I was going to do this as a fake news story, but the more I've been thinking about this, the more I think it deserves it's own, serious post. The NBA regular season started last night with a full slate of games. Seriously. If you're like me, this was a huge surprise, since there was relatively no fanfare for it in the days leading up to last night. (TBS did a 350 percent better job of informing me about Frank TV - which premieres on Nov. 20, if you didn't know - during the MLB playoffs than the NBA or its broadcast partners did letting me know about the start of the regular season.)
Did you have any trouble remembering when Opening Night was for the NFL? No, of course you didn't - they've turned it into a national holiday and extravaganza, complete with live elephants, half-naked women on the trapeze, Dangerous Dan Fillipi on the Roundabout of Death, and Peyton Manning. Complain about the length of the preseason all you want, but every game builds to Opening Night. Even MLB does a better job of making a big deal out of the Opening Night. The NBA? It's seemingly weeks of Summer Leagues and exhibition games in Bakersfield, and then suddenly WHAMMO, this game counts.
Part of me wants to say that this was just general bungling on the part of the NBA. What used to be the most well-oiled PR machine has sprung more leaks than a destroyer at Pearl Harbor (when the Germans attacked). From refs on the take, to rampant sexual harassment taking place at one of the league's premiere franchises, to general fan disinterest in the game, it's been a rough year. I guess it would be easy for the league to, you know, forget to publicize that regular season games have started.
But I think there's something bigger going on here. I think Commissioner David Stern knows that this was a lousy last year, and that any hyping of Opening Night would lead to the inevitable story with a lead something like: "Looking to rebound from an off-season filled with scandal and embarrassment, the NBA regular season tips off tonight with..." And you could expect more column inches in that story devoted to recapping each negative issue the league is dealing with than spent on forecasting the season.
So what the solution? Go under the radar. Get the regular season started quietly, so that the timeliness of those "NBA in trouble" stories is lost. By the time anyone realizes the regular season has started, it's too late for the press to pile on, since they'll have to spend their time actually covering games.
You have to admire David Stern for pulling this off. Unless, of course, this was all a big screw-up.
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