On October 1st I wrote a warning to the NBA owners and players, that they were in danger of becoming irrelevant. In today's Orlando Sentinel, Mike Bianchi, echoed those same sentiments. If you live in Orlando you should take a moment and read his column. One of the items the owners and players do not understand is they exist only because the fans are shelling out money to go to the games, buying their products and watching them on television. What they do not care about is the average person that is willing to spend their hard earned money to watch them. They are a temporary respite from our daily problems. What about the concession person that depends on the income from working those games. The restaurant workers that make extra money when their home team plays. The owners of the small businesses that surround arenas across the country that depend on the games to make a living. The cities, that depend on the income from the parking, concessions and ticket sales, that have to make the income up from someplace else. All of these groups and more are going to be hurt by this standoff. I understand the players need to make the money while they are able to, but how is their position any different from the coal miner that is only able to physically work so many years? How about the construction workers and factory workers that only have the ability to work so long before their bodies rebel.
The owners, that have held up city officials to build them a shiny new arena and is now hurting the very people that gave them a way to make billions of dollars more. These are people that are portrayed as saintly men that only have the good of the people in their cities at heart, when in reality they are only trying to line their pockets. Once more to the NBA owners and players, a warning, we can live without you and if you are not careful we will show you all how easy it is. I love sports and particularly basketball, but I can and will find other ways to spend my entertainment dollars.
