Even though The Ides of March are nearly over, everyone's thoroughly enraptured with March Madness, yours truly included. Brackets are filled out. Internet connections are clogged. Work is ditched. Wagers are placed. Hot wings are ingested.
But when you really sit down this stuff, you realize one thing: The Games Suck!
I'm sorry for break this to all ya'll, hell, I'm sorry to break it to myself. But last night, I tuned in to watch my beloved UNC Tarheels win a 68-47 snoozefest over Washington State to advance to the Elite Eight.[1] It easily had to be the most boringest game evar! Yeah, I know, Wazzu plays an intentionally slow game to overcome their lack of talent, but when one team barely has 20 points at the half you know something's wrong. The next game, a contest between Louisville and Tennessee was even worserer. It was at this point that I finally threw in the towel (uhhm, remote) and turned to the Blazers vs Warriors game on TNT.[2]
Both teams are pretty much middle-of-the-road NBA squads. The Warriors are scrapping for a playoff spot, the Blazers haven't been in contention since Kwanzaa. Still, there were rim-rattling dunks, 90-foot outlet passes, 35-foot trifectas, 360-degree hanging layups, and the always unpredictable Stephen Jackson, who's bound to go Ron Artest and whoop some random fan's a$$ at any moment. Needless to say, I never turned back to the NCAA game.
Here, just watch this poster-quality dunk by Portland's Martell Webster. Hot damn!
That was better than ANYTHING I've seen during March Madness all by itself!!! And it was in the second quarter of a meaningless weeknight game!
The NCAA vs NBA debate has been waged for years, usually by purists who think the NBA is the root of all evil. They say the players are overpaid and don't play with any passion or intensity. They say the players are generally unlikeable and criminal minded. They say the games are a never ending series of one-on-oneupmanship, with players who don't even know the basic fundamentals of the game.
I say B.S.
The caliber of athlete in the NBA is 100 zillion times greater than the NCAA. The best NCAA team (my UNC Tarheels) would get absolutely smoked by the worst NBA team (Miami Heat) 10 times out of 10. NBA players are capable, just by virtue of sheer talent, of making plays NCAA athletes can only dream about (see the video above). Yes, the players are highly paid, but do you know how much the owners are making? It's called capitalism. And anyone who thinks NCAA ballers play harder is insane. Yeah, college players get it in come March Madness, but there's nothing that even remotely compares to NBA playoff intensity. You say college players are saints who do it "for the love of the game"? Riiight. Just ask Jerry Tarkanian about that one.
I like both sports, and spend copious amounts of time watching both, but one's clearly the superior product. You can probably guess which side of this debate I'm rollin' with, but I figure it's worth asking you guys for you opinions anyway. You know, this being your blog and all.
Question: Which is the better sport? NBA Basketball or NCAA Basketball?
College basketball? I couldn't care less [Fox Sports]
[1] I've got Carolina winning it all this year.
[2] Go Wizards!
