratings don't lie. And they hate to be reminded of it every time the Spurs win, which is often.
Internationally.... The Spurs are the most solicited team to watch... 4 real... even in Brazil they're bigger than the suns or the cavs...
Sportswriters and market sizes have NOTHING to do with why the Spurs are perceived as "boring".
The Spurs are boring because they play at a slow pace. The Spurs are boring because Tim Duncan is still very boring to watch and hes still the focal point of that team.
If youve seen one Spurs game, you've seen them all. I didn't see the Spurs vs Blazers the other night.....what did I miss? Anything?
Spurs fans can deny it all you want, but why aren't you selling out playoff games or home openers? Im thinking even Spurs fans don't have a good time watching the Spurs play.
Of course I have the solution: SWALLOWING THE SPURS!!!
Ok, we get it...you swallow.
The best assists of the season so far... all by Manu Ginobili.
FINAL: LAKERS 119 SUNS 98
New sig for someone.
This is simply not true. If they only took the time to pay attention to Timmy, they'd realize that he has a great sense of humor. The thing is, they don't ask him the right questions and they don't listen to him.Tim Duncan is smart and funny, but he doesn't open up to the media.
Yada Yada Yada..... Same old story - SSDD (Same Different Day) and its boring, too! How many times have we all been in a discussion only to realize that we're wasting our time? Most fans are clueless as to how this game is really played. I've stopped trying to defend the Spurs on this point. Its Style over Substance. I've used Bill Russell and many a NBA HOFer in the past to support the Spurs but to no avail. Most people just don't get it.
I'm finally cool with that since all those fans that dump on the Spurs would love to go 4 for 9 / 3 for 5 in LB trophies for their respective teams. And that is the winning argument to me on this subject.
i just kick back and enjoy this incredible ride!
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