Last year, I watched parts of three games during the regular season.
I watched the first quarter of the early Christmas game on ABC, I watched a Denver @ Miami game in which Miami scored 100 points in the first three quarters because it was on at Outback when I was visiting Miami, and I watched part of Miami’s classic overtime miracle on Friday night against Dallas in March. The last game was the only one that spurred any emotion.I am not an NBA fan. I never have claimed to be.
Yes, I enjoyed the Heat when they were good in the late ’90s and played some great games against Chicago and New York (especially New York).
I held the games close to my heart when they took on the Knicks. I watched them intently, enjoying the great talent the two teams possessed and the challenges they put upon the other team to win. Every game came down to the line, without even a single exception.
But outside of the games against the Knicks and Chicago-Utah clashes (those I enjoyed in both the regular season and post season both years), I could care less. And when the Knicks-Heat games became as meaningless as Utah senate races, I gave up those too.
So last few years came and went. I watched Toronto playoff games when Vince Carter was in his long-forgotten prime. I watched the Nets duel it out against the all-time legend Reggie Miller and the Pacers. I even caught a finals game or two when the Nets went down to the Spurs in 6.
Then came last year.
I was at a new low for boredom factor with the NBA. I even stopped paying attention to highlights during Sportscenter. I had literally no clue that the Heat were in the race until early February. I still did not care.
Last year, I watched parts of three games during the regular season.
I watched the first quarter of the early Christmas game on ABC, I watched a Denver @ Miami game in which Miami scored 100 points in the first three quarters because it was on at Outback when I was visiting Miami, and I watched part of Miami’s classic overtime miracle on Friday night against Dallas in March. The last game was the only one that spurred any emotion.
And now my team has Shaq.
Am I supposed to suddenly care? Am I supposed to suddenly acknowledge the potential my team has after I watched only a handful of playoff games last year?
I have rooted against Shaq my entire life, and now he is on my team. He is now on a team I really have grown not to care about despite being my favorite team.
And now there is no NHL to warm the pain of the frigid winter. It is funny that the sight of the ice warms me up more than the hardwood, but it does.
I guess I now have to watch Siena vs. Wagner basketball games on Empire thanks to DirecTV. That is the only option.
The NBA is dead to me, even with Shaq on the Heat and even with a resurgent Knicks team.
Maybe when the season gets well under way, college and pro football seasons end, and the Florida Gators lose more games to Kentucky and Tennessee after (somehow) reaching number one in college basketball, then I will turn on YES network and watch the Nets host Milwaukee in a battle for the eighth spot in the east.
I just don’t care.
That is all it really boils down to.
I really, really, just don’t care.
And there is nothing now that can make me change my mind.
Maybe this year something happens, but it has to happen first. I need to be watching a game out of default that harnesses my attention and gets me excited, and then I need to watch another game and keep that excitement.
But for all those who have ever placed a bet on a long shot, this would be the longest of all. It just won’t happen. The Heat won’t reach the finals. I just won’t care.
But as Cubs fans have grown to say for different reasons, “Maybe next year.”
Maybe next year I will care. Maybe next year something will happen. But don’t expect it to be this year.
