Do White, Older Conservatives Discriminate Against the NBA?

Well,today is the opening of the 2010-2011 NBA season and I can't wait to see what the off season trades will bring.The teams have been searching their rosters in pre-season for the right combination to start and come off the bench .This is called rotation for the less seasoned and some coaches have different philosophies concerning the matter. The favorite team to win it all is Miami with three stars and strong support players. I'm a Knick fan because I like to root for the underdog and it seems they are going to need all of my support to break even in the won and loss column.I stopped watching them after half of the season last year because they were so bad.But this is a new season ,with new hope and motivation to take NY back again.

The white ,older conservatives I'm talking about loved basketball as kids.They played on high school and college teams during the fifties,sixties and early seventies.They are the same age as the current Tea Party activists that follow Palin or Beck to Washington ,Boston or Louisville.Now,I might be far off the mark with this one (no statistical data) but my gut is telling me there is a correlation between not liking the current set of NBA players and  racism. Why would a former player become so disinterested in the sport they were so associated with in their youth?When you participate in a sport at a high level,you can understand the game much more than the occasional viewer.I bring this perspective up because I've had many conversations with conservatives that I know understand the game at a high level and tell me that the players lack intensity or don't play defense,etc. They have an excuse that doesn't make sense to me or anyone watching the game today.I believe they are turned off to black culture.They can't handle they way the players dress(I believe the players have been forced to wear a jacket to games now),act on or off the court(violence,relationships),or the amount of money they make. I see a lack of respect for these players that are so much better each year in every way.At the same time,the older conservatives highlight Steve Nash or the assortment of European players that have come into the league who are also much improved over the sixties stars.

The Tea Party followers and my basketball conservatives have something in common. They don't like the 21st century demographics and the new culture it is bringing to America.I might agree with them that our culture is too material and voyeuristic.Conservative values have a place at my table at times but I will never reject the general culture because America has always demonstrated an acceptance of the new and a reverence of the old. NBA players are the best in a very competitive market.They might not look like the Boston Celtics of Bill Russell but they play better and work just as hard.To turn your back on the sport of your youth for another sport because of the players skin color is pathetic.To turn your back on a president because of skin color is unpatriotic and a form of treason.Now if we could only convince the league to lower ticket prices so the average income earner could afford to go, I would be completely happy. Watch tonight and every chance you can or read a book how we can nationalize the energy sector in America.