NBA Is Just As Worthy As Collegiate Basketball

Hello, fellow Pennsylvanians. First off, I would like to apologize. Not for anything I did but rather for a series of events that have robbed you. You all have been deprived of a certain joy that can only be experienced through the success of an NBA team.

You may think, “Why should I care?! NBA stinks.  They don’t try, and there’s no defense. All pro players are egotistical and only care about money!”

If that’s true, then what I have to say just might blow your mind.

Admittedly, the NBA has flaws. A certain NBA Commissioner by the name of David Stern feels the need to have 30 teams, half of which are successful franchises, the other half of which can hardly fill a stadium. Your 76ers are part of the latter and have a storied history that has fallen through the cracks because of Stern’s questionable business practices. Philadelphia basketball has been left in ruins while a ruthless band of Hawks, Owls, and Wildcats feast on the rotting legacies of Dr. J, Wilt Chamberlain, and Charles Barkley. I, as a passionate New Englander, am a Boston Celtics fan, and I’m willing to help restore your faith.

This isn’t to offer any condemnation of collegiate basketball. I recognize that its systematic approach to the game brings it much closer to the sport’s roots than the NBA. But what college basketball is lacking, understandably so, is a truly massive fan base. A professional team can carry an entire city on its back through a massive regular season and lengthy and exciting playoffs. A college has only local fans and alumni–with maybe some bandwagoners scattered throughout the nation. The NBA incites a passion that is unlike anything else. The talent, desire, and general maturity of NBA athletes, regardless of stereotypes, is greater than any arrogant, “up-and-coming” college star who feels entitled by his as-yet-undeveloped skills.

The NBA is filled with athletes who grow and mature as well as franchises that perform tremendously at their peaks before dropping to the bottom of the conference. The Philadelphia 76ers are at that low point, but with your viewership, your true fanaticism, and a pride for your team and city, they may just make up all of that lost ground.

And I promise you, during those key playoff moments, when your team is finally at the top, nothing is sweeter than watching the amazing happen.