Disillusionment with the NBA

Anybody who knows me will tell you that I am an insane sports fan. My mood changes with the teams I follow – I pour all my emotions when I support a team. It is all or nothing – I remember victories forever and same goes with losses. While I like my teams to win, I like to see them win fair.

I was a huge Laker fan in my grad school days. I still follow the team but not as much since Shaq was traded – yes, I was one of the few people who liked the team for Shaq. So it was a shock to me when I saw that the 2002 Western conference final might have been rigged. I still have not recovered from the NBA telling everybody that games get officiated differently in the last few minutes. Most of us thought this was the case but did not think that it was an official line. Imagine if you are a cricket fan and the umpire decides not to give a leg before in the last 5 overs or If you are a soccer fan, think how you would react if fouls in the penalty box are not penalized in the last 5 mins.

Now, we have this rogue referee who tells everybody that the 2002 western conference finals was rigged. It was definitely one of the worst officiated games in the history of the NBA (and I have been watching most playoff games since MJ came back after his first retirement). To hear that it was done with an agenda in mind is really sad. I have a problem with how people are brushing off Donaghy (the referee in question) because he is a convicted dude. I have my doubts about his statements but I would sure like the NBA to be more open about how they call the games. I would like to know what constitutes a foul and what does not. I want a more open system if they expect me to spend my time and money watching this sport. Why do I have to believe David Stern and his goons. They lost a lot of credibility when they said officiating varies based on how much time is left on the clock. In every other sport I follow, I know what is allowed and what is not. Seeing the play, I can give you pretty good reason why something is a foul. In the NBA, it is just some guy making a call and more times than not, we are left scratching our head. It is sometimes really funny (or frustrating) seeing how the announcers spin a call.

Yes, I was happy the Lakers won back then but now I am not sure. I might just lay off the NBA or not put too much emotions into it if crap like this is allowed to happen. There is something called playing fair and till the NBA convinces me that happens, I will just follow the score and change channels. I will also switch to following some other sport that doesn’t have so much money involved that there is a need to cheat.

For now, I am just not going to watch any more of the finals. Just follow the score and spend the extra time I have reading a book.