A Year to the Day
So today is a year to the day of "The Brawl".
So you know the story by now. Ben Wallace is fouled by Ron Artest. So naturally, like the idiot he is, he just has to push Ron Artest for what he claims to be a hard foul (Now I see why a lot of street ballers make fun of NBA rules). As history has it, Ron Artest calmly walks away and lays on the sports announcers table. I'm watching the game, figuring in about a minute, this will boil down and the game would finish.
Ha. Yeah right.
Some drunk fool throws a cup of alcohol at Ron Artest and all hell breaks loose. He goes into the stands, holds down the guy in the stands and asks him "Did you throw it?". The actual guy who threw it is behind Artest, punching him and such. Stephen Jackson starts throwing punches and others get into the stands to break up the fight. So things cool down a little and Ron Artest is back on the court. All of a sudden, this complete idiot comes on the court, walks up behind Ron and then looks like he's scared out of his mind. You know why. He's about to catch a beat down.
Ok, so back on topic. Fans are throwing everything, from popcorn, to drinks to A FOLDING CHAIR. What's going on people? What could possibly drive people to such madness? Then I realized the common thread. A guy throws a cup of beer at Artest. People are throwing alcohol at the players leaving the court. The problem here is alcohol. The truth is, we Americans are loud, obnoxious and unruly; but this effect is only multiplied by the consumption of alcohol. So how can we stop something like this abomination of a sporting event from happening again? Stop selling alcohol at the games. But see, that would almost be too smart.
Why stop selling alcohol? They make so much money from it, there's no point for them to stop selling it. Now naturally when I say them, I mean the execs of the NBA, namely David Stern. You know him, right? The corrupt dictator of the NBA, who makes so much money and has so much of a stranglehold on the NBA, that no one actually knows his salary BUT HIM. That's right. That's not a typo. No one knows his salary but him. But anyway, he would much prefer that it's kept being sold. Money is what's most important, just ask the O'Jays. The almighty dollar.
Some may ask if prohibiting the selling of alcohol would actually be beneficial in preventing another "brawl". The University of Southern California (USC) has prohibited the selling of alcohol at their college football games and everyone from officials to the players notice the difference in fan behavior. Less jeering, less malicious behavior. Sounds good, right? Not to David Stern. Want to know why? USC has lost 2 million dollars to date because of this action. You better believe the NBA won't be stopping sales anytime soon.
Once again in our country, money matters most. The next brawl is not a matter of if, but rather when. Which is sad. I used to really like the NBA back in the day. But then again, that was when the NBA actually had talent.
So you know the story by now. Ben Wallace is fouled by Ron Artest. So naturally, like the idiot he is, he just has to push Ron Artest for what he claims to be a hard foul (Now I see why a lot of street ballers make fun of NBA rules). As history has it, Ron Artest calmly walks away and lays on the sports announcers table. I'm watching the game, figuring in about a minute, this will boil down and the game would finish.
Ha. Yeah right.
Some drunk fool throws a cup of alcohol at Ron Artest and all hell breaks loose. He goes into the stands, holds down the guy in the stands and asks him "Did you throw it?". The actual guy who threw it is behind Artest, punching him and such. Stephen Jackson starts throwing punches and others get into the stands to break up the fight. So things cool down a little and Ron Artest is back on the court. All of a sudden, this complete idiot comes on the court, walks up behind Ron and then looks like he's scared out of his mind. You know why. He's about to catch a beat down.
Ok, temporary digression. This fool comes on court behind Ron and expects to get out unscathed. Ron starts punching him. Then after this fan gets up off the floor, Jermaine O'Neal comes out of nowhere and lands the greatest punch I have ever seen. Its better than any punch you've ever seen in those old classic westerns. Its better than any Bruce Lee punch. For those of you who haven't seen it, here it is:
Ok, so back on topic. Fans are throwing everything, from popcorn, to drinks to A FOLDING CHAIR. What's going on people? What could possibly drive people to such madness? Then I realized the common thread. A guy throws a cup of beer at Artest. People are throwing alcohol at the players leaving the court. The problem here is alcohol. The truth is, we Americans are loud, obnoxious and unruly; but this effect is only multiplied by the consumption of alcohol. So how can we stop something like this abomination of a sporting event from happening again? Stop selling alcohol at the games. But see, that would almost be too smart.
Why stop selling alcohol? They make so much money from it, there's no point for them to stop selling it. Now naturally when I say them, I mean the execs of the NBA, namely David Stern. You know him, right? The corrupt dictator of the NBA, who makes so much money and has so much of a stranglehold on the NBA, that no one actually knows his salary BUT HIM. That's right. That's not a typo. No one knows his salary but him. But anyway, he would much prefer that it's kept being sold. Money is what's most important, just ask the O'Jays. The almighty dollar.
Some may ask if prohibiting the selling of alcohol would actually be beneficial in preventing another "brawl". The University of Southern California (USC) has prohibited the selling of alcohol at their college football games and everyone from officials to the players notice the difference in fan behavior. Less jeering, less malicious behavior. Sounds good, right? Not to David Stern. Want to know why? USC has lost 2 million dollars to date because of this action. You better believe the NBA won't be stopping sales anytime soon.
Once again in our country, money matters most. The next brawl is not a matter of if, but rather when. Which is sad. I used to really like the NBA back in the day. But then again, that was when the NBA actually had talent.
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