The Resurrection of the NBA

2008 has been good for the NBA.

But that has not always been the case in the post Michael Jordan years. When his "Airness" finally left the game in 2003, the NBA suffered a major inferiority complex which resulted in a 30% drop in television ratings.

Trying desperately to regain their image, the NBA attached itself to the young and the black. Hip-hop and Rap. Doo-rags and "bling".

White America immediately rejected the league and misguidedly viewed it as a "thug" environment. That view seemed justified on a cold November night in 2004.

The Pacers-Pistons brawl (known as the BasketBrawl) was an altercation that occurred in a game between the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers on November 19, 2004 at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan. With less than a minute before the game was officially over, the fighting began on the court and then, after a plastic cup with beer was thrown at then Pacer Ron Artest, extended into the stands. It led to serious repercussions for those involved, from both the NBA and legal authorities.

NBA commissioner David Stern had the future of an entire league solely and squarely on his shoulders. How could the league continue to reach the young and the black, without alienating corporate white America? How to you change the perception of the casual fan watching in the mid west or the deep south? 90% of the NBA players are black........There are black coaches, black General Managers........even a black owner. White America.......is just not used to all this "blackness".

So David Stern does what any great CEO of a major corporation does......... He changes the NBA's image.............He goes global..........The NBA signs Yao Ming, and now 800 million Chinese are watching basketball. He institutes a dress code for the players. Gone are the hooded sweatshirts and backward caps. In are "Armani " suits with ties and dress shoes. He enters into a commitment with "Habitats for Humanity" .........and has photo ops of NBA players building houses in post Katrina New Orleans. Suddenly........white America is saying, "Hey, these guys aren't so bad, after all "............

And here we are in 2008................The "Slam Dunk" contest was the most watched ......ever in the history of the contest. The All-star game itself out rated last year's Baseball's NLCS.

The NBA has been unfairly criticized by several talking heads in the media. But ........there is no steroid controversy.............No Mike Vick or Pac-man Jones resides in the NBA.

Just a little....."bling"............a lot of talent.............and a good man running things at the top. It doesn't get much better than this.........but wait...........the play-offs are coming.........

See you then.............