Whither the NBA, whither America?

Brandon Silva

The article by David Andrews entitled “Whither the NBA, whither America?” describes how the National Basketball Association (NBA) has been able to successfully expand its viewing market to other countries around the world (1999).  Andrews mentions some of the way the NBA has been successful in this endeavor including how the NBA has targeted its selling to the world’s youth by providing an image of opposition to the cultural mainstreams (1999).   Additionally, pre-season competitions are held in foreign countries and NBA regional offices are located in major cities around the world such as Paris, Mexico City and Hong Kong just to name a few (Andrews, 1999).  This article was written in 1999 and since then, it seems that the NBA has only expanded its global reach.

            After reading the article, I am left wondering why other “American” leagues do not seem to be as successful as the NBA in globalizing their brand.  Perhaps the most notable is the National Football League (NFL).  The NFL has tried to expand globally by playing regular season games in London but it seems that this has done little to increase the popularity of the league world-wide.  It makes me wonder, what makes the NBA different than the NFL in its ability to attract a global audience?  It could be that the NFL doesn’t seem produce the “caricatured heroes, epic struggles, and dramatic triumphs” of the NBA (Andrews, 1999, p. 506).  However, this seems a bit unlikely to me because as we know, the NFL is full of different stories on and off the field seemingly at all times.  Perhaps, as it was mentioned in class, NBA players are more readily recognizable than NFL players since football players’ uniforms don’t allow the viewer to see their face.  On a small playing surface, NBA player’s faces are constantly visible on TV whereas NFL players are buried under their helmets and pads for the majority of the game.  Perhaps the NFL carries a more pristine image than NBA with regards to a more adult-focused audience.  I think a great example of this was last year when players in the NBA were permitted to wear their nicknames on the back of their jerseys.  This youthful gesture plays to the opposition of cultural mainstreams that author mentioned whereas in the NFL this sort of practice seems highly unlikely.  A final thought deals with the affordability of the sport.  Football requires large areas of grass, pads, helmets, and goal-posts.  Around the world these may not be as readily accessible or affordable as they are in the United States.  On the other hand, basketball only requires a small playing surface, a hoop and a ball.  This allows the game of basketball to be played almost anywhere including cities of high populations such as Hong Kong or Tokyo.  Therefore it may easier for people from these areas to appreciate a sport more since they are able to play it themselves.

 

References

Andrews, D. L. (1999). Whither the NBA, whither America? Peace Review, 11(4), 505-

510.