This summer, the labor mess in the NFL consumed tons of air time on SportsCenter and captivated nearly every football fan in America with the breaking news that seemed to come daily. Any news that was positive in the slightest would give football fans hope as they just prayed for an end to the lockout. Each passing day meant that the season was closer and as dire as it may have seemed at some points, finally on July 25, the lockout came to a merciful end. This news made NFL fans rejoice all around the world as it was now assured that a season would take place, with the exception of only the Hall of Fame Game. A fall without NFL football on Sunday afternoons would not have been right, given that the NFL has grown into a national obsession.
For all of the news waves that the NFL consumed, the NBA labor situation just does not seem to have the same following. To most, it would appear that the NBA is a lot worse off than the NFL was and people just may not care enough. All of the good feelings that were created after last summer's free agent frenzy seem to have been erased and nearly every sign points toward the whole season being potentially cancelled. Just once in history, during the 1998-99 season has the NBA experienced a work stoppage quite like this one. That lockout forced the cancellation of 50 regular season games. While not quite at that point, the NBA announced yesterday that training camps have been postponed and the first week of exhibition games has been cancelled. With no deal in sight for now, this can only be the beginning of bad news. If no progress is made over the next 2-3 weeks, look for the remainder of the preseason and the first regular season games to be cancelled.
One of the negative effects of a potential cancellation of the season is the fan interest that could be lost over the course of the lockout. That would severely hurt the NBA on the business side of things if fans stop following the league which would mean less and less people going to the arena in the future. This all could come after an epic NBA finals matchup between the Heat and Mavericks that drew huge TV ratings, although many may have tuned in just to see the demise of LeBron James in the 4th quarter of each game.
Another aspect of the lockout that has people worried is the possible mass exodus of players to Europe. All of the sudden, European basketball seems more and more attractive and with big-name players such as Deron Williams and possibly Kobe Bryant making the jump. If Kobe, an icon for the league over the last decade, decides to head to Europe to play, watch for more and more players to at least weigh their options and see what's out there. For some crazy reason, David Stern does not see this as an issue and still holds the belief that an agreement will magically appear on the negotiating table. I'm sorry Mr. Stern, but there are miles to go before a new Collective Bargaining Agreement is reached. If your top players begin playing in Europe and enjoy it so much over there, they might not want to come back to a league currently plagued by so much chaos and instability. Granted, the idea may seem far-fetched for now, but if the whole season actually is cancelled, look for European teams to suddenly be all over SportsCenter as they try to iron out deals with top NBA talent.
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