Someone, rightly, has asked me what is it we are contesting at the moment; is this the league title or playoff's?
Erm...well, it's like this...our league has only one conference of 10 teams. So the team that has the best record at the end of the season are champions. Our record is 28-7 and if we win tomorrow we will end at 29-7.
However, our season doesn't end after tomorrow because then we have the playoffs. The playoffs this year consist of the the top 8 (of 10) teams competing in a knockout format. The top 4 teams with the first round (also a quarterfinal) at home against the 8th placed team and so on. The Final Four will be in Newcastle at the end of the month. Semi's on Saturday the 28th and Final on the 29th.
Perhaps now is the time to call it for what it is: bonkers.
I haven't spent any time really trying to figure it out, but to our head coach, Paul James, who has been either playing or coaching in the BBL for at least 20 years, it not only makes perfect sense, but is the highlight of the season. It's the finale that people look forward to. Since I've never been to it yet, I can wait and see. I'm sure it won't suck, I just question why we just don't call the Playoffs the Cup or the Trophy. What does winning the Playoffs actually end up meaning?
From an economic sense, any chance to play another home game and I'm in total agreement, but a tournament in a season where we already HAD two other tournaments is a bit, well, overkill IMHO.
We actually have FOUR trophies to be won per season here. The first is the BBL Cup which, erm, is exactly like the Playoffs, except we let the other 2 teams compete too. Single elimination tournament where the teams are drawn at random. We've won that this season. The final was held at a neutral venue, the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham. It was a great event, there had to be 4,000 people there. That's a big crowd in this league. We beat the Scottish Rocks.
Then we have the BBL Trophy. This pits all the BBL clubs and clubs from a lower league in England (English Basketball League) and Scotland (Scottish Basketball League) in regional sections and this takes a bit more effort than the cup. This was won by the Plymouth Raiders, one of the oldest clubs in Britain; something on the order of 25 years old.
Four trophies in a season (including the league title). It's a few.
Having said that, I think the idea I've seen of scrapping the NBA All-Star Game and replacing it with a Cup competition is an idea that's just waiting for the chance to explode in America.
It really ought to happen in baseball where all the clubs from MLB to AAA to AA to A compete.
In England, the FA Cup pits more than 500 clubs in an open tournament that is one of the great sporting events this country has ever known (in football, what else).
Imagine the LA Lakers having to travel to see the Vermont Frost Heaves? That's what happens over here. Manchester United periodically have to turn up at some shed where a team that draws 1,000 people on a good Saturday afternoon awaits them.
Let me tell you, these games aren't always blow-outs. Given one shot at glory, it's incredible what men can summon up.
Right now, what I'd like to summon up is a TV crew that will come down to the Guildford Spectrum tomorrow at 3pm to record parts of our game, including (God willing) our victory dance.
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2 comments:
Hey Phil,
I'm a basketball fan from Australia that lives in London and I feel your pain regarding the lack of support over here. It's hard enough to find a competition to play in, let alone stumble across the professional league to watch. Is there any BBL coverage on TV? I've never seen it. I also have to admit that in the past when I've tried to find information about the BBL online, it has been terribly difficult. I think that has improved somewhat at first glance. Good luck for the rest of the season. I'll be following your blog and might even get along to a game...
Hey Mookie,
there's a show on UKTVG2 on a Sunday morning at 11am that shows some BBL (not much)
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