The Pinoy fan

Imust have missed the memo from the NBA, but I wonder what channel will have an exclusive airing for diehard Golden State Warriors or Cleveland Cavaliers fans? With the way some of the self-proclaimed diehard NBA fans are acting, it seems, for them, it’s a sin to watch the NBA Finals when you haven’t seen a regular season game or if you haven’t followed either the Golden State Warriors or the Cleveland Cavaliers for at least a decade.

This is where I roll my eyes and let out a loud “Duh”.

There’s a reason the games are being aired on TV, and that’s not for the diehard fan. The diehard fans are those in the venue and what are you you self-proclaimed guardians of diehardism doing in here watching the game on TV? If you weren’t born speaking basketballesque, then you too, are a bandwagon fan, the type of fans you scoff at because at one point in your life, you know nothing about basketball and decided to pick it up or follow it. Why deprive others of that pleasure?

If you have a need to prove that you’re knowledgeable in anything about your team then why preach to an audience that may know more than you? Heck, you should welcome them.

This happens, strangely enough, in the social media era of the NBA finals. I remember during Jordan’s comeback you were asked whether you’re rooting for Chicago or Utah, you weren’t interrogated as to how long have you been following Jordan or Karl Malone. I don’t know, perhaps that need to present a better or more knowledgeable version of yourself in soc med is a factor why some fans love to put labels to distinguish themselves from the rest.

Which is stupid really, because these guys get to enjoy the league and the games they want thanks to the fans all over the world who aren’t as nutty as them.

Let me use a boxing analogy. At the height of Manny Pacquiao’s popularity, Bob Arum never credited his popularity and success to the diehard boxing fans and I think in one interview he even said the PPV numbers are so high because of the casual fans who buy PPVs because it’s Manny Pacquiao. Or, in the standard of those self-proclaimed diehard fans, “the bandwagon fans.”

So yes, dear diehard NBA fans who sit in their lofty chairs away from the arena looking down at casual fans, you get to enjoy that spot, thanks to us.

Aside from that, there’s an even worse kind of fan, one who looks down on girls, dismissing them as basketball fans only during the finals. One made the misfortune of posting such a comment in SunStar Cebu’s page. I wanted to take him up on it but when I went through his profile, he seemed to be just a lonely dude who wants attention.

A profile shot of him showing a famous closed fist salute also may explain how he views women.

And, again, it is wrong. Men or women alike, there’s nothing wrong with watching basketball only because it’s the NBA finals. That’s the reason why it’s a great commercial success. Ratings spike during the NBA finals. Why? Because a lot of folks who don’t watch basketball regularly watch the NBA finals.

Be glad the NBA is run by people who aren’t close-minded and misogynistic.