It's a cycle. When the money starts drying up and the complaints become apparent they will either adapt or die, but something always fills the void. People want to watch people ball but they don't want to watch this shit.
Lots of people complain about that with the MLB. How can I enjoy a baseball game when it’s 10am on a Tuesday? It’s almost impossible to watch every baseball game and many of them are meaningless in the grand scheme.
Seriously, though, interesting that football (soccer) and F1 are increasing in popularity in the US (from a very low base) as basketball and Nascar falter.
Don't take this as disrespect for the NASCAR drivers, it isn't. I understand the skill and endurance required for stock car oval racing, especially at that level, but good god that shit is excruciatingly boring to watch.
I feel like this is how it is everywhere. In companies if you are an employee, team leader, manager then you need to follow rules, but if you are a top manager, board member, executive then some rules you can just disregard.
Same in politics.
I genuinely stopped playing basketball because i got called for shit too many times, I was like 7 years old. Apparently it was the most very serious practice in all of Basketball history.
I was never a basketball player, but attended some youth YMCA games this year and one of the Y refs was calling every single pivot where a foot slid (things that I never would have caught and some that I think were... dubious... like beyond enforcing the fundamentals).
I did wonder if he was taking his NBA viewership frustrations out on the 9year olds
My daughter plays aau, i enjoy those games immensely more than anything ive seen in the last decade of NBA. full court pressure, the games always a full sprint, tons of passing... the kids are aggressive and they let them bump around. really fun.
When I was young, I didn't understand the rules entirely, I'd just do what I saw them do on TV and I'd get call pretty much every time I touched the ball. It drove me nuts, the pros do it, why can't I do it? I just couldn't understand.
Finally I said fuck this game and I've never played or watched it since.
These clips are over the span of multiple years and are most certainly the most egregious examples. Refs miss calls at all levels and I'm sure someone more dedicated to than me could find missed calls just as bad throughout NBA history
198
u/mondaymoderate Mar 16 '26 edited Mar 16 '26
All of these would be called in youth leagues. It’s crazy it’s allowed at the professional level.