Jump Ball
The current basketball strike is simply about two sides looking for the best deal. On the surface, isn't that what everyone wants in life, the best deal?
How can anyone criticize the players or owners for trying to get the best business arrangement for themselves?
Owners spend a lot of money and assume the responsibility for all debts and costs, including payroll. Fortunately, the owners are used to risk as most large fortunes come from taking chances. While there are certainly lots of perks with team ownership, it is safe to say that owners are not purchasing a professional team to simply give away their hard earned money.
Professional athletes are given the opportunity to live out a childhood dream. Imagine having the skill and talent to make money playing the game that provided endless fun and enjoyment during your youth. Anyone who grew up playing the game of basketball has had the dream of sinking the winning basket at the buzzer, in game 7 of the championship series. Yet, only a tiny percentage of those dreamers ever get the opportunity to make a living playing basketball.
The players want everything possible for their hard work and dedication. While first class travel is fun, a plane eventually is just a metal tube with seats and a hotel room is just another place to unpack your bags for the night. Why leave money on the table, if there is extra money to be made? Like owners, the players have also worked extremely hard and have taken risks. Also, like owners they are extremely competitive.
It seems that both sides have an over inflated sense of what they deserve. The owners want to earn more money on their investment or perhaps reduce some of the risk and the players want to earn more money to play the game. Yet, based on what one might observe or read in the media both groups seem to have plenty of choices when it comes to material desires. If these assumptions are correct, no wonder the teams and players have so many critics amongst the fans.
After all it is the fans who ultimately pay all of the salaries and expenses. Without someone willing to purchase the tickets, the jerseys, the expensive food and all of the products that are sold in association with professional basketball, the NBA would not exist. Talented athletes and wealthy, potential owners would have to find some other venue to ply their skills, compete and take chances.
Perhaps the players and owners should rethink their arguments and why there is so much money to even cause such disagreements. While it is true that the players are the show and the owners are the vehicle that allow the show to happen, it is the fans who pay everyone's salary and they just want to be entertained.