Why Basketball is the Best Sport in America

The other day I was chatting with a colleague of mine about the NBA Playoffs and how exciting it has been when he blurted out that hockey is actually the best sport to watch. More fighting and fast-paced action. I thought it was weird for a California native to be saying that especially when it's sunny 350 days out of the whole year here.

Americans have four major leagues that they actually care about: MLB, NBA, NFL, and the NHL. There are other leagues and numerous other sports, but seriously, they don't count. There are a few other sports worth mentioning such as golf and tennis but those aren't really sports. How dare you say that about GOLF?!?!?! Calm down, I'll let you know in a second.

The Money

If you are in a major sports league, you probably are getting paid hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars to play a game. However, there are always differences. It's true, basketball may not have the highest paid player in sports, I think A-Rod makes like $200 million or something, but most players don't have retarded owners. The average MLB player makes $2.9 million (as reported by FOX Sports). The NBA's average player makes $5 million.

What about hockey? I can't believe I'm entertaining this idea but I heard that last season when Hockey was in that lockout year, a few investors tried to buy the league for $3 billion dollars. That's a lot of cash, so the league had to listen. Wait a second, only $3 billion bucks? If you take just a small handfull of NBA franchises, you'll probably get to about $3 billion dollars. Sorry, your league doesn't cut it.

Football fanatics will say that there are more players on a team, and because of that fact, they are probably worth more as a whole. If you were a naturally gifted athlete and you wanted to make money, would you play football or basketball? Exactly. Why is it that I heard football players wanting to play in the NBA (T.O., Randy Moss, Tony Gonzales) but I never hear Shaq dying to play a little pig skin. I have heard him say he's the best football player in the NBA, but that probably means that he's the best football player in the NFL too. Here is a short list of players that played football, quit, and made more money going into the NBA.

Off the top of my head:
Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward
Amare Stoudamire
Allen Iverson
Michael Smith

In the end, it just ain't worth it.

Quality of Players

The problem I have with the NFL is that anyone can play. I understand that the appeal of the NFL is that it's the common man's game. Everyone always says, my calling was in football, but I hurt my knee. I should have played football instead of study in school. I hear crap like that all the time. Hell, I hear myself thinking if I tried at football, I could have played college. The problem is that the sport is too easy. I'm not saying I can go out and win you a Superbowl, that would be stupid, stupid. But, didn't a construction worker get signed to a 5 second contract for the Eagles when the Eagles Tight End get injured? Common man's game. Basically, at any second, a blue collar worker can get onto the field and play for the championship.

In the NBA, you would never see that. Recently, Kenyon Martin of the Denver Nuggets went bonkers and became unusable for his team. Would the Nuggets be able to find a replacement at the local YMCA for a replacement? Hell no. If they tried that, this 6'4" white kid would get jackknifed by the worst NBA player. The difference in talent between the common man and the professional is too large.

Hold on my friend, what about the PGA? Golf is filled with super talented and precise players. In fact, Tiger Woods might even be the best athlete in all of sports. However, golf lands in the same realm as football. Technically, if a super pill injected with Tiger Woods urine were to float down my throat and I became a scratch player, I might be able to join the tour after winning some tournaments. The NFL rule applies to golf.

But, isn't that the same in basketball? No. If you are over 30, your basketball career is over. Baseball, on the other hand, has some super athletes. In this regard, they might be (in some ways) equal or better than the NBA. They have a minor league system that really develops young talents and the NBA is not ashamed of trying to copy it. These minor league teams try to grow talent in hopes of one day, this young phenom becomes a superstar. The NBA did that with Gerald Greene this past year. In some ways, it works.

Player/Coach Recognition

It's pretty easy to recognize NBA stars. If you wanted me to, I could name 100 active players in 1 minute. Ready?

Jason Kidd, Kobe, KG, Amare, Vince Carter, JO, Shaun Livingston, Sam Cassell, Elton Brand, Corey Maggette, Richard Jefferson, Jeff Foster, Ron Artest, Mike Bibby, Andres Nocioni, Ben Gordon, Kareem Rush (who was waived this year by the Bobcats), AK-47, Matt Harpring, Andrew Bogut, Bynum, Yao Ming...

My list has older stars, newer stars, international players, everything. I know it's not 100 but basically I am able to do it. I will try to name all of the football players I know and which team they are on:

McNabb, Eagles
P. Manning, Colts
J. Shockey, Giants
Ely Manning, Giants
TO, formerly the Eagles
Randy Moss, Raiders
Sam Winchester, Titans
Todd Day, 49ers
Alex Smith, 49ers
Lucas McNamera, Steelers
Vince Young, Texas
Drew Olsen, UCLA
Matt Leinart, USD
Ethan Hunt, Bears
Michael Vick, Falcons
Stanley Goodspeed, Chargers
Ray Lewis, Ravens

Okay so I know a lot about NFL players...

If you looked closely at my list, about half of them are not football players. Some are characters on TV shows and movies. One was a basketball player. But you didn't know that. And that's what I'm talking about. Nobody knows what the heck is going on when it comes to football players. You might know your own team, but it's tough to know players on other teams. Quick, who's the star on the Houstans? Fooled ya, they aren't even a real team.

Playability

Playability is the important difference between a sport catching on and becoming a real sport or just a game. Lacrosse is just a game. Curling is just a game. Gymnastics is dancing, and dancing isn't a sport. Volleyball, just a beachtime activity. In my opinion, frisbee has better playability than volleyball. Equestrian sports, uhhh I don't think so sista. Running, swimming, diving all have great playability but they have no payability.

Here is a breakdown of a few sports and why they aren't better American sports than basketball.

Soccer - This is actually a real sport but it's not an American sport. But Larry, women's soccer has been embraced by the public and they consistently win world cups and medals. My answer, "And...?" This sport will have its own article, maybe. But I will say it now, this is technically the best global sport.

Golf - Only for rich bastards. Sorry.

Shooting, Archery, Javelin - These are skills and trades for war and hunting, not sports.

Tennis - It's way too long. I know it's pretty fun to watch. It's fun to play. But when compared to basketball, too many things are involved. Every city needs a tennis court and that's not happening. Basketball, it already exists. Every player needs a racket, that ain't happening. Tennis is kind of close, but not nearly close enough.

Pickle - Aside from the fact that this game is not a sport, it could actually challenge basketball for America's best sport. Although, it falls very short when it comes to compensation. On second thought, no way.

Football - I've discussed this already.

Baseball - Call up three of your friends. Do you have a game yet? Next.

It's crazy. You can play basketball by yourself. You can play it with one friend. You can play it with five friends. Even if there are too many people, there's always another court, or you can come up with some sort of playoffs. Games are short enough so players can interchange. It's just a complete sport.