Staving Off Basketball Withdrawals

Most who are familiar with the NBA and the current lockout situation also know that things are not looking great for the near future. 2 weeks gone, and we'll be out a couple more in just a day or two. Basketball before Christmas, which now seems like a taken-for-granted luxury, is in serious jeopardy.

Twitter is filled with daily rantings of fans who are absorbing all of the shrapnel from the back and forth battle between players and owners. We'd be finishing up the preseason right now, buzzing about new draft picks, trades, and free agent signings. Instead we're hanging on every glimmer of hope that comes from the daily "more important than the last" meetings and observing from a far the back and forth media war that is the NBA's "negotiations."

A lot of fans have turned to football. Honestly, the shorter seasons of the NFL and college football provide some exciting story lines and situations every single week. Even during a regular NBA season, it doesn't seem like the national focus shifts to basketball until after the Super Bowl. In my case, that's not true. I don't really have an NFL team that I watch and root for. It's basketball from Halloween until April (and hopefully May or June!).

So. We're halfway through the football season. For college, you've got about 7 weeks left, and then the borderline ridiculous bowl season. The NFL is about halfway home. 9 more week and we're sitting in the middle of the playoffs. What happens if the NBA hasn't come to an agreement by January? If nothing has happened by then, there's a strong possibility that the remainder of the season would be cancelled. Even a 50-game season has got to get going by then.

Here's what to do. Pick an NHL (that's hockey) team to root for during the remainder of their season. Get into it! Lots of the teams, especially the ones in the U.S. are televised on Versus. I have said it before and I'll say it again, investing in an NHL team was the best sports fan decision that I have made over the past year, and it's looking better and better with each passing day of the NBA lockout.

As part of my work, I get to keep in touch with many Canadian contacts on a regular basis. One of them lives in Victoria, British Columbia, and is a huge Vancouver Canucks fan. He would talk them up every time I was on the phone with him. During their run to the Stanley Cup Finals last year, we talked several times per day, and I was more emotionally invested with every series. I knew I was hooked when their opening series against the Chicago Blackhawks came down to a Game 7 overtime. Starting at 8 pm our time, regulation didn't end until almost 11 pm, long after my wife had given up trying to talk sense into me and had wandered to bed. I was ready for overtime!





So, I'm actually from Edmonton, home of the Oilers, and sworn enemies of the Vancouver Canucks. I had my family up there giving me a hard time seeing me Tweet about the Canucks and how stoked I was about their trip to the Stanley Cup Finals. When I went up to Edmonton over the summer, I decided to do something about it. I know it's not much, but I invested in my first Oilers hat. Since then, I've committed myself to rooting for the team with the worst record in the NHL over the past three years. The bonus about that is that I'm rooting for a team with loads of young talent after selecting first overall in several straight drafts.

Now my Vancouver Canucks fan buddy (@jbraidwood23) now give each other friendly jabs, as our teams are in the same division. They play six times this year, and the first one resulted in the first career hat trick for last years #1 overall pick, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, albeit in a losing effort (4-3).




So I know that we're all missing the NBA. November is often one of my favorite months of the year, between the NBA season beginning, eating, football, Thanksgiving, eating, football, and the NBA season beginning. It doesn't get much better. I'm missing my Utah Jazz, feeling bad for the young kids who haven't even had a chance to get their feet wet in the NBA yet, and wishing the greedy parties on both sides of the dispute would think of fans like us. But in the meantime, make the best decision that you will make during the NBA lockout, and start watching hockey. This is just a taste of what you're missing out on!

And for goodness sake, don't try soccer!