A Better Future

The road to the Superbowl and the the NBA Finals is now in full flow. A fascinating clash between the New England Patriots and the Green Bay Packers has certainly whetted many an appetite for a potential meeting between the two again in February. However, it was the other end of the sporting spectrum that caught my eye this weekend: the Philadelphia 76ers continued their awful start to the NBA regular season as they moved to 0-17. What one must remember is that this is still nine shy of their record-equalling 26 game losing streak at the back-end of last season. Now then, ‘tanking’ is the term used to describe these purposeful defeats- similarly in tennis, players often ‘tank’ a set to better prepare themselves for the next. To better prepare themselves for the future is the ultimate aim behind these dreadful runs, however last years attempts were in vain as the lottery amazingly picked out the Cleveland Cavaliers as the No.1 pick and left the 76ers with an injured Joel Embiid and no better prospects.

In 2011 it was believed that the Indianapolis Colts ‘tanked’ to get Stanford prospect Andrew Luck on the books, and this has resulted in them becoming genuine contenders for the 2015 Superbowl. Ironically enough, I am a Derby County FC supporter- a team that suffered the worst record in Premier League history in the 2007-08 season. That just wasn’t a very good team, and ultimately in football ( while there are some exceptions) losing can never be a positive as winning gains revenue. Continuing with this comparison to the Premier League, it is important to note that the league leaders are the same year in-year out. Gone are the days that teams such as Derby County and Nottingham Forest can come out of the second tier and win the top division within a few years. Essentially, while all of this purposeful losing may seem like a negative, you must remember that it derives from the sporting culture of equality which gives any NBA or NFL franchise a genuine belief that they can win the top prize in their country in the coming years. So while the plight of the Philadelphia 76ers may irritate people from Philadelphia and all around the NBA, it must be remember that they are just playing a system that offers equality in their sport that is unrivalled in sports without a salary cap or draft system.

Is America ahead of Britain?

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? The age-old question, that often brings bloggers to stop or indeed potential bloggers to steer clear. Nonetheless, here we go. I am a 21 year old, recently graduated English Literature student from the East Midlands of England. American sports prior to my university life (18-21) belonged in a wasteland of stereotypes kept on a leash by a poor home internet connection and a lack of Sky or ESPN television. My interest now very much lies with American Football and Basketball, with baseball a lesser interest and the mystery of Ice Hockey has yet to trap me. However,  I was an 18 year old young man who had never actually sat down and watched a full match of any of these sports! American Football was a slow-moving form of rugby, while basketball was that weird and difficult sport I’d attempted to play once or twice at school but had never interested me like football (soccer). Nonetheless, university life had a way of drawing me into a stout follower of namely the NBA and NFL.

Away from the interest I have developed in these American sports, I am also all-too obsessed with a fair share of the staple British sports: Football, for which I play and referee at a decent standard; Tennis, which I used to spend hours of summer days toiling over; Cricket being a sport I have more than enjoyed watching without ever having a heavy involvement at grassroots; and snooker/pool, sports which have always grasped my attention. Additionally, I come from an Irish background that has also led me to become a keen follower of sports such as Gaelic Football, hurling and rugby. Before I move on: for those interested I have 15 break and runs in English Pool and a 40 break in snooker (my claim to fame).

From this first blog I wanted to give an overview of where I am coming from, and where my interests lie. I will be mainly concentrating on the NBA and NFL and giving my opinion on them from the point of view of a Briton. While essentially that may sound like I am offering nothing different to the insight of an American, I can give the view of these sports in the wider context of their social rise in Britain. American Football is a sport that has seen an astronomical rise over the past few years, and the potential for a London-based franchise could become a reality in the coming years. NBA games have also become a more regular feature at the O2 in London. The increased availability of games via the internet, as well as British coverage (BT Sports and Sky Sports) appears to be putting a place foundations for the growth of sports that have never really taken off in the UK.

The inaugural point I would like to raise alludes to the parallels being drawn between the case of Wigan Athletic’s 78-year-old owner Dave Whelan’s racism debacle, and the 80-year-old former LA Lakers owner Donald Sterling and his fall from grace. First of all, I would like ponder the fact that these two owners of sporting teams- a role that can only be gained after passing a ‘fit and proper persons test’- have/had done so for two decades. The two cases are obviously currently separated by their severity of words and the fact that one man has lost his role while the other is unlikely to. Aside from this, thy are also separated by the fact that Dave Whelan was speaking to a journalist, while Sterling spoke in apparent privacy. Indeed, the man that spoke so crudely to the journalist is the one that will most probably walk free, as he all but defended the un-defendable actions of newly-appointed boss Malky Mackay. At the heart of all this is the unfortunate truth that we live in a world of discrimination, and while these three men have been caught out they are probably not the only people in positions of power in the community that hold similar views or make similarly construed distasteful jokes. However, while the Black American community that dominates the NBA banished Donald Sterling, the FA has failed to act as quickly on these two cases- perhaps unveiling a more backward approach towards racism is present in English football than it is in American sport in 2014.