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The Pixel Punk Diaries |
Why you should be watching the NBA playoffs
I know that it is fashionable to dislike TV and even more fashionable to dislike the NBA. Afterall, television is a mindless waste of time and the NBA is crowded with over-paid thugs. At least that is what I thought. But over the past two years, I've become a serious sports fan again, and I'm reminded that not everything on TV is garbage.
1. Because there is no sex scene in the playoffs. Watching sports is more wholesome than 90% of anything else on TV. The storyline is simple: the team that plays the hardest and works together the best wins the game. That's it. No nudity, no gunshots, no perverse plot twists. The worst you get is poor sportsmanship, and the commentators are quick to reprimand and shame the bad guys. Could you imagine if we had a moral voice of judgment do commentary over an episode of Desperate Housewives?
2. Because the NBA is universal. Americans like to believe we are the best at anything that is cool. So it's no surprise that many sports fans are skeptical of the new NBA players from other countries who seem to be as good as our American-born ballers. But these new players bring new stories, new talent, and new zeal to the game. They represent their country on the world court with dignity and pride.
...not everything on TV is garbage. Try watching Manu Ginobili play for the Spurs and see if you don't like Argentina a little more. Give Phoenix's Leandro Barbosa a chance and you'll start to wonder if everyone from Brazil is as fast as lighting. And what about Steve Nash, the two-time league MVP? He's from Canada. Watching the NBA playoffs is the most entertaining geography lesson you'll get.
3. Because everyone needs a role model. I'm not suggesting that we idolize our favorite athletes, but I'd rather have young people admire a well-tuned athlete than a self-righteous fool with a guitar. To become the best athlete one must be committed, disciplined, and drug-free. Those are three virtues that you never see the life-stories told by Hollywood. But you see those virtues lived out every time a basketball hits the floor in the playoffs.
True, athletes have been caught using steroids or drugs, but they get publicly humiliated for their wrongdoing. Show me one actor who was caught with a bag of cocaine and was then fined $50,000 and suspended from the next three movies. There is an overtone of right and wrong in professional sports unseen in today's entertainment industries.
4. Because sports build community. None of my friends are good enough to play professional basketball, but we have a lot of fun cheering for our favorite team. Since the Phoenix Suns have been on the warpath to the playoffs, I've had more good times watching games with my friends than you would even believe. You never knew church kids could get this rowdy.
My friend Carolina, a die-hard Lakers fan, admitted that it was okay that the Suns knocked the Lakers out of the playoffs because it meant we all could keep hanging out as the Suns went to the next round. There are so many destructive things you can do with your friends, and watching the big game together is not one of them.
So next time you are bored and flipping through the stations, avoid TV garbage and stop at an NBA playoff game. Pick a team and start cheering. Just be sure you pick the Suns.
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Matt Smith is the Director of Internet Ministries for Life Teen, an international Catholic youth ministry based in Phoenix, Arizona. He is the creative force behind Life Teen's cluster of websites that receive nearly 2 million visits a year. Since staring on MTV's "Real World" and MTV's "Road Rules Challenge", Matt has traveled the country speaking at colleges, universities, schools, and Catholic parishes.
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