Thug Love
For the last couple of weeks, I have been in the corner quietly watching the fallout of the 2007 NBA All-Star Game. Needless to say, there has been a wide array of opinions, break downs and barbershop talk about what has been unofficially dubbed Black Thanksgiving.
In case you've been sitting under a rock, the NBA All-Star game was held in Sin City a.k.a Las Vegas last month. It was the first time in history the game has been played in a non-NBA city, although Vegas has been lobbying for a team for quite some time. Any event in Vegas, sports-related or not, draws a crowd. Whether attending a show, going to the casinos or just strolling up and down the strip, Vegas is what it is - a party city. So what happens in Vegas usually stays in Vegas - until now.
For the last 8-10 years, or the post-Jordan era, the NBA has been closely associated with hip-hop and it's culture and the annual All-Star weekend has become a must-attend event among our generation. This is evident by some of the player's styles and the fan base. It's something that has brought younger fans to the game and undoubtedly has made the league tons of money because of the popularity of NBA gear in the 'hood.
The NBA-hip-hop connection has been somewhat of a gift and a curse. Yes, the popularity continues to be high among young blacks, but at the same time the league has unfairly taken on a image of being a league full of overpaid thugs. This image was only enhanced a few years ago after the infamous Pacers-Pistons brawl. While the fallout financially has been minimal, the perception of the league took a hit.
So, it didn't help when the masses came in a took over Vegas like never before. Like Scoop Jackson put it, every flight coming in looked like Soul Plane and every airport looked like the million man march. I know people who were there. The stories are true. It was a wild weekend, but the overwhelming majority of people I've spoken with enjoyed themselves while others claim it was mayhem.
The reality is, NBA All-Star weekend brought out the best or worst of people. In the midst of thousands of people partying, having a good time and enjoying themselves, there were 403 arrests and numberous other incidents that have put a damper on what was overall an enjoyable weekend.
So, because Pacman Jones decided to make it rain on some hoes, , all of a sudden, everyone's having a spasm and is scared of future All-Star games. Now I'm not condoning the behavior that went on in Vegas, however, I feel it's quite hypocritical for a league to market to a certain crowd and when things go wrong, they want to turn their backs on what has made them successful.
In case you've been sitting under a rock, the NBA All-Star game was held in Sin City a.k.a Las Vegas last month. It was the first time in history the game has been played in a non-NBA city, although Vegas has been lobbying for a team for quite some time. Any event in Vegas, sports-related or not, draws a crowd. Whether attending a show, going to the casinos or just strolling up and down the strip, Vegas is what it is - a party city. So what happens in Vegas usually stays in Vegas - until now.
For the last 8-10 years, or the post-Jordan era, the NBA has been closely associated with hip-hop and it's culture and the annual All-Star weekend has become a must-attend event among our generation. This is evident by some of the player's styles and the fan base. It's something that has brought younger fans to the game and undoubtedly has made the league tons of money because of the popularity of NBA gear in the 'hood.
The NBA-hip-hop connection has been somewhat of a gift and a curse. Yes, the popularity continues to be high among young blacks, but at the same time the league has unfairly taken on a image of being a league full of overpaid thugs. This image was only enhanced a few years ago after the infamous Pacers-Pistons brawl. While the fallout financially has been minimal, the perception of the league took a hit.
So, it didn't help when the masses came in a took over Vegas like never before. Like Scoop Jackson put it, every flight coming in looked like Soul Plane and every airport looked like the million man march. I know people who were there. The stories are true. It was a wild weekend, but the overwhelming majority of people I've spoken with enjoyed themselves while others claim it was mayhem.
The reality is, NBA All-Star weekend brought out the best or worst of people. In the midst of thousands of people partying, having a good time and enjoying themselves, there were 403 arrests and numberous other incidents that have put a damper on what was overall an enjoyable weekend.
So, because Pacman Jones decided to make it rain on some hoes, , all of a sudden, everyone's having a spasm and is scared of future All-Star games. Now I'm not condoning the behavior that went on in Vegas, however, I feel it's quite hypocritical for a league to market to a certain crowd and when things go wrong, they want to turn their backs on what has made them successful.
posted by Big J @ 9:57 AM
1 Comments:
At March 5, 2007 at 2:05 PM ,
Jameil said...
there were 403 arrests... that's only about 50 more than a regular weekend, with a huge influx of people... yeah... not that big a deal to me. people always try to act like when you get a bunch of black people together it will always be some drama.
uh... have you ever seen a bunch of drunk white people together in a party atmosphere? that's more scary to me. reminds me a little to closely of lynching parties of yesteryear. same wild glare in the eyes.
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