"Serious Sanctions for Spurs"

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

First off, it's very hard to compare the NFL and the NBA.  The NFL markets its teams.  The NBA markets its players.  Nobody gives a crap about the HEAT.  They care about Lebron.  They want to see Lebron go up against Duncan.

Really? 

This commercial
http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?p=lewis+brady+commercial&tnr=21&vid=3c76460d06c9e046f0e8890267da28b5&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts3.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DU.4704729465749530%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bing.com%2Fvideos%2Fwatch%2F%3Fq%3Dlewis%2Bbrady%2Bcommerical%26vid%3DD229F162A09DBC45EC0FD229F162A09DBC45EC0F%26docid%3D4704729465749530&sigr=13u5ohp0p&newfp=1&tit=Tom+Brady+player+safety&back=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%3Fei%3DUTF-8%26p%3Dlewis%2Bbrady%2Bcommerical&sigb=1209jfbco
would be just as effective if the two main characters were Ryan Mallet and Josh Bynes. 

"This week Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints take on Peyton Manning and Denver Broncos on Thursday Night"  Is marketing the players as much as the team.   

[Dave Gray]

^ Yes, absolutely really.

It's one of the big changes credited to Stern. 

Teams like the Cowboys and Jets are always popular with the league and the media.  It's not because they have the elite players.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

^ Yes, absolutely really.

It's one of the big changes credited to Stern. 

Teams like the Cowboys and Jets are always popular with the league and the media.  It's not because they have the elite players.

That is because those teams do a good job marketing themselves.  Dallas because of Landry and the whole "America's team"  Jets get more coverage 'cause they are in NYC and have fat mouth Rex.  It was the "league" it was the teams. 

If week 17 of 2007 you saw Jared Lorenzen and Matt Cassel take the field on Saturday night, NFL fans would have been pissed. 

[EDGECRUSHER]

^ Yes, absolutely really.

It's one of the big changes credited to Stern. 

Teams like the Cowboys and Jets are always popular with the league and the media.  It's not because they have the elite players.

I agree with this. The NHL tries to do the same thing, but it just doesn't have the broad appeal the NBA does. The NBA probably does this because they know half the fans watching are just front runners and cheer for whoever has a shoe deal, but that's just good business.

[Dave Gray]

The Orlando Magic were on the map because they had Dwight Howard...even if the team was bad.  Now, nobody cares about the Magic, even if they have a good record.

The NBA is a superstar league.

You see people watch teams because they have players they like.  If those players leave, those people will watch that new team, instead.  It's much, much less common in the NFL.  I have season tix and the games we sell don't have a lot to do with which teams are good.  It's more about which players bring in eyes. 

When Philly sucked, people still wanted to see Iverson. 

[EDGECRUSHER]

It's just how the sport is setup. In Football, your favorite player doesn't play half the snaps. In baseball, they either only pitch once every 5 days or bat 4 times a game. In hockey, too many shift changes. In the NBA, they can be involved in almost every play.

I think that's why a lot of the fundamentals went away in the game for a bit. People only see the 29 points and showboating up the court. They choose not to see the 9 for 27 shooting, the 6 turnovers and the complete lack of effort on defense.

[Dave Gray]

^ I don't disagree that this is the part of the reason why.

Also, it has to do with the fact that you can actually see the players' faces and get a feel for their personalities a little better.  No helmets covering them up.

And part of it is marketing.  The NBA markets their stars more than any other league.