Has the internet somewhat ruined your experience as a basketball fan?
I was just thinking about watching basketball in the 90s versus now (I didn't have internet until late 90s). People always argue about what was a better product, 90s ball versus modern ball. But one element that seems to get overlooked is the difference in the amount of information we have. The internet lets us know all the minor things happening throughout the league. We know much about other teams' GMs and owners, and we certainly know about every little mistake players make on and off the court. Now, that certainly makes people more knowledgeable fans, but at the same time, these other tidbits we learn can distract from basketball itself. I know for me personally, I find myself more bitter about players now than I did in the 90s. I find myself not liking players because of things they have said or done rather than simply because of how they play on the court. In the 90s, I would know the big things that happened around the league because of weekly sports shows and the local newspaper, but for the most part, everything I knew about the NBA was simply from watching the games and seeing what happens on the court. In the 90s, I enjoyed watching just about every all-star and many near all-stars just out of pure entertainment from watching them. Now, I feel myself rooting against players because of something not exactly basketball related because I know so much more about them. I'm wondering if this is one of the aspects that led me to enjoying the 90s more than current basketball.
Re: Has the internet somewhat ruined your experience as a basketball fan?
Being exposed to much worse fans is about it. Nobody is really trying to spark 3-4 day long arguments talking basketball in person. Its fun to talk about basketball in person. At times online you have to sift through the bullshit, ignore half of the people, and actually work not to get caught up arguing over things people take dead serious online but laugh off in person. People get online and become so confrontational because they dont have to see the person they are talking to and they arent friends. Im sure some of the biggest idiots here wouldnt seem like it in person. But people get online and lose their minds.
Re: Has the internet somewhat ruined your experience as a basketball fan?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kblaze8855
Being exposed to much worse fans is about it. Nobody is really trying to spark 3-4 day long arguments talking basketball in person. Its fun to talk about basketball in person. At times online you have to sift through the bullshit, ignore half of the people, and actually work not to get caught up arguing over things people take dead serious online but laugh off in person. People get online and become so confrontational because they dont have to see the person they are talking to and they arent friends. Im sure some of the biggest idiots here wouldnt seem like it in person. But people get online and lose their minds.
Yeah, this too. Actually, some fan bases have made it even harder to like certain players/teams.
Re: Has the internet somewhat ruined your experience as a basketball fan?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Myth
I was just thinking about watching basketball in the 90s versus now (I didn't have internet until late 90s). People always argue about what was a better product, 90s ball versus modern ball. But one element that seems to get overlooked is the difference in the amount of information we have. The internet lets us know all the minor things happening throughout the league. We know much about other teams' GMs and owners, and we certainly know about every little mistake players make on and off the court. Now, that certainly makes people more knowledgeable fans, but at the same time, these other tidbits we learn can distract from basketball itself. I know for me personally, I find myself more bitter about players now than I did in the 90s. I find myself not liking players because of things they have said or done rather than simply because of how they play on the court. In the 90s, I would know the big things that happened around the league because of weekly sports shows and the local newspaper, but for the most part, everything I knew about the NBA was simply from watching the games and seeing what happens on the court. In the 90s, I enjoyed watching just about every all-star and many near all-stars just out of pure entertainment from watching them. Now, I feel myself rooting against players because of something not exactly basketball related because I know so much more about them. I'm wondering if this is one of the aspects that led me to enjoying the 90s more than current basketball.
Anybody else have a similar experience?
YES
Most fans tries to hype up it's fav player and put down others.
Re: Has the internet somewhat ruined your experience as a basketball fan?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kblaze8855
Being exposed to much worse fans is about it. Nobody is really trying to spark 3-4 day long arguments talking basketball in person. Its fun to talk about basketball in person. At times online you have to sift through the bullshit, ignore half of the people, and actually work not to get caught up arguing over things people take dead serious online but laugh off in person. People get online and become so confrontational because they dont have to see the person they are talking to and they arent friends. Im sure some of the biggest idiots here wouldnt seem like it in person. But people get online and lose their minds.
Re: Has the internet somewhat ruined your experience as a basketball fan?
No, because I dont want to get into any kind of discussion about 2 players, who is better, who was better or something like that. If there is some thread asking for people's opinions I will give one, but I will almost never quote somebody saying that he is not right, except when its so obvious. But I can see from where it is coming from when somebody says that internet has somehow destroyed his basketball experience.
Re: Has the internet somewhat ruined your experience as a basketball fan?
If social media were around in the early 90's....
There would have been 30 posts regarding "MAGIC may have AIDS" There would have been several women trying to sue saying he gave them the virus.
Michael Jordan would have been seriously tainted with people able to take a cam phone pic of him at the casino,bar, away from his "happy marriage"
Charles Barkley and Dennis Rodman got in bar fights in their past...imagine the video on Worldstar.
The theory that MJ retired was because of gambling on NBA games, would be BLOWN Out of proportion..look how fast they swept it under the rug.
People talk about todays players but forget how many undercover drug addicts, domestic abuse(jason Kidd), gambling(Barkley,Jordan) players were in the league during the 70's-90's
Re: Has the internet somewhat ruined your experience as a basketball fan?
Heck no. The internet has expanded my experience as a basketball fan. I can watch basketball 24/7. I can watch all levels of basketball; high school, college, NBA, and overseas. I can watch games from the 80s on up. Nope. The internet has made my basketball experience better.
Re: Has the internet somewhat ruined your experience as a basketball fan?
Quote:
Originally Posted by PP34Deuce
If social media were around in the early 90's....
There would have been 30 posts regarding "MAGIC may have AIDS" There would have been several women trying to sue saying he gave them the virus.
Michael Jordan would have been seriously tainted with people able to take a cam phone pic of him at the casino,bar, away from his "happy marriage"
Charles Barkley and Dennis Rodman got in bar fights in their past...imagine the video on Worldstar.
The theory that MJ retired was because of gambling on NBA games, would be BLOWN Out of proportion..look how fast they swept it under the rug.
People talk about todays players but forget how many undercover drug addicts, domestic abuse(jason Kidd), gambling(Barkley,Jordan) players were in the league during the 70's-90's
This X10.
An angry groupie would've exposed Magic's fast lifestyle much earlier on, back during those days a "random tip" to a news reporter wasnt respected at all because you could be legally sued for spreading rumors. But today all that would'v been needed is a twitpic of Magic in a hotel room with women or a voicemail. I can see People magazine & other gossip outlets paying hundreds of thousands for all of the women he had sex with to tell their stories. Then when he announced he had HIV, all hell would break loose.
Jordan's gambling would've been major and I truly believe that with the power of the Internet & ESPN alone they would've made it such a big story that Jordan would have actually have been banned for a year or two by Stern caving to public pressure.
Im glad all of that happened in a different era than this.
Has the internet somewhat ruined your experience as a basketball fan?
