2Fluffy4U wrote:nate33 wrote:I understand Deni’s frustration with fans. But he’s got to understand that the Wizards haven’t been relevant for 45 years. They need to become a 50 win team for a while before the fan base truly starts to believe in them.
This is the cultural difference he is referring to. In Europe - Sport is a "way of life". If you are fan (Fanatic) - it
doesn't matter if the team wins or loses - you stand by it and cheer no matter what ("in sickness and in health
). Sports in Europe has league TIERS - as can be seen in Ryan Reynolds Wrexham documentary. So teams can relegate etc'...
The NBA is not a 'way of life' for Americans. It's show business. I paid to see Jordan / Kobe / Lebron etc' and if the team plays and they are injured - it would be as if I threw my money down the drain. It's as if the entertainment factor is the raw talent of an individual, instead of rooting for the name of the club/franchise/team.
Deni wishes for the Wizards to become a team fans could a should root for, but that is naive as the NBA just doesn't work like that. But hey, never say never.. Maybe after 45 years and new FO - a glimpse for a change in culture is an option..
I am from a small city in Spain and my team is in the Spanish second division (in football 4th division, going through some painful times lol), even though the amount of people who attend the game is 1/6 of an average NBA game the atmosphere is completely different (only been to a Raptors vs Wizards game some years ago though). Now I live away from home and I think going to the games is what I miss the most apart from my family. Will be moving back for a bit soon, couldn't be more excited about attending the games again.
The 'way of life' vs business difference in essence is a money issue. For less than 200 euros I can have season tickets (around 100 euros if you want to be in the 'fanatics zone'(basically standing up while cheering and singing the whole game, you end up having to watch the game again at home because you missed more than half of it, it's so much fun though)), for ACB it would be between 250 and 400 I think (maybe 500 for top teams, but including all Euroleague games too). For ALL, the games of your team at home, and if you want to attend any away game you have the 'away supporters discount', 10-15 euros ticket 2d division, 20-25 ACB. These prices allow us to support our team at a decent cost even if financially we are not going through a good time. I don't exactly know how much season tickets cost in the NBA but I remember what I paid for the game I went to and thought it was crazy.
There's also the amount of games, with 82 games lots of them 'don't really matter'. Here they play around 36-40 games, which increases vastly the importance of each game if your team is fighting for something. Consequently, your team plays once a week on average. You spend your week working and waiting for the weekend game of your team. And ONLY ONCE every two weeks you got to see the live! Not much more needed explanation of the amount of intensity you live the game with all these factors combined. And will not get started with the relegation and promotion games...
Obviously, the NBA is the best league in the world. Nobody in Europe in their right mind would say otherwise. But to me, is kind of sad seeing some NBA fans more interested in filming highlights for a couple hundred likes on social media rather than cheering. To me, being a sports fan is supporting your team no matter what, if I don't lose my voice every game is because I wasn't there. My team has never done anything relevant (apart from a couple of promotions to the ACB when I was so young I can't even remember it) but I would not change watching their games for anything in this world. I am trying to 'live' the Wizards in a similar way, even though due to time zone issues and closeness to the team it is more difficult and will never be exactly the same.
