TennNC
a lover, not a fighter
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2006
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There are several good markets for college basketball.
There's Los Angeles, home of the most prolific program in college basketball and an up-and-coming rival just down the road, amid the backdrop of Hollywood and the prominence of one of the most storied NBA teams - it's college basketball heightened.
And of course there's Tobacco Road, home of perhaps the most bitter rival between the two most successful programs in modern history, with star alums who return each year to try to earn bragging rights with their peers.
But as I see it, I can watch UCLA, Duke and UNC whenever I want, from the comfort of my home. I don't have to try to learn what those teams are doing - every showing of Sportscenter gives me that in spades.
As far as I'm concerned, I'd rather live in a market where I can watch a BCS game, an Atlantic-10 game, a CAA game and an Ivy League game, all on the same Saturday.
Give me diversity. Give me a little bit of the big-time, such as a Villanova-UConn matchup that would draw a national audience. Give me the Big-5 and the bitter but respectful rivalries that have been brewing for decades amongst these more modest-sized programs. Give me the Ivy League, where scholarships aren't handed out but the opportunity to compete is. Give me the Palestra, where the legends of the game have played and ghosts remain. Give me games that aren't on TV but where you might find a smattering of Sixers players attending to get a piece of the action others won't have the opportunity to get.
Most of all, give me what college basketball is supposed to be. Give me a group of guys who perhaps didn't get offers from the biggest, glitziest, most powerful schools but who care about the game as if their lives depend on it. Give me guys who are as enthused about beating St. Joseph's as they are beating Kansas. Give me guys who don't feel entitled to a spot in the NCAA Tournament, but who work their butts off to win their conference championship and get a shot at knocking off a much bigger school, with ginormous budgets and national media support and NBA alums who could fill up a book. And perhaps they might knock off another giant, and another, and even come one shot away from making the Final Four.
Give me Philadelphia, the market where everyone is an underdog and plays like it. For Philadelphia represents what makes college basketball different from any other sport -- on any given night, with a group of guys determined and just "hot" enough, it's anyone's game.
And where every program, big or small, is relevant.
There's Los Angeles, home of the most prolific program in college basketball and an up-and-coming rival just down the road, amid the backdrop of Hollywood and the prominence of one of the most storied NBA teams - it's college basketball heightened.
And of course there's Tobacco Road, home of perhaps the most bitter rival between the two most successful programs in modern history, with star alums who return each year to try to earn bragging rights with their peers.
But as I see it, I can watch UCLA, Duke and UNC whenever I want, from the comfort of my home. I don't have to try to learn what those teams are doing - every showing of Sportscenter gives me that in spades.
As far as I'm concerned, I'd rather live in a market where I can watch a BCS game, an Atlantic-10 game, a CAA game and an Ivy League game, all on the same Saturday.
Give me diversity. Give me a little bit of the big-time, such as a Villanova-UConn matchup that would draw a national audience. Give me the Big-5 and the bitter but respectful rivalries that have been brewing for decades amongst these more modest-sized programs. Give me the Ivy League, where scholarships aren't handed out but the opportunity to compete is. Give me the Palestra, where the legends of the game have played and ghosts remain. Give me games that aren't on TV but where you might find a smattering of Sixers players attending to get a piece of the action others won't have the opportunity to get.
Most of all, give me what college basketball is supposed to be. Give me a group of guys who perhaps didn't get offers from the biggest, glitziest, most powerful schools but who care about the game as if their lives depend on it. Give me guys who are as enthused about beating St. Joseph's as they are beating Kansas. Give me guys who don't feel entitled to a spot in the NCAA Tournament, but who work their butts off to win their conference championship and get a shot at knocking off a much bigger school, with ginormous budgets and national media support and NBA alums who could fill up a book. And perhaps they might knock off another giant, and another, and even come one shot away from making the Final Four.
Give me Philadelphia, the market where everyone is an underdog and plays like it. For Philadelphia represents what makes college basketball different from any other sport -- on any given night, with a group of guys determined and just "hot" enough, it's anyone's game.
And where every program, big or small, is relevant.
