the socio-economics of basketball and the question of race or how to alienate almost every one in 3 easy steps part 2

here's part 1

2. College guys play for love and not for the money

The Joker said it best: "If you're good at something never do it for free."

Basically everyone involved in college athletics is getting paid (in some cases insane amounts of money) except for the people responsible for this crazy cash cow: the athletes. Sure, many of them are on scholarships, but that's a pittance compared to the quagillion dollars that college sports generates annually. If college ballers could get paid they would, as demonstrated by those who declare for the NBA draft as soon as they are eligible (you have to be 19). The argument for motivational purity is always a precarious one. This is just another version of art versus commerce and in my mind just another false dichotomy. Can you not love something and get paid for doing it at the same time? Has anyone heard of a sperm bank before? Conclusion: Anyone who uses money in real life and could get paid for playing a child's game for a living would do so. It's all academic.

3. College guys are fundamental

This feels like another culturally embedded racial stereotype, but this one may originate from a true premise as opposed to point #1. Has anyone seen White Men Can't Jump (it's about basketball)? The only thing I remember from that movie, besides Rosie Perez's areolas, was a conversation between Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson about how black men would rather look good first and win second (style over substance) while white guys are the other way around. I realize that this is a powerful piece of evidence, a redundant, long forgotten piece of throw away cinema, but hey it feels right. Not what they said as it applies to reality, but more as a way that many people perceive reality. I think this point comes down once again to the fact, that from what we can tell black people are better athletes than whites or anyone else. For white men to compete they need to master the basics, it's easier, although still extremely difficult, to develop skill, rather than (legally) generate more fast twitch muscle fibers and somehow learn how to jump 50 inches. Sometimes, unfortunately either you got it or you don't. I don't have AIDS. For some reason (a reason I will explore no doubt in a future post) a 360 slam dunk is aesthetically more pleasing than a 3-point shot at least according to sportscenter. So, black men do end up looking good (they're more likely to get more highlights shown on ESPN because they dunk more than everyone else) as well as winning more too, because genetically or otherwise they are better suited to athletic activity.

final conclusion: black men are better at basketball than white men. Some white men don't like this so they gravitate toward watching the college game more than the NBA, because there are more white men playing at the college level.

Next: The Curious Case of LeBron James