By SAM AMICO
FOXSportsOhio.com
March 3, 2011
If the Nets played a game in Europe, would anyone care?
The NBA is about to find out, as New Jersey and Toronto are scheduled to wrangle twice this weekend in London. The Nets won the first contest 116-103, played Friday afternoon. It marked the first time the league has staged a regular-season game overseas -- although in the case of the Nets and Raptors, you could just as easily call it a scrimmage.
All of this is part of David Stern's grand plan to keep the league relevant and marketable worldwide. And if all goes well, maybe even start a franchise in Guam (or some other foreign land). Because if there is one thing upon which the commissioner and his players agree, it's that nothing is quite as gratifying as the idea of going global.
Stern doesn't try to hide that fact, nor should he. As long as there's professional football in the United States, everyone else will be playing for distant second. But there's a big and obvious difference between being second or third in just the U.S., and second or third in the rest of the universe. The NFL can only dream of making the type of impact in Asia that's enjoyed by the NBA.
As Stern himself once said, "There are 350 million people in America. In China, there are 350 million people who play basketball."
In fact, it wasn't long ago that Stern spoke about starting an NBA China, or sort of a minor league compromised of mostly American players. That was back in 2007 before the economy went in the tank. Or perhaps more important to Chinese fans, before Yao Ming kept getting injured and Yi Jianlian turned into a stiff.
But even waning interest in China at least equals what the NBA has here. The league strives for the 18-to-34 demographic, but has to know it rarely hits on any American over the age of 25. There's no scientific research to support that (and if there is, you can be sure the league won't share it) -- it's just more or less common knowledge.
So the league is now taking its act overseas, hoping that Brits are drawn to the likes of Deron Williams and Brook Lopez of the Nets, or Andrea Bargnani and DeMar DeRozen of the Raptors. None are bad players, but we're not exactly talking Kobe and LeBron here.
Basically, it's the NBA's way of saying overseas fans will like it just because it's the NBA. And the league may be right. But that sure doesn't fix the problems in the U.S.
Americans who love basketball in general usually seem open to giving the NBA a chance, but have been turned off for decades by a few subtle differences (and even a few major ones) involving the pro game.
NBA players are bigger, stronger, faster and get to take an extra step. The stars get all the calls. The regular season is too long and meaningless. The players make too much money and don't love the game. Throw in the fact superstars such as LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony have angled their way into creating a new brand of superteams, and American fans have become even more apathetic.
On top of all that, the collective-bargaining agreement expires at the end of June -- and with owners intent on restructuring player salaries, a work stoppage appears certain.
For one weekend, the league is trying to forget about all that, and instead focusing on the fact participation in basketball has doubled during the past four years in England (according to the NBA). Not to mention the fact the 2012 Olympics will be held in London, meaning the league needs to prepare people to welcome its stars.
Now, none of this is intended to poke fun at the NBA for trying to develop a larger fan base, or contemplate the idea of someday starting a franchise (or entire league) in other parts of the world. It is, as they constantly remind us, a business.
But it's business at home about which the league should be worried.
