Brilliant analysis Qwerty my brother.
I just want to back it up with some more talk in the same vein. In my opinion the NBA & NFL are the 2 most talked about sports in this country for 1 essential reason: The Player.
Both of these leagues decided a long time ago to market the player 1st & the franchise 2nd. The Lakers are the champs so let's use them as an example. I'm willing to put myself out there & say that every 1 mention the Lakers get as a franchise by the sports media, is quickly followed by at least 2 statements about Kobe Bryant. There's also a statue of Micheal Jordan outside the arena in Chicago that the media show every time there's a Bulls game these days. And he owns another team.
Compare this to hockey from an American perspective. Hardcore hockey fans know the good players in the league, but myself as a casual hockey fan I can probably name 2 players in the entire league. I do however know all of the teams. The NHL hasn't caught up with the marketing aspects of hyping their superstars.
In the NFL even, we had a moron named Plaxico Burress go carry a loaded gun into a nightclub & accidentally shoot himself in the leg. Now he's sitting in prison since you can't carry guns into clubs in New York. All I can think is that this guy felt he had some sort of entitlement because he was an athlete that he could do whatever he wanted to.
I really don't care how much they get paid as much as the way they conduct themselves. Are they rap stars or professional athletes?
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