The NBA, years ago, cemented its Christmas Day
tradition. Somehow, someway,
Commissioner David Stern and the network powers-that-be wiggled their way in to
the only hole vacated by the NFL final regular season games and the college
football bowl schedule. It has
been pure sports television nirvana.
And this is why.
Many a hardcore football guy will tell you he is not a fan
of professional basketball. If,
and I mean if, he is… he will tell you he only tunes in for the playoffs. That the regular season is boring, and
uneventful because its only the post season that matters. Well… when Christmas Day rolls around,
and the hardcore football guy is at home with only his wife and kids and
in-laws and whoever else may drop in… and no
football games on the tellie!... then pro hoops suddenly becomes more
appealing.
This, in a nutshell, is probably the basis of the
conversations when the commissioner of the NBA first wanted to highlight a game
– or two – on primetime television on Christmas Day. Take advantage of no football! Sure, once every ten years or so, Christmas will fall on a
Sunday and the NFL will play as scheduled. But the years in between? Please. Let’s
not leave the man-cave-dwelling-sports-junkie-couch potatoes with no one to
root for on Christmas Day, the pitch from the NBA suits probably went to the
television execs.
This year’s Christmas game line-up worked out well again for
the NBA. From morning until night,
ESPN/ABC broadcast five premier games featuring 10 competitive teams, including
a rematch of last years finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and defending
champion Miami Heat. The first
three games were closely played and went down to the wire, with the last two
fading, perhaps as the attention span of basketball watching fans did too. It didn’t hurt, though, that the last
game showed the explosive young Los Angeles Clippers as they dominated the
Denver Nuggets.
Top off the big day for the Association with some serious
merchandising sales, as all 10 teams sported single-color uniforms especially
for the big day, and you’ve got yourself another holiday tradition reaching new
heights.
Christmas Day will always be owned by the jolly old elf in
red, but as long as the NFL takes the day off, the National Basketball
Association will stake it’s claim on the biggest holiday of them all.
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