The unofficial online home for fans of the UAB Blazers. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015...ver_sports

Just what we need, pro basketball competition in Birmingham.

It would actually increase interest in basketball in general, which would benefit UAB basketball. It would be a great thing for UAB and the city. Over the years as the Grizzlies have become one of the top NBA teams, I am probably a bigger NBA fan now than I am college basketball. The only college games I watch now are UAB games, where I will just about watch any NBA team play.

The D-League is growing in popularity as more NBA teams use it to develop their rookies. Birmingham would do well to jump on board. I don't know if it would be legal, but Bartow Arena would make a great D-League arena.

Unlike Memphis, there are comparatively few basketball people in Birmingham. Many UAB season ticket owners are not originally from this area; Alabama is simply not a basketball state and Birmingham is not a basketball town. You can't really generate increased interest in people who have no interest in a sport in the first place.

It's not like UAB games currently draw a lot of people unless the Blazers are playing some big name team like NC. When you take into consideration that many folks have limited dollars for recreational activities such as attending basketball games and then add to that the limited number of true basketball fans in the area, if a D-League franchise could draw enough fans to survive; there would be no way they wouldn't hurt UAB attendance. But I am not worried, I don't think anyone would be stupid enough to put a D-League team in Birmingham, and if they did, I don't think it would survive very long.

Now one thing that Birmingham people do like is seeing the best of the best in any sport. If ever an owner established an NBA team to Birmingham, Blazer basketball would die on the vine. But I'm not worried about that either, owners aren't stupid.

Right now, the last thing on UAB's list of concerns is a POSSIBLE NBA affiliated team. Higher on our list are the ways losing the football program is going to affect the conference membership and through that, the future level of all other UAB sports programs. The annual meeting of the Alabama legislature dealing with Jeffco member's bills begins early next month.

Under "normal circumstances", any pro sport team will probably help generate increased interest among local sports fans for all levels of local teams.

(02-24-2015 11:09 PM)CajunBlazer Wrote:  Unlike Memphis, there are comparatively few basketball people in Birmingham. Many UAB season ticket owners are not originally from this area; Alabama is simply not a basketball state and Birmingham is not a basketball town. You can't really generate increased interest in people who have no interest in a sport in the first place.

It's not like UAB games currently draw a lot of people unless the Blazers are playing some big name team like NC. When you take into consideration that many folks have limited dollars for recreational activities such as attending basketball games and then add to that the limited number of true basketball fans in the area, if a D-League franchise could draw enough fans to survive; there would be no way they wouldn't hurt UAB attendance. But I am not worried, I don't think anyone would be stupid enough to put a D-League team in Birmingham, and if they did, I don't think it would survive very long.

Now one thing that Birmingham people do like is seeing the best of the best in any sport. If ever an owner established an NBA team to Birmingham, Blazer basketball would die on the vine. But I'm not worried about that either, owners aren't stupid.

It's your kind of thinking, resistance to something new that keeps Birmingham from progressing.

The CBA team here didn't draw flies and they even had Alabama players on them.

(02-24-2015 11:13 PM)the_blazerman Wrote:  The CBA team here didn't draw flies and they even had Alabama players on them.

There is a hellava big difference between the CBA and the DLeague.

And attendance isn't a huge deal in the DLeague. They are supported by the NBA, not butts in the seat. They exist for development, not filling seats.

What are the demographics of fans of existing southeastern NBA (or NFL, MLB or NHL) affiliated teams? How many of those fans actually live within the team's home city? I would suppose a team in B'ham would be likely to fit that same demographic model. For that matter, look how many pro teams don't play their home games within their home city (the Braves are joining the exodus now).

(02-24-2015 10:28 PM)Memphis Blazer Wrote:  It would actually increase interest in basketball in general, which would benefit UAB basketball. It would be a great thing for UAB and the city. Over the years as the Grizzlies have become one of the top NBA teams, I am probably a bigger NBA fan now than I am college basketball. The only college games I watch now are UAB games, where I will just about watch any NBA team play.

The D-League is growing in popularity as more NBA teams use it to develop their rookies. Birmingham would do well to jump on board. I don't know if it would be legal, but Bartow Arena would make a great D-League arena.

I feel the same way.

I firmly believe any progressive action taken to secure teams is in the best interest in the city, and I believe it'd help drive interest in the sport before anything else.

It's all about baby steps, though.

Those Bham Barons sure are struggling... you know the AA baseball team downtown

(02-24-2015 11:09 PM)CajunBlazer Wrote:  Unlike Memphis, there are comparatively few basketball people in Birmingham. Many UAB season ticket owners are not originally from this area; Alabama is simply not a basketball state and Birmingham is not a basketball town. You can't really generate increased interest in people who have no interest in a sport in the first place.

It's not like UAB games currently draw a lot of people unless the Blazers are playing some big name team like NC. When you take into consideration that many folks have limited dollars for recreational activities such as attending basketball games and then add to that the limited number of true basketball fans in the area, if a D-League franchise could draw enough fans to survive; there would be no way they wouldn't hurt UAB attendance. But I am not worried, I don't think anyone would be stupid enough to put a D-League team in Birmingham, and if they did, I don't think it would survive very long.

Now one thing that Birmingham people do like is seeing the best of the best in any sport. If ever an owner established an NBA team to Birmingham, Blazer basketball would die on the vine. But I'm not worried about that either, owners aren't stupid.

This sounds similar to SEC football fans explaining why UAB shouldn't have football... to sum it up: not enough interest, better choices, not enough non-SEC fans to matter.

Typical Birmingham bandwaggoning off of Atlanta.

Nobody in Birmingham gave a crap about the Braves when they were losing, same deal with the Falcons, & the Hawks.

Doesn't have to be at Atlanta.

The more interest in basketball, the better for UAB. The glory days of UAB basketball were also the glory days of UA and AU basketball. No coincidence.

I'd be all for getting a D-League team.

I'd love to see a D-League team in Birmingham again (or am I misremembering?).

Unless a billionaire with Alabama ties buys into a franchise, we're not going to get a full-fledged NBA team for a while, but I think it would be rather fitting if we stole Charlotte's NBA team, but that's never going to happen until MJ grows bored with being an owner. Plus, Seattle would be the first city on the list for expansion, and after Seattle, there's probably two handfuls of cities before Birmingham.

i don't watch the NBA at all...dont follow it, don't keep up with it. But i do go watch several d-league games each year, just because they're a few minutes away, not very expensive and pretty fun to attend

if i lived in bham, id feel the same way

The NBA has become my favorite pro sports option in recent years, the climate around it is enjoyable with excellent media promotion of it and plenty of entertaining personalities to watch. A lot of people don't like the constant trades but I think it makes it way more entertaining to have teams constantly creating new line ups.