Francisco Lindor and the Robbie Alomar Effect
June 9, 2011Acta and Antonetti Impress at Landerhaven
June 9, 2011Bill Simmons used his recently launched venture, Grantland, to deliver an article about how “The Decision” was the best thing that has happened to the NBA in 15 years. No. Really. He used his new venture on Grantland, where it is supposedly not merely about driving traffic and hits, to proclaim that an event that disrupted the entire structure of the NBA was good for the league. His proclamation is based almost exclusively on ratings. So, let me rephrase. Bill Simmons started a venture, Grantland, where quality is derived almost exclusively by not blindly chasing Internet traffic spikes and yet the league he cares so much about was served proudly by an event of extremely questionable taste and judgment because it supposedly drove up ratings?
I don’t really want to talk about LeBron James anymore. I don’t want to talk about my feelings or what a self-centered egomaniac I think he is. It is all tired. It has been stated ad nauseum and there is a specific reason that I am staying away from watching these NBA finals. I refuse to co-sign for what occurred in the league dynamic this season. I realize fully that my little “vote” counts for very little in the ratings book. Trust me, it isn’t about me trying to punish anyone with a “powerful sword” that I have at my side. It is more about not torturing myself as I vote “none of the above.”
None of that means that I don’t have opinions about the league and what it has become / is becoming. I will always have an interest in the business of sports. That is where I have the most problem with Bill Simmons’ latest column claiming that “The Decision” worked.
Let’s get into some of the specifics.
First off, Simmons says the year leading up to The Decision was good for everyone in terms of hype via ratings, media storylines and Internet traffic. This happens with major free agents all the time. LeBron’s free agency was epic because of how well LeBron had been sold from his high school years. All of this happened well before The Decision though. The biggest problem was The Decision itself. To think that LeBron’s free agency had to end the way it did on national television in order to be good for the league is a fallacy. Player movement and free agency are a spectacle all by themselves without the need for alleged player collusion while alienating customers under the guise of charity.
Let’s talk about ratings for a second. I am continually mystified by sports bloggers’ obsession with ratings. I still don’t know what ratings have to do with quality. Dan Patrick led off his show yesterday by saying that close basketball games shouldn’t be confused with good basketball games. His opinion was that game four of these NBA finals was sloppy and ugly basketball. I didn’t watch the game, so I can’t really tell you whether he is right or wrong, but the philosophy is right.
ProBasketballTalk had some interesting numbers on the ratings. According to their numbers from ABC, Tuesday’s game drew a 9.6 rating. It is slightly behind last year’s game 4 between the Lakers and Celtics, but for the series 2011 is about 15,000 viewers ahead year-over-year for the series. So, 16,126,000 people watched game 4. If you multiply that number by four, we are talking about 64,504,000 sets of eyeballs so far in the series. And for all the drama, false and real, that was trumped up this season involving the Heat, the NBA achieved a 15,000 viewer marginal increase year-over-year for their marquee series to end the season. The Decision worked because the NBA achieved a marginal viewer increase of 0.0233% in the NBA Finals year-over-year? I’m not buying it.
More likely than anything else, Bill Simmons thinks The Decision worked because it made his job easier. There was an easy storyline for him to write about and talk about with guests on his podcast all year long. I can identify with that. For all the ease of doing business for him and other national sportswriters, we here in Cleveland know how much of a struggle it has been at times to fill these pages with LeBron James gone.
In the end though, I would argue that ratings are a false metric of quality. It is something that can be garnered with marketing and salesmanship. The fact that ESPN / ABC would be worried about trying to sell the league is silly. They have been able to sell LeBron James over the course of his career even when he played in lowly little Cleveland Ohio. At times they have been able to sell Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter, Allen Iverson and even Rasheed Wallace and Rip Hamilton’s Detroit Pistons in 2004. The Decision and the current Miami Heat made their sales job easier, but at what cost?
In the end, Simmons is enthralled by LeBron James as a player. Who is LeBron? What is LeBron? How great will he become? Ultimately, all those things could have been achievable as story-lines for ESPN / ABC and Simmons if LeBron had sent out a press release proclaiming he was going to New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Miami, or even if he was going to stay in Cleveland. So, to proclaim that The Decision is the best thing that happened to the NBA in 15 years is revisionist history at best and trolling for traffic at worst.
Don’t let anyone tell you that this is good for the league. It is fine if you believe that, but don’t think you have to believe it because TV executives and Bill Simmons are saying it loudly.
71 Comments
I think we have to separate things out here because both sides arguing are correct.
1. Bill Simmons is correct in that ‘the decision’ and ‘the pre-elebration’ and Miami being a AAU team are good for the league from the perspective of pop culture. The Miami Heat are pop-culture the past year. How many spoofs of those 2 specials did we see? How many late-night jokes when they struggled? As noted, ratings when they play and attendance where they play has been up.
That means that ‘casual’ fans care more about the Miami Heat and as a result the NBA in general (see Simmons reference to his ‘mom’ test).
2. What I see above are most people arguing how it is bad from the league for the ‘real’ fans. The fans that cheer for the jerseys over the players and care about the basketball being played and go to the ‘nba trade machine’ way too many times in February. These fans are realizing that unless they are in one of a select few cities, they are likely not even going to get to compete for a championship. Even if they draft a superstar, that star will likely leave to go join some buddies in a better locale after a few years. It’s tough to cheer for a team you know is almost destined to fail even if it hits on its draft picks and makes smart choices.
These fans longterm also see how it can erode the overall quality of basketball (even if they cheer for one of these ‘superteams’). The NBA lockout will likely put more restrictions on assembling teams and the result could mean even worse reserves/benches outside of whatever stars are assembled. And the teams without stars may have better role players but no star.
Less hope, means less hardcore fans, means less people who will continue to cheer the league in smaller markets and also when the NBA goes into an inevitable funk (all leagues go through down periods).
simmons facile analysis of player movement is shown here in his posting of 4/26/11.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/110425&sportCat=nba
“Full disclosure: I don’t really care about Problem No. 4. People should live where they want without being judged … “
now think about that. nba teams are franchises, much like mcdonalds. in a franchise business, the key to success for all the independent franchisees is that a uniform experience, a baseline quality standard, is maintained throughout all franchises. this is important because with more franchises, there is increased revenue streams for all. as long as nba players want to enjoy rich paycheck by being part of this business relationship, they must be willing to populate ALL the franchises who contribute to the revenue streams.
so to bill simmons mind-numbingly dumb analysis, i would say that i agree that no one should be forced to work anywhere. however, if you want to work in the nba, the same nba where your union is demanding revenue sharing with the franchise owners, then you DO NOT get to all play in miami. as a (very well-paid) member of if NBAPA you must be willing to play in sacto and milwaukee and minnesota and yes even cleveland.
or you can choose to flip burgers in miami. good luck building your global brand. no one’s forcing anyone to do anything here.
@ DP & Garry, my fav Homer/Brain exchange is when they’re in NYC
Homer: Ah ha! I’ve got it! Brain, how can I ever thank you?
Brain: Just don’t bump me on your way out of the car.
Homer then bumps his brain on his way out of the car.
@mgbode – I think hardcore NBA fans will never go away. Hardcore sports fans may, however, not want to continue watching the NBA if the superteam trend continues.
I truly enjoyed this NBA season/playoffs… moreso than probably any of the 25 years I’ve been watching. And I’m a C-town “homer”. I think that the December (3rd?) game v. Heat is what allowed me to truly enjoy the game of NBA basketball – the day I (finally) realized that these dudes don’t care about our feelings, so enjoy the sport for what it is.
Also, FWIW, mgbode=best overall commenter on this site…
I read Simmons’ column. Seems to me he is merely stating the obvious. The Decision and James’ move did increase ratings. Stern and the NBA do like it cause they’re making tons of money as a result. Like it or not, the numbers don’t lie. Simmons also is very clear in pointing out James’ shortcomings. What he is saying is that James now is someone people can’t ignore. (Though I will proudly state I haven’t watched ANYTHING about James since last July). I don’t know if Simmons likes LBJ, but he realizes that James – like many other athletes (Barry Bonds, Mike Tyson, Tiger), attract attention precisely because they are disliked.
@J2theB – wow. thanks.
The NBA Business Model for the small market team: Move francise. Develop new fan base. When interest fades. Move francise. repeat.
See KC-San Deigo-Sacramento-Anaheim(wait Sacramento still has interest but pissed at a lousy product)- still Sacramento atleast for a little longer Kings as example
Also effective: move franchise – realize mistake – replace franchise with lesser product – piss off town
See NO Jazz, Charlotte Hornets, and Minnesota Lakers
J2theB = mgbode’s mom
@Garry Owen – my mom would never post something about LeBron w/o mentioning that she knew he was a scoundrel since he won’t marry the mother of his children.
@Garry..ya nailed it. But mg does his research, writes well, and adds insightful value to WFNY. You’re welcome , mg. Dinner’s ready, so get down here before it gets cold..
A Blog based on Cleveland sports that didn’t like Bill Simmons article saying that “The Decision” was good for the NBA.
No way!
@59 – It should be “get up here”. Internet fanatics always live in their mom’s basement.
Well done Craig….well done.
I agree with J2theB.
Mgbode is the beat hands down.
@J2theB: Research, good writing, and insight are overrated.
Where’s the recognition for snark????
This thing is rigged.
I hate Lebron more than anyone, but Lebron doing what he did last season WAS good for the NBA, even if it goes against every competitive concept about the NBA.
Miami sold out arenas around the league, Lebron led the league in jersey sales and, from what I can gather, more people seem to be watching the playoffs and finals.
Simmons isn’t praising Lebron for The Decision, but I think he’s accurate in saying that Lebron going to Miami has given America an NBA team to truly hate and that is ALWAYS good for the league.
I’m a Cleveland fan to the death, but Simmons was spot on and that was one of the better articles I’ve read on the subject in quite a while.
thanks MattyFos. we need to have another #praiseSantana thread. maybe it’ll boost his confidence enough to swing at pitches w/ RISP.
Garry Owen you get a Gold Snark Star™ from me.
@V: Not to be picky, but the Kings (in)glorious history goes like this: Rochester (1945-57) to Cincinnati (1957-72) to KC (1972-85…with Omaha thrown in there a little) to Sacto (1985-pres). They were known as the Royals in Rochester and Cincinnati. The Clippers started life as the Buffalo Braves before moving to San Diego in 1978, becoming the Clippers. They moved to LA in 1984. But your point is made.
Other notes:
– The Decision was good for Big Market NBA basketball. Nothing more.
– Simmons, while entertaining, doesn’t speak for small market fans. Additionally, his Boston teams have spoiled him rotten. If the Bruins win the Cup, every Boston team will have won a title in the last decade. He doesn’t know what it means to be a fan in a long-suffering sports city. To me, any ’empathy’ he shows toward CLE is disingenuous.
Why do any of you care what ESPN/the media has to say?? If you want to watch and read about it, go for it. If you dont, dont. I dont think Im a gifted intellectual when I urge you guys to emulate me and pick and choose what insights you want to hear. I personally like LBJ articles because I am apparently a glutton for pain. I couldnt give a damn about the AAA baseball team update every week, but at the same time I will read every article in length about the Browns. I avoid some, and I read others. Quit bitching that WFNY or ESPN is overloading you with stories that revolve around something you dont like. Its like arguing that Viagra shouldnt exist because you have too much Viagra spam email. Delete it or skip it, and read what matters to you.
I generally agree with the argument in this article. However, the ratings analysis is weak since you didn’t account for “OMGZ LAKERZ v CELTS” in the same way you’d account for Yanks/BoSox in baseball. Playing devil’s advocate I’d say that the ratings are a huge success because it has kept pace with the Bristol wet-dream match-up from last year. Doesn’t change your end point but it does weaken one of your points and the weight of the article for not addressing it.