THE SPORTS DIVA MAGAZINE

India - The Nation That Built Wonders

by Carolyn Hastings, AND ONE

It isn't that India doesn't want to participate in the global joy known as the NBA. There is room in their hearts for many sports, once cricket season has ended. It isn't lack of talented athletes or hard work by many basketball fans in this South Asian country. Leagues have been organized, games have been played, Olympic medals have been dreamed. Monks in the Darjeeling Tibetan Refugee Self-Help Center play hoops. The Army instituted a policy elevating any player having represented India at the state level to JCO as part of the Army's Mission Olympic Gold program. This policy includes basketball players. (Source: Hindustan Times, October 8, 2006) One small problem. No courts. It's as if someone read Dean Smith's biography of Al McGuire and mistook the title for instructions. Cracked sidewalks are the foundation for many a young baller's training. In April of 2007, the Hindustan Times reported New Dehli's plans to build two synthetic outdoor basketball courts at the Tatya Tope Stadium, enabling the city to host international basketball.

"We have planned to gradually improve the sports infrastructure in the state," said Sports and Youth Welfare Department director Sanjay Chaudhary. (Source: Hindustan Times, April 17, 2007)

Time Magazine, writing in November of 2006, detailed Papa Stern's post-China goals, mainly focused on expanding the NBA's presence in India. NBA games have been televised in this part of the world since 1993 for the hardcore fan. However: 

In India, basketball facilities are sparse and mostly substandard. India's national women's team often practices on a cracked concrete court, adjacent to a scrubby field, in New Delhi. The government places less emphasis on sports growth, and trumpeting the country's hoops tradition is like bragging about America's team-handball stars.

"I can't tell you there's a groundswell calling for the NBA in India," Stern admits.

The Red Team that Jordan used to Play For

by Carolyn Hastings
AND ONE

Hard-core NBA fans in Rio?  NBADraft.net would have us believe:

In Rio de Janeiro you will find beach basketball courts laid on top of the sand, and mobile courts on wheels that are driven onto the beach. Brazil has adopted basketball as a rapidly growing subculture.

Stop it.  Or, better yet, explain it.  Say hello to Pedro, a friend of a friend, and a Brazilian NBA fan, who will tell us the real story:

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Q.  Where in Brazil do you live?

Answer.  Rio de Janeiro, RJ. (No, it's not as dangerous as it probably looks like!)

Q. Are you a Brazilian native?

Answer.  Yes.

Q.  Depending on the answer to the first question, have you been to the US?  If yes, have you seen an NBA game live and in person?

Answer.  I've been to the US twice. In the early 90's I spent a week or so in New York and a couple of years later I went to Florida for a couple of weeks. I think this was around '94. Much to my delight, I did manage to attend an NBA game: it was a regular season game between the Shaq & Penny Magic against the Mookie Blaylock-led Atlanta Hawks. I think Dominique Wilkins was playing for the Hawks too. Anyway, it was a blowout win for the Magic and a great live experience to me.

Q.  Is there a professional basketball league in Brazil?

Answer.  Yes, there is, though it must be said that basketball is somewhat of a fringe sport in Brazil. It was more popular in the 80's, I guess, with the '87 win against the USA for the Pan-Am games gold medal. And Oscar Schmidt is an icon. But since then it's gone downhill.

The Brazilian basketball association is a real mess; I suppose that if they ever have their accounts audited someone will get in real trouble. Oscar tried to create a "parallel league" a few years ago but it went down badly.

Nowadays there's a kind of split, with some ball clubs boycotting the official league and all. Pretty sad, actually. However, it's worth noting that my home team - Flamengo, which is also a football (soccer) club and competes in several other sports - did reach the finals of the South American version of the Euroleague.

Anyway, I must confess that I'm not a huge enthusiast of our domestic leagues so there's not much that can be said about it. They surely need a better business plan - or at least any kind of business plan. The games are hardly ever televised - only on cable, which reaches a very restricted audience - and the majority of the supporters are in fact football (soccer) fans who believe it's their duty to also root for their club's basketball team.

Q. Is there an amateur basketball league?

Answer.  I suppose there is but I don't know much about it.

Q.  Is it possible to watch NBA games on television in Brazil?

Answer.  During the Michael Jordan era it was really easy to watch games; even regular TV channels aired them. Then it became a very restricted cable-only attraction. There were a couple of seasons with hardly any NBA coverage. The past couple of years, however, have been much better: ESPN often airs them and globoesporte.com - which is a sports-only site that belongs to Globo, the largest TV network in the country - broadcasts games on the Web twice a week. It's not free, but the monthly subscription is really cheap (something like US $5 for 8 games).

Q.  Is it possible to purchase NBA apparel other than online?  If so, what are the most popular items?

Answer.  I guess that most sports-wear shops sell them, but probably at prohibitively high prices. Even football (soccer) jerseys are really pricey here. Nike sneakers and the like are also way too expensive, but these are far more popular. It's not that rare to walk past someone wearing a Kobe or Iverson jersey though.

Q.  Who is the most popular NBA player / team?

Answer.  It's kind of hard to gauge that. Most people have no interest in basketball and know nothing about the NBA. Michael Jordan is the obvious exception - he's an icon everywhere. I guess Magic Johnson has some notoriety, too.

As for the current crop of players, as I've said, it's not that rare to bump into someone wearing a Kobe or Iverson jersey. I suppose that those are the most popular ones there.

I guess that Shaq's pretty well-known, too. As for teams, there's no doubt that the Chicago Bulls are the most well-known. Everyone who learns that I love the NBA immediately asks me, "so, how are the Bulls doing?". Others simply wonder about that "red team that Jordan used to play for."

Q.  Are you personally interested in basketball?

Answer. Watching basketball? Sure. I love the NBA and try to watch as many games as possible. I also check the box scores daily and play in fantasy leagues. And NBA video games on the Playstation 2, I should add.

Q.  Do you or did you play basketball?

Answer. Well, not really. Only in gym class back in high school. I'm not exactly a high-flyer and, at 6 feet, I'm hardly Yao Ming material.

Q.  Do March Madness (NCAA) and/or the NBA Playoffs generate excitement?

Answer.  I don't care much for March Madness, but the NBA Playoffs surely get me excited. The rest of the country?... Not so much. It hardly ever makes the news.. at best we can find some three-line notes regarding the Brazilian players buried deep in the newspapers.

And it's even worse when it's a World Cup year - in 2006, for instance, the football World Cup had already started when the NBA finals began which made it all but impossible to find any NBA news in the mainstream media.

Q.  Do you know of any Americans playing basketball in Brazil?

Answer.  Er, actually, no. I know there was an American player who was murdered up in the north a few months back. I do not really follow local basketball, that's the problem. But I know for a fact that there are quite a few Americans over here.

Q.  What is the most popular sport in Brazil today?

Answer.  Football (soccer), definitely. It's always been and will always be the country's #1 passion. No other sport comes even close.

I mean, sure, in the 90's, as Ayrton Senna ruled the Formula One world and as Gustavo Kuerten won a couple of Grand Slam tourneys, auto racing and tennis became a lot more popular, but now they've receded to the background once again. (I'm being kind of unfair - Formula One and auto racing in general is somewhat popular, but it could never even come close to rivalling football's hegemony. Also, it's worth noting that the F1 audience consists mostly of upper-class folks).

Lately, the second most popular sport over here is volleyball. Our national team won several important titles, which always helps to boost popularity. But still the passion and devotion connected to football is unparalleled.

Q.  Open ended - please tell us about your basketball experiences in Brazil (and elsewhere)

Answer.  Well, my basketball experiences are pretty much...nil. So I guess I should tell why the heck I'm a Boston Celtics fan. It's really simple: the first game I watched was in the late 80s...and a Celtics game. And they had an aging Larry Bird. And I thought three-pointers were way cooler than dunks (yeah, I don't think I have any street-cred).

When Michael Jordan came to rule to the world, well, it's not that I was unimpressed but I did like the idea of rooting for some sort of underdog. And there was something about Bird's great passes and the Celtics' reverence for their tradition - and for the city's Irish tradition - that just made them look more "real" to me.

I mean...I grew up cheering for Flamengo. I find it terribly disturbing to think of ballclubs as pure business, as franchises that can move to and fro. The Celtics seemed to be the perfect fit for my needs. Then I just kept building on that....

It's not like I'm a hardcore Boston fan but I do cherish their wins. I endured a lot of losing seasons and always tried to keep up-to-date with them... so that's it.

Cheers!

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Thank you, Pedro, even though you're not rooting for my Cavs.

More Brailizan basketball names:

Wild Thing

Nene and Leandro Barbosa

Marquinhos (Marcus Vinicius Viera De Souza)

Rafael Araujo

Greek Basketball - You've Got Some Great Players - Period.

by Carolyn Hastings
AND ONE

When Diana Ross turned the world “Upside Down” it’s a safe bet she wasn’t thinking of Greek basketball.  That is, however, exactly what her success did in the land of Socrates; basketball would never the same.

Diana’s agent, Bill Manon, is a hero to Greek Bball worshipers:

In the spring of 1979 Galis [Nick Galis or Gallis or Νίκος Γκάλης] realized that the time had come for him to try and play in the NBA . . . . his manager, Bill Manon, . . . was the agent of a few basketball players but mostly actors and artists . . . Among those was the famous Diana Ross who had just launched her solo career away from her band ‘The Supremes’. 'Upside Down' became a big hit and the agent started making money hand over fist, neglecting his then 22 year old Greek basketball player.

So, from the first round of drafts, Galis found himself in the fourth with the number 68 and was picked by the Boston Celtics who had already chosen Larry Bird and wanted Galis just to make up the numbers. Galis tried to stay in the NBA but at the worst possible moment an injury left him out for 2 weeks and on his return, he found his place had been taken by Gerald Henderson.

Playing ball for Seton Hall on a scholarship, Nick dreamed of the NBA.  In his junior year (1977-78) he averaged 17.3 points per game;  as a senior he led the nation in scoring (Indiana State forward Larry Bird was second) at 27.5 points per game, with a career high 48 points against the University of Santa Clara.

 

The NBA Shudders – Nonprofit Basketball

by Carolyn Hastings
AND ONE

In America, basketball leads to international fame and fortune for the talented few.  LeBron and Damon Jones are in China and almost every NBA team boasts of players from abroad. 

Ironically, in Sweden, a country which enjoys a high standard of living, basketball players struggle for recognition and a paycheck.

I know this because I came across a wonderful blog (thoughtful, funny, diverse) from -- of all places -- Sweden.  I e-mailed the owner and, to my surprise, received an enthusiastic response. 

For reasons that will become clear as you read this interview, my new friend remains anonymous and wishes to be known only as a source within the Svenska Basketligan (Swedish Basketball League).

Norway - A Kinder, Gentler NBA

by Carolyn Hastings
AND ONE

Basketliga 2000, the initiative behind what is now the Basketball League of Norway (BLNO), the first semi-professional basketball league in the Kingdom, encountered trouble before ever opening their doors. The first sign of trouble surfaced in a poll conducted in August of 1999; sixty percent of “young people” professed to watching soccer instead of basketball:   

"Except for the standard margin of errors, the findings are clear: Soccer is the most popular sport young people like to watch on TV or read about in the papers," researchers Lars Brodestedt Svendsen and Vegard Arntsen told Aftenposten [Norwegian newspaper].

 

 

Taiwan Beer

by Carolyn Hastings
And One

In search of a basketball Googlewhack, I entered "Taiwan NBA" as a Google search.  In 2.4 seconds, approximately 250,000 links piled up.   For someone wishing to write about an obscure yet interesting topic, these results were astounding and confusing.  Why so many links?  Perhaps there is a National Bellydancing Association in Taiwan or a No Better Argument Taiwanese debate site?

Clicking like a madwoman, I soon discovered two things:

1) The NBA is wildly popular in Taiwan.

2) I needed a translator.

One phrase stuck out above all others; Taiwan Beer.  I know lots of beer slurping NBA watchers in the US; could this be true in Asia as well?  Somehow, when I think of Taiwan and basketball, I imagine a culture of polite interaction on the court, followed by periods of jovial team building activities. 

And so Chris Wang came into my life.  Chris lives in Taiwan and operates two basketball blogs, one in Chinese and, thankfully, one in English.  I e-mailed Chris (amazing - he lives in Taiwan, I live in Ohio, we've never met yet we're both on Gmail), asking if he knew the origin of the team name Taiwan Beer.

Chris responded with a wealth of information and agreed to answer more questions:

If Only David Stern Were President …

by Carolyn Hastings
And One

Peace building often begins with the smallest of steps.  Everyone’s children need education; this is an interest shared globally.  Everyone needs food and water and shelter.  Again, a global interest. 

In the US, the NBA cares.  In Iran, winning the 2007 FIBA Asia Championship is a source of national pride.  Common ground.  The same round ball and rims with hoops.  Quite possibly the same goofy socks.  We run, we dunk, we swish.  We just don’t do it together.

Individual players have tried.  Garth Joseph joined the Saba Battery, a local Iranian basketball team, in late 2005.  Oddly enough, the team is owned by Iran's Ministry of Defense – yes, that Ministry of Defense.  The one the United State government accuses of covert weapons of mass destruction creation.

I don’t remember reading about this in any American papers.  The BBC, however, was entranced:

He [Garth] regards himself as an ambassador for his country which has not had diplomatic relations with Iran since the revolution.

Garth, hopelessly and charmingly American, told a reporter from BBC Tehran:

I hope they start relations. I was surprised to see we don't have an embassy here or an Iranian one in America; I thought what's going on.

We both have different cultures, different religions, so if we respect that we will get along very fine.