Big3 drawing attention, at least
3-on-3 league brings nostalgia, news hits to Toronto this Friday
O’Shea (Ice Cube) Jackson rapped in1991that he wanted to kill Uncle Sam, and the cover of his Death Certificate album featured the mascot for U.S. jingoism prostrate in a morgue, draped in the flag with a tag hanging from his big toe.
But by this winter, the rapper/ actor-turned-sports executive confronted a dilemma that offended his own sense of patriotism. Agents of a foreign power were trying to take over an American institution Jackson cherished, and he wanted U.S. President Donald Trump, familiar with such scenarios, to intervene before the interlopers caused permanent damage.
The situation spurred Jackson to buy a full-page ad in The New York Times in April, urging Trump to warn the Emir of Qatar not to harass players in his fledgling basketball league, the Big3, which had been feuding with politically connected Qatari investors who reneged on a funding promise. That the ad also allowed the league to publish its broadcast schedule in the world’s most heavily-read daily wasn’t mere coincidence. Jackson, whose Big3 league debuts in Toronto on Friday night, said he intended to wring ticket sales and TV viewership from the long-running controversy.
“We was trying to knock out two birds with one stone,” Jackson, who co-founded the league, said on a media conference call Tuesday.
The Big3 — named because it features three-on-three basketball — will arrive at the Scotiabank Arena midway through its second season, trading on the name recognition of the former NBA players populating its eight teams, and looking to build long-term marketing momentum.
All eight teams travel together, with each stop on the tour bringing a new set of matchups. Friday marks the tour’s first event outside the U.S.
Jackson said the raucous atmosphere at Raptors home playoff games helped make Toronto a Big3 destination. Meanwhile, Raptors fans with long memories will appreciate the presence of nine former Raptors on Big3 rosters – including Charles Oakley, who coaches a squad called the Killer 3s.
Fan nostalgia might also explain TV viewership that cuts against industry trends, as viewers tune in to watch old favourites perform, regardless of how games end.
The league’s week-two broadcast drew a reported 1.03 million viewers on Fox’s main network. League co-founder Jeff Kwatinetz noted Tuesday that repeat broadcasts also draw strong ratings.
“We still are seeing a lot of people willing to watch games after, theoretically, they know the result,” Kwatinetz said. “It’s exciting to know people are turned on by the games.”
The league’s June-to-August schedule fills the relatively slow period in pro sports, but publicity and positive press aren’t guaranteed. The Big3 scheduled its championship for Aug. 26 in Las Vegas last year, only to watch Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor overshadow the event.
This winter’s Big3 news involved a simmering dispute with a group of Qatari investors that culminated in Kwatinetz and Jackson filing a $1.2-billion defamation suit.
The conflict turned political this spring when lawyer Michael Avenatti, who represents porn star Stormy Daniels in her lawsuit against Trump, published photos of a man closely resembling al Rumaihi leaving Trump Tower after a December 2016 meeting with Trump’s transition team. Kwatinetz later alleged that al Rumaihi hoped to use the Big3 as a conduit to Steve Bannon, a former Trump strategist and a friend of Kwatinetz.
Those controversies earned the Big3 mentions on nonsports platforms like The Hollywood Reporter and The Rachel Maddow Show, but it’s not clear whether the extra exposure has boosted attendance or ticket sales.
Kwatinetz said 13,562 spectators attended last week’s Big3 event in Miami.