Have a Seat

Posted by on Monday, October 31, 2011 3 Comments

Fans have a voice, too. Right? Right?

Image via KidKameleon on Flickr

J.D. Hastings, in a blog post last week, pointed out that in this two-party negotiation, there are actually 5 important stakeholders: 1) The players; 2) The owners; 3) The media, who cover, disseminate, speculate, leak, and analyze; 4) The agents, who lobby for the players so they can make sure they keep their slice of player salaries; and 5) The fans. Regarding the fans, Hastings points out that although they are “the basis upon which every other level of this economic industry is built [they are] regularly described as helpless bystanders in the entire process.”

Thanks to more interactive forms of media in 2011 (sup twitter!), fans have been far from silent during the lockout negotiations. But it’s not like they (we?) have a seat at the negotiating table. Both the owners and players may claim to speak for the fans, but it’s clear that neither of them do (at least not fully). If they (we!) did have a seat at the table, what would their (our) interests be?

Avoiding the cancellation of games, I’d assume, would be the number one priority; but that ship has sailed. What else do fans want?

Maybe some fans want to make sure their players don’t run away from their small market town, leaving them in the lurches of championship-lessness for another four decades. Maybe other fans want to make sure that their town and their passion can be a target for players that have their sights set on bigger and better (or at least sunnier and income-tax-free) things.

Do fans want respect? Maybe they don’t want a fight over millions and billions of dollars rubbed in their faces when 9% of them across the country are trying to nail down a job.

How about something as simple as “being entertained?” A quality product put out for them on a regular basis, to which people can turn to help them escape their lives for a little while, giving them relate to something bigger than themselves.

As a fan, and a season ticket holder (so what if it’s the Wizards; I love basketball, ok?!), this is what I want:

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If I had 2 minutes at that negotiating table, I’d show the parties this video, and tell them that’s what I wanted before they kicked me out. If you had a seat at the table, what would you ask for? Leave your thoughts, requests, and demands in the comments.

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About Amin Vafa: Amin grew up in Cleveland, lives in DC, and somehow still manages to love watching professional basketball.

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Chris

Wassup Amin! Our problem, and to a lesser degree the players problem is that we have no leverage. The owners know that at the end of the day, the players need to play basketball to earn a living, whereas the owners own nba franchises because it's the most awesome baller shit any person can do, but they'll eat without it. The owners know they can hold out longer than the players to get what they want. The same dilemma resides with the fans. The Owners and the Players KNOW that we will eventually come back to watch the games, buy the jerseys, and sell out arenas. The only way our 1 wish (no games cancelled) carries any weight in the negotiation room is if that one fact/assumption is changed.

I'm willing to get behind a movement that boycotts the nba for some length of time. It won't mean anything if it's just me, and I love basketball too much to sit alone on the sidelines, but if something like that caught on and got some press, I bet the dynamic of that negotiating table might change.

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yogi

Thanks for asking!

I'd want much better revenue sharing and a hard cap. I assume that would do much to level the playing field among NBA teams. I'd want to make it much harder to form super-teams. Contrary to Arrison, I do not want a league composed of 4 great teams, while the rest of the teams get to play the stooge.

I'd also want a smaller league - say 24 teams. That way the talent would not be spread so thinly, and we would get a shorter, better, more meaningful regular season.

You can also put some whip cream and a cherry on top of all that...

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Skip

Outside of missed games being such a bitter pill, I wish that the owners didn't value the loyalty of the fans of the league and its teams so poorly. Their willingness to cancel a months worth of games over a relatively small sum of money in the context of the size of their business, even after all of the negotiation points they have won, will almost certainly color my feelings about their product for years to come. I know that I love basketball too much to swear off the NBA, but my willingness to financially support such wanton greed absolutely has boundaries.

Further, Watching the owners color the players as ignorant and other such nonsense comes off as blatantly disrespectful not only to the players but also to their fans (and I sure as hell never went to an NBA game to see the owner sitting courtside). The NBA PR machine may be incredibly powerful, but I wonder if it hasn't been shortsighted as well.

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